Soil, Water and Air Support

Geospatial technologies have been utilized for years to delineate and quantify riparian and wetland boundaries, vegetation, and other land characteristics. Utilizing imagery and sound photogrammetry techniques, accurate measurements can be made and detailed terrain models can be created. Imagery from a variety of sensors and platforms, including aerial photography, satellites, and even consumer digital cameras can be utilized effectively.

Advancements in close range photogrammetry techniques and software, along with high resolution digital cameras, have created new uses for the technology. Some of the applications being investigated include soil erosion and sediment transport in active OHV areas. Future studies are planned for monitoring soil erosion on energy development and post-fire restoration sites, and to correlate biological soil crust microtopography to runoff rates. Read more about the process in A Photogrammetric Method for Collection Three-Dimensional Soil Surface Data.