Results:
Tag: Remote Sensing
Clear
  • Estuarine Dams and Weirs: Global Analysis and Synthesis

    Abstract: Estuarine dams and weirs are constructed in estuaries for blocking the salt intrusion, securing freshwater, and stabilizing upstream water levels. While they can provide many social benefits, they also alter physical and sedimentary processes. To address this, we perform and extensive remote sensing and literature analysis. Remote sensing was conducted based on a global river database of 1531 rivers representing the largest rivers cumulatively draining 85 % of the landmass discharging into the global ocean. It was found that 9.7 % of global estuaries and deltas are currently affected by estuarine dams or weirs acting as the upstream limit of salt, tide, or storm surge intrusion. Most estuarine dams and weirs are located at x = 0–100 km inland from the mouth and their discharge intervals can be continuous. They are found most in river mouths which are wave-dominated followed by tide-dominated and then river-dominated. They can cause significant changes to the quantity and timing of freshwater discharge, tides, stratification, turbidity, sedimentation, oxygen conditions, phytoplankton blooms, and fish migration. We propose a conceptual model for physical and geomorphological change in mixed wave- and river-dominated and tide-dominated estuaries with estuarine dams.
  • Enhanced Route Reconnaissance—Generation 1

    Abstract: The movement of soldiers and materiel across battlespace is critical to a successful military operation. Knowledge of the road network condition ensures safe and successful vehicle maneuver. This research focused on remote assessment of poor-quality paved road networks for vehicle maneuver using data products derived from three-dimensional point clouds. Point clouds were generated from lidar sensors deployed from ground and airborne platforms to enable engineering analysis of the pavement surface. A series of algorithms developed to extract roughness, grade, radius of curvature, and width along the road network ensured storage of information for graphical display. A vehicle speed lookup table was calculated by conducting computer simulations using the NATO Reference Mobility Model over a range of road parameters. The lookup table enabled determination of the maximum allowable speed for a given vehicle type associated with the extracted road parameters. A graphical interface, developed for displaying the percentage speed reduction as either red, amber, or green squares along the road network, provided visual assessments of road condition. This report summarizes developing a software suite to calculate and visualize speed reduction over a road network as a function of route geometry, condition, and vehicle type. The interface developed can aid in critical logistical decisions that influence the success of military maneuver operations.
  • Review of Remote-Sensing Methods for Mapping Riparian and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation: Support for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring and Flood Risk Management

    Abstract: Riparian vegetation, defined as multilayered herbaceous and woody plant communities along river margins or bank edges, and freshwater submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), described as rooted aquatic plants in shallow rivers, lakes, and estuaries, are key factors influencing the connection between river and floodplain systems. These vegetation types are often used as indicators of riparian health. Current data on riparian vegetation and SAV are essential for addressing future water resource needs, particularly for restoration monitoring and flood risk management. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), as the federal government’s largest water resources development and management agency, requires updated monitoring and assessment methods to support the development, utilization, and conservation of water and related resources. Assessing large riparian corridors involves characterizing baseline conditions, habitat extents, vegetation patterns, and health. Vegetation and habitat data are critical for evaluating the effects of project operations, resource management, and restoration outcomes downstream from USACE dams. However, obtaining such data across large, dynamic, and inaccessible river reaches is challenging. Integrating field-based techniques with remote-sensing technology offers opportunities to map larger areas comprehensively and adapt to future water resource needs. This report reviews re-mote sensing methods for mapping riparian and SAV habitats with emphasis on vegetation characteristics.
  • Applications of the CRREL–-Geometric Optics Snow Radiative Transfer (GOSRT) Model: Incorporating Diffraction and Simulating Detection of Buried Targets

    Abstract: Radiative transfer through a snow surface within the visible and near infrared (NIR) spectra is complicated by the shape, size, and configuration of the snow grains that comprise the snow surface. Ray-tracing and photon-tracking techniques combined with 3D renderings of snow resolved at the microscale have shown promise as a means to directly simulate radiative transfer through snow with no restrictions on the snow grain configuration. This report describes and evaluates the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Geometric Optics Snow Radiative Transfer (GOSRT) model. In particular, we describe the incorporation of the diffraction process into the photon-tracking framework and evaluate how accurately the model simulates the spectral albedo of targets buried within the snow. We find that the model simulated spectral albedo is little affected by the incorporation of diffraction for most applications. However, there are nonnegligible impacts on simulated albedo for small grains in the NIR due to a reduction in forward scattering. We conclude by recommending that diffraction is neglected in CRREL–GOSRT for most cases, as including it substantially increases the computational expense with minimal impacts on the result. Finally, we show that buried targets are only distinguishable for very shallow snowpacks.
  • Sensor Fusion for Aerial Robotic Systems

    Abstract: As uncrewed aerial vehicle (drone) use expands across industries so also does the complexity of sensor payloads. At present, there are no commercially available products for the management and fusion of multisensor data. Sensor Fusion for Aerial Robotic Systems (SFARS) is a sensor agnostic, modular platform for intelligent multisensor data fusion and processing. At the time of writing, SFARS exists as a root codebase, a PC application for processing of previously collected drone data and as a prototype hardware platform for real-time drone deployment. This report serves as a technical users guide to the design, development, and implementation of the suite of SFARS software.
  • Overview of a Rapid Discrete Infrared Acquisition System and Method for Automated Behavioral Analysis of Multiple Emissive Objects

    Purpose: Many animal species form congregations on the landscape. These concentrations of animals provide an opportunity for biologists to conduct efficient population monitoring efforts. While general use of these sites is easy to document, continual monitoring is often problematic due to limited resources (time, expertise, etc.), potential for human disturbance on animal population and behavior, and an inability to determine an accurate assessment of counts. To allow for accurate and efficient assessment of animal numbers and usage of an area, an automated technology has been developed to monitor and characterize large animal concentrations. This automated technology provides information on population size, movement behavior characteristics, and other behavioral aspects of the target species.
  • Restoration Monitoring Metric Framework: Integrating Innovative Remote-Sensing Technologies: Comparisons between Field and Remotely Sensed Vegetation Surveys of Restored Forested and Grassland Sites in Ohio

    Abstract: Restoration monitoring is generally perceived as costly and time-consuming, yet the concept of universal restoration monitoring metrics is trending for evaluation of restoration performance across spatial scales, project boundaries, and jurisdictions. Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) practitioners seek to restore natural resources injured by oil spills or hazardous substance releases into the environment. Therefore, a multiagency team [US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), US Department of the Interior (DOI), and US Department of Energy (DOE)] developed and field-tested a multitiered monitoring framework, illustrating a range of field and remote-sensing techniques and methodologies. The restoration monitoring framework and field demonstration offer a unique methodology to acquire and evaluate simultaneously collected, multiscale/multiplatform data. The result of this research provides new insights to (1) assist planning, implementing, and monitoring restoration progress and effectiveness; and (2) apply common monitoring methods, endpoints, and metrics to other types of ecosystem restoration initiatives. Although the aim was to inform monitoring and management of areas that had been injured, these methods could also be used to inform restoration monitoring practices in a broader context, benefiting environmental stewardship missions of all project partners.
  • Remote Monitoring of Cathodic Protection Systems on Navigable Waterways

    Abstract: Cathodic protection is one of the main modes of corrosion prevention for structures in navigable waterways. The rectifier output voltage must be in a specific range to provide effective protection against corrosion. This effort was designed to monitor, predict, and stabilize the efficacy of multiple cathodic protection systems. Copper/copper-sulfate half-cell electrode sensors, water quality sensors, and gauges for rectifier output were connected to modems at multiple locks so the data could be analyzed to create a predictive maintenance algorithm.
  • Bathymetric Inversion from Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Video on Inland Waters, Port Huron, Michigan

    Abstract: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) presents a proof of concept for the use of the cBathy algorithm to estimate bathymetry in an inland water environment. The document summarizes the methods used in collecting and analyzing stationary UAS (unmanned aircraft system) video taken at the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse Park in Port Huron, Michigan, a shoreline overseen by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District (LRE). The results presented in this report show that the cBathy algorithm has the potential to measure bathymetry in areas of inland water with sufficient fetch to generate wind swell, similar to how cBathy has been used in open-coast nearshore environments.
  • Evaluating Topographic Reconstruction Accuracy of Planet Lab’s Stereo Satellite Imagery

    Abstract: The goal of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to document initial results to derive topography on the beachface in the northern Outer Banks, North Carolina, utilizing Planet Labs’ SkySat stereo panchromatic imagery processed in Agisoft Metashape. This technical note will provide an initial evaluation into whether Planet Lab’s SkySat imagery is a suitable image source for satellite Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms as well as whether these data should be explored as a federal beach project monitoring tool. Depending on required accuracy, these data have the potential to aid coastal scientists, managers, and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) engineers in understanding the now-state of their coastlines and employ cost-effective adaptive management techniques.