Abstract
The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) on wetlands is becoming a common survey technique that is extremely useful for understanding tidal flats and salt marshes. However, its implementation is not straightforward because of the complexity of the environment and fieldwork conditions. This paper presents the morphological evolution of the Po della Pila tidal flat in the municipality of Porto Tolle (Italy) and discusses the reliability of UAV-derived Digital Surface Models (DSMs) for such environments. Four UAV surveys were performed between October 2018 and February 2020 on an 8 ha young tidal flat that was generated, amongst others, as a consequence of the massive sediment injection into the Po Delta system due to the floods of the 1950s and 1960s. The DSM accuracy was tested by processing (i.e., photogrammetry) diverse sets of pictures taken at different altitudes during the same survey day. The DSMs and the orthophotos show that the tidal flat is characterised by several crevasse splays and that the sediment provision depends strictly on the river. During the study period, the sediment budget was positive (gaining 800 m3/year and an average rate of vertical changes of 1.3 cm/year). Comparisons of DSMs demonstrated that neither lower flight altitudes (i.e., 20–100 m) nor the combination of more photos from different flights during the same surveys necessarily reduce the error in such environments. However, centimetric errors (i.e., RMSEs) are achievable flying at 80–100 m, as the increase of GCP (Ground Control Point) density is the most effective solution for enhancing the resolution. Guidelines are suggested for implementing high-quality UAV surveys in wetlands.
Highlights
Published: 13 June 2021Coastal environments are continuously modified by intense processes like waves, wind, tidal currents combined with biological and, more often, anthropological, factors.Their interactions cause a very rapid evolution of these systems, making it necessary to acquire high-resolution data in short-time intervals in order to quantify and interpret the mechanisms behind morphological changes
Tidal flats are non-vegetated muddy or sandy surfaces located in the intertidal fringe [1]; their upper portion usually develops when saltwater vegetation grows at elevations around the mean high tide [2] in low-energy and temperate coastlines [3,4], except for mangroves forests that develop in tropical coasts [5]
The largest crevasse splay is located in the central-east zone and it is built up by both east inlets (Figure 4b in yellow); this sedimentary structure is visible in the orthophoto of February
Summary
Coastal environments are continuously modified by intense processes like waves, wind, tidal currents combined with biological and, more often, anthropological, factors. Their interactions cause a very rapid evolution of these systems, making it necessary to acquire high-resolution data in short-time intervals in order to quantify and interpret the mechanisms behind morphological changes. The shape and extension of the flats are primarily connected to the tidal range and are typically characterised by tidal creeks that work as an exchange route for water and sediment between the main channels and the plain itself. The sediment grain size increases with proximity to the creek margin, depending on the intensity of the flood exceeding the elevation of the creek’s levees [6,7,8].
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