Methodology for performing bathymetric measurements of shallow waterbodies using an UAV, and their processing based on the SVR algorithm

Abstract

State-of-art methods of bathymetric measurements for shallow waterbodies use Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, bathymetric Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor or satellite imagery. Currently, photogrammetric methods with the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are gathering great importance. This publication aims to present step-by-step methodology for carrying out the bathymetric measurements of shallow waterbodies with the use of UAV-Structure from Motion (SfM) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) algorithms. Proposed model is explained and verified on the basis of measurement campaign on Raduńskie Górne Lake located in Poland. The campaign included GNSS Real Time Kinematic (RTK) bathymetric measurements for robust training dataset and photogrammetric flight pass for SfM point cloud. The presented methodology will allow to perform bathymetric measurements with the accuracy provided for the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Special Order (horizontal position error ≤ 2 m (p = 0.95), vertical position error ≤ 0.25 m (p = 0.95)).