## 3 UAV Applications in Climate Change Research
### UAVs in Climate Change Research
The findings emphasize the importance of developing UAV and photogrammetric innovations to support frequent, precise 3D urban infrastructure mapping to inform data-driven policies for sustainable city growth and resilience. Additionally, UAVs with multispectral imagery have been used to assess losses as a result of herbicide-induced stress by monitoring decreased vegetation greenness as indicative of stress [130]. Furthermore, UAVs have found numerous applications in Antarctic environmental research. By capturing detailed imagery and data, UAVs provide valuable insights into the impacts of climate change on Antarctic ecosystems, including changes in vegetation distribution, ice dynamics, and wildlife habitats [131]. UAVs have been used to monitor erosion and sediment control practices [124]. In addition, UAVs have been deployed to assist in mapping shrubland structural attributes, monitoring grassland ecosystems, and studying cryogenic components, such as glaciers and ice shelves [132]. Using UAVs in Antarctic environmental research has enhanced data collection capabilities, improved spatial resolution, and the enabled efficient monitoring and assessment of the unique and fragile Antarctic environment. UAVs have proven useful for mapping the erosion and accretion patterns in coastal environments vulnerable to sea-level rise. A study in Ghana combined LiDAR elevation  
Figure 10: Summary of UAV applications in climate change research. data and visual imagery to analyze shoreline changes from extreme storms [133]. UAVs also enable the rapid assessment of coastal flooding extents during storm surges and tide cycles using visual cameras or thermal sensors to identify inundated areas [134]. These high-resolution shoreline data help improve coastal flood modeling and predictions. In the domain of emission monitoring, researchers have used UAV-based methane detection and quantification to track wetland emissions and offshore gas seeps [135]. Moreover, multiple studies have utilized UAVs to measure carbon dioxide concentrations and fluxes in complex urban environments [136; 137; 138]. Such flexible aerial sampling can improve emissions inventories and our understanding of climate feedback. Furthermore, UAVs equipped with gas sensors have been used to monitor and evaluate the environmental impacts of specific industries, such as mining operations. These UAV-based monitoring systems enable the measurement of greenhouse gases and particulate matter, providing insights into the emissions generated by mining activities and their potential effects on the surrounding environment [139]. UAVs are emerging as a critical tool for wildfire agencies to map active blazes and their progression in real time. Equipped with visual and infrared cameras, UAVs flown over fires provide continuous video footage and imagery to track the leading edge of the fire perimeter [140]. This helps personnel on the ground identify threatening spread directions and allocate resources effectively. Thermal sensors on UAVs enable penetrating smoke to pinpoint hotspots and flare-ups [141]. Immediate aerial views of unfolding wildfires aid the tactical planning and maintenance of responder safety. In climate hazard assessments, UAVs provide a versatile tool for studying landslide hazards and terrain instability exacerbated by climate change. High-resolution orthomosaic and digital surface model reconstructions from aerial photogrammetry enable the detection and measurement of ground deformations indicative of landslide activity [142; 143]. Furthermore, UAVs have been proven to be effective in mapping landslides in highly dense vegetation areas [144]. Combining LiDAR scans and visual data allows mapping discontinuities in rock masses to model failure potentials [145]. UAVs contribute to the characterization of rock masses by extracting the geometric properties of rock mass discontinuities, such as orientation and spacing, providing insights into the stability conditions of rock slopes [146].