Environmental risk mapping of physical cultural heritage using an unmanned aerial remote sensing system: A case study of the Huang-Wei monument in Kinmen, Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Many studies have discussed the multiple risks to cultural heritage sites, however literature that discusses the threat of soil moisture penetrating into physical cultural heritage sites are extremely rare. In this paper, an unmanned aerial remote sensing system (UARSS) was employed to acquire images of the surroundings of the Huang-Wei monument, a physical cultural heritage site in Kinmen, Taiwan, which was coupled with a soil moisture examination in situ to produce thematic maps of soil moisture. The relationships among weather factors, including temperature, relative humidity, wind, and precipitation, as well as terrain factors, were analyzed to establish an environmental risk assessment model. A spatial analysis based on the environmental risk assessment model was implemented in a GIS environment to produce environmental risk maps for the Huang-Wei monument. A field survey demonstrated that the environmental risk maps were reliable and displayed the potential environmental risks to the Huang-Wei monument.