The use of LiDAR in applied interpretive landform mapping for natural resource management, Murray River alluvial plain, Australia*

Abstract

High resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) have proved an invaluable tool for landform mapping along the alluvium of the Murray River in southern Australia. They are a key part of an integrated approach to addressing salinity, land management and groundwater resource issues on the Murray River alluvial plain when used in conjunction with satellite imagery, airborne and ground geophysics, and surface and borehole information on soils and sediments. This article describes the processing and application of LiDAR DEMs to the Murray River alluvial plain and how this has informed concepts of landform architecture in the region and confirmed and elaborated on earlier studies. In particular the LiDAR data show how the landform architecture of the Murray River alluvial plain changes dramatically downstream, from the unconfined depositional landscapes of the Riverine Plain to being increasingly confined to an incised valley downstream.