English

Abstract

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) have reviewed the costs and benefits of two very different types of data gathering to accomplish a specific mission. The agencies generated cross sections of large land disturbances using Trimble Geo Explorer series GPS receiver units ranging from the submeter GeoXT with EVERESTTM multipath rejection technology to the GeoXH with Trimble H-StarTM and optional ZephyrTM external antenna capable of approximately 25 cm. vertical accuracy post processed. Next, they tested the suitability of Lidar data for the same purposes and generated projected cost using that method on the same sites. The potential use of photogrammetry was also considered. By maintaining an accounting of all the time associated with both methods, the agencies gained a better perspective on the costs and benefits of these technologies for future decisions. In this project, the mission involved comparing pre, proposed and final graded slopes on eight large surface mines in steep slopes in West Virginia as part of the review of “Approximate Original Contour “ requirements under the coal mining regulatory program. The agencies found that use of remote sensing technologies, such as aerial based Lidar, can be a cost savings over obtaining digital information using GPS field devices on the ground. Additional