Abstract
This article presents a case study that demonstrates the applicability of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetric data to land surface deformation monitoring in areas affected by underground mining. The results presented include data from two objects located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Poland. The limits of coordinate and displacement accuracy are determined by comparing UAV-derived photogrammetric products to reference data. Vertical displacements are determined based on differences between digital surface models created using UAV imagery from several measurement series. Interpretation problems related to vegetation growth on the terrain surface that significantly affect vertical displacement error are pointed out. Horizontal displacements are determined based on points of observation lines established in the field for monitoring purposes, as well as based on scattered situational details. The use of this type of processing is limited by the need for unambiguous situational details with clear contours. Such details are easy to find in urbanized areas but difficult to find in fields and meadows. In addition, various types of discontinuous deformations are detected and their development over time is presented. The results are compared to forecasted land deformations. As a result of the data processing, it has been estimated that the accuracy of the determination of XY coordinates and the horizontal displacements (RMS) in best case scenario is on the level of 1.5–2 GSD, and about 2–3 GSD for heights and subsidence.
Highlights
Surface deformations caused by underground mining operations constitute a significant source of danger to building structures [1,2,3,4,5]
The research presented in this paper describes the spectrum of possibilities for use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to monitor areas affected by mining operations
Analysis of the results indicates that the Root Mean Square Errors (RMS) accuracy of determination of horizontal coordinates is approximately 3–5 cm at the Piekary site (Table 2) and 1.5 cm at the Jaworzno site
Summary
Surface deformations caused by underground mining operations constitute a significant source of danger to building structures [1,2,3,4,5]. For this reason, they have been subject to geodetic observations for many decades. The need to minimize financial and time expenditures means that the number of such profiles observed is usually small and their location is often adjusted to fit the existing road network Despite their advantages, the results of such measurements offer only a limited picture of deformation development
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