Remote Sensing
The automated monitoring technologies and applications approach envisions implementation of many findings and remote sensing technologies recommended to the Technical Work Group in the final report from the remote sensing initiative. The suggested suite of remote sensing technologies and selected applications includes:
- multi-spectral and panchromatic digital imagery (ranging from 44cm and 22cm, respectively, to 18cm and 12.5cm spatial resolutions) together with digital elevation data (1 meter spatial resolution) derived from automated photogrammetry, whose analysis was automated in 2003 to produce terrestrial vegetation and fine-grained sediment inventories,
- very high resolution LiDAR (7 to 14 points per square meter), whose analysis may be automated to produce survey-accurate, terrestrial sand bar morphologies and vegetation canopies, and
- hydrographic LiDAR (3 meter spatial resolution) and multi-beam sonar (up to 2 cm spatial resolution), whose analysis may be automated to produce both macro and micro-scale bathymetry and channel-bottom sediment-type classifications.
Currently, the GCMRC proposes to support data collection overflight missions on a quadrennial basis, collecting:
- canyon-wide multi-spectral digital imagery as part of core monitoring activities within the CRE.
- digital elevation data (1 meter spatial resolution) derived from automated photogrammetry
Additionally, the potential does exist to utilize other remote sensing technologies such as multi-beam sonar mapping, hydrographic LiDAR and very high resolution LiDAR data in support of experimental actions for monitoring change to macro- and micro-scale channel morphology, vegetation and fine-grained sediment resources.