Small-Scale Airborne Data Acquisition Systems to Monitor And Map the Coastal Environment

摘要

The combination of a small-scale aircraft, global positioning system (GPS), desktop scanning technology, digital image processing(DIP), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provides a powerful tool for environmental monitoring, mapping, assessment and analysis. This paper explores the practical application ofan integrated approach using these technologies for the study of an estuary environment. 35mm filtered aerial photographs were collected for a single date. These photographs were scanned, and using accurately located ground control points(GCPs), corrected for geometric distortions, and processed using both the ERDAS and Imagine digital image processing software, for input to a GIS. The results of the study show that, despite some limitations, this technology can be successfully and uusefully integrated to provide an operational methodology for acquiring cost-effective remotely sensed data for small-scale environmental projects.