Hayakawa et al. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-018-0246-x(2018) 5:88

Progress in Earth andPlanetary SciencePREFACE

Open AccessPreface to the special issue “High-definition
topographic and geophysical data ingeosciences”
Yuichi S. Hayakawa1*, Thad A. Wasklewicz2, Hiroyuki Obanawa3 and Shigekazu Kusumoto4
Preface
Recent technological developments in high-definition
data collection of earth surface topography and geophysical properties have led to advances in measuring earth
surface processes and dynamics. Here, the term “highdefinition” includes but does not infer “high resolution.”
Higher resolution data often provides more detailed information. However, high-resolution data might also
introduce more noise, capture denser information thanis required to represent a feature and/or its 4D properties, or may inhibit the explanation of a phenomenon atlarger scales. There are also locations currently being explored where high-resolution data collection is not possible yet because the technology does not exist. For
example, the ability to obtain even low-resolution bathymetric data in previously inaccessible areas, like deep
oceanic and lacustrine environments, can be innovativeand reveal unknown features. Therefore, “high-definition
data” may comprise a range of resolutions. High-definition data are those data that lead scientists to new analyses of the Earth’s surface and permit novel findingsthat advance the geosciences. Applications ofhigh-definition or high-resolution data are often foundin both temporal and spatial contexts, such as chronology (Ishizawa et al. 2017), palaeoenvironments (Landais et al. 2015), meteorology (Harris et al. 2014; Ushio etal. 2015), subsurface geology (Cella and Fedi 2015; Ito etal. 2018), and surface morphology (Oguchi et al. 2013;
Tarolli 2014). The theory, acquisition, processing, modeling, and analysis of high-definition data are progressing
rapidly in geosciences (Passalacqua et al. 2015). Furthermore, there is increasing demand for well-documented
datasets and open-source tools, which are crucial forfurther advances in science and the instrumentation.
* Correspondence: hayakawa@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp
1
Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5 Kita-ku,
Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

This SPEPS (SPecial call for Excellent Papers on hot
topicS) contains seven research papers that are invitedas the state-of-the-art articles in the use ofhigh-definition topographic and geophysical data. Several of these articles were presented in the thematic session of the Japanese Geoscience Union annual meetingof 2017. The session was dedicated to the applications ofhigh-definition topographic and geophysical data in arange of geosciences, and the main objective of thepresent special issue is a wide description of innovativeresearch on high-definition topographic and geophysicaldata for both the technical issues and geoscientific applications. Various sensors are used in the methodologies,
including laser scanning, SfM-MVS (structure-from-motion multi-view stereo) photogrammetry, GNSS (global
navigation satellite system) positioning, SAR (syntheticaperture radar) interferometry, gravity, and electromagnetic sensors, based on terrestrial, aerial, or aquatic platforms. Some of the representative ones are terrestrial
laser scanning (TLS), unmanned aerial system (UAS),
and subsurface geophysical measurements. TLS andUAS provide high-density point clouds of land surface,
whose data are often utilized in the form of digital elevation model (DEM) or digital surface model (DSM).
Geophysical approaches, including gravity measurementswith a higher resolution, can be applied to reveal detailed underground structures which are invisible fromthe surface. The topics of the papers range from theoretical examinations to practical applications.
Wasklewicz et al. (2017) proposed a theoretical framework of the uncertainty estimation for various sensor
measurements of topographic data, including conventional low-resolution DEMs and high-resolution laser
scanning or photogrammetric datasets. The work was
specifically designed to increase the capability of topographic change detection using different sources of topographic data by evaluating theoretical and actual errors
over space and time. The findings highlight the strong© The Author(s). 2018 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, andreproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Hayakawa et al. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science(2018) 5:88

potential for the use of legacy datasets in detecting
long-term topographic changes.
Recent landscape changes can also be captured via
high-definition platforms, such as TLS and UAS to produce new insights into landscape evolution in area experiencing seismic activity. TLS was used to detect subtle
ground displacement at a centimeter scale in a mud volcano (Hayakawa et al. 2017). An active mud volcano often
reacts to a large seismic shake with its surface uplift, but
the authors revealed that the mud volcano also actively“breathe” with frequent uplift and subsidence even whenno shake is present in the region. Such temporal variationsin the mud volcano activities will be further explored with
subsurface information to reveal its detailed structure andmechanisms. Saito et al. (2018) explored the topographic
changes of landslide-prone areas with a particularemphasis on the effects of a severe earthquake, using
high-definition topographic data derived from UASphotogrammetry. They found landslides triggered by theearthquake are much deeper when compared to thosecaused by heavy rainfall. The difference likely reflects theamplification of seismic acceleration in relationship to thetopographic conditions.
Another advantage of the high-definition topographic
data obtained by TLS and UAS-photogrammetry is thecapability of analyses by the 3D structure of landscapes.
Obanawa and Hayakawa (2018) quantified the volume of
3D polygons representing changed portions in coastal
bedrock cliffs, based on the 3D point clouds taken byboth TLS and UAS-SfM photogrammetry. The timing
and volume of the eroded rock mass were recorded, andpossible causal mechanisms, such as oceanic wave attacks and earthquakes, were explored to provide a deeper understanding of this dynamic environment. Thefindings indicate the wave attacks are more effective in
triggering rockfalls than earthquakes, while the otherfactors including gradual weakening of rock strength byweathering may also affect the stochastic erosion.
Photogrammetric approaches designed to acquire
high-definition topographic data are quick and versatile.
Gomez and Purdie (2018) demonstrated the capability ofquick hazard assessments using high-definition topographic data derived from photogrammetry of aerial images. The images were taken from a UAS and a manned
helicopter in rockfall-prone areas in New Zealand, whererapidly degrading glaciers cause the severe conditions ofmountain slopes despite the presence of attractive hiking
tracks. They showed that a quick data acquisition andrough estimates by simple simulation are critical to protecting people visiting such spectacular, but potentially
dangerous natural areas.
The objects of topographic measurement are not only
on terrestrial surfaces, but also can be identified foraquatic and subsurface areas. Yamasaki et al. (2017)

Page 2 of 3

proposed a novel way to acquire the morphological dataof subaqueous sediment surface using a low-cost portable sonar initially designed for the detection of fish. An
acoustic approach was demonstrated for a lake bottom
mound likely caused by landslides. As an application ofhigh-definition geophysical data, Kusumoto (2017) derived the gravity gradient tensor from dense gravity survey data carried out along a profile and estimated thedip angle of a fault in a sedimentary basin using its
eigenvector. The author concludes this is a practicalmethod to estimate the fault dip from gravity anomalies
from high-definition gravity measurements.
The papers presented in this special issue are only a partof the growing field of the high-definition data acquisition
and applications, but each study shows advances to thefield of geoscience. The advances, in conjunction with thefree access to the special issue articles in this open journal,
provide a valuable outlet to increasing demand to sharesuch high-definition geoscientific data in an open platform. The PEPS platform provides an integral international venue to achieve the transfer of cutting-edgeknowledge on a variety of topics of relevance to thebroader Earth science community. The diversity of topics
covered in this issue and others should appeal to researchers trying to piece together the heterogeneous nature environmental change across our planet and others.
FundingThis work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP17H02031 andJP16KK0012.
Authors’ contributions
All authors wrote and approved this final manuscript.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims inpublished maps and institutional affiliations.
Author details
1
Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, N10W5 Kita-ku,
Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan. 2Department of Geography, Planningand Environment, East Carolina University, Brewster Building A227, Greenville,
NC 27858, USA. 3Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture
and Food Research Organization, 1 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo,
Hokkaido 062-8555, Japan. 4Graduate School of Science and Engineering for
Research, University of Toyama, 3910 Gofuku, Toyama 930-8555, Japan.
Received: 26 November 2018 Accepted: 26 November 2018

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