LiDAR to the Rescue: A severe ice storm in Russia leads to re-evaluation of ROW status and vegetation management practices

摘要

From Dec. 25, 2010, to Jan, 10, 2011, several regions of Russian, including the city of Moscow and the surrounding district, were affected by an unusual meteorological event. Freezing rain resulted in a coating of glazed ice on overhead line conductors and towers as well as the crowns of trees located close to the rights-of-way (ROW) through forests. The ice glaze accumulated to a thickness of 25 mm to 30 mm (1 inch to 1.2 inches) in some parts; in the Ulyanovsk and Samara regions, the thickness was 35 mm to 40 mm (1.4 inches to 1.6 inches), exceeding, by a factor of four to seven, the estimated rate of ice accretion for that of previous events.