Resolution and Accuracy of an Airborne Scanning Laser System for Beach Surveys

Abstract

Abstract Airborne scanning laser technology provides an effective method to systematically survey surface topography and changes in that topography with time. In this paper, the authors describe the capability of a rapid-response lidar system in which airborne observations are utilized to describe results from a set of surveys of Narrabeen–Collaroy Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, over a short period of time during which significant erosion and deposition of the subaerial beach occurred. The airborne lidar data were obtained using a Riegl Q240i lidar coupled with a NovAtel SPAN-CPT integrated Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and inertial unit and flown at various altitudes. A set of the airborne lidar data is compared with ground-truth data acquired from the beach using a GNSS/real-time kinematic (RTK) system mounted on an all-terrain vehicle. The comparison shows consistency between systems, with the airborne lidar data being less than 0.02 m different from the ground-truth data when four surveys are undertaken, provided a method of removing outliers—developed here and designated as “weaving”—is used. The combination of airborne lidar data with ground-truth data provides an excellent method of obtaining high-quality topographic data. Using the results from this analysis, it is shown that airborne lidar data alone produce results that can be used for ongoing large-scale surveys of beaches with reliable accuracy, and that the enhanced accuracy resulting from multiple airborne surveys can be assessed quantitatively.