Measuring channel and gully cross-sections with an airborne laser altimeter

✍ Scribed by Jerry C. Ritchie; Earl H. Grissinger; Joseph B. Murphey; Jurgen D. Garbrecht

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 423 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6087
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.3360080305

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A laser altimeter, making 4000 measurements per second, was used to measure channel and gully morphology. The laser measurements provide quick, accurate and readily obtained data on the cross‐section and morphology of channels and gullies in relation to the adjacent landscape. Although ground based techniques can be used to make these measurements, using a laser altimeter mounted in an aircraft allows data to be collected faster, with greater density and detail, and in areas with limited access for ground surveys.

The laser altimeter data are valuable for measuring channel and gully cross‐sections and roughness in relation to the surrounding landscape, for assessing soil loss from gullies and channels, and for providing input to the understanding of gully and channel dynamics in the landscape.