Suitability of laser data for deriving geographical information: A case study in the context of management of fluvial zones
In the Netherlands, around 40% of the territory is below sea level. Rivers that flow through this land have to be constantly monitored to avoid flooding. To this end, terrain information is needed. At present, the relief information is acquired by means of photogrammetry, which makes the information expensive. Furthermore, it is estimated that at least 4 years are needed to collect the relief information of all river zones. A cheaper and faster alternative appears to be the use of laser measurements acquired from an aircraft. Thus, it is of great importance to determine if the user requirements, concerning information needed and related quality, can be fulfilled by high-density laser measurements. In this article, we assess the feasibility of using laser data to help generate a hydrodynamic model. This is needed to determine the effect of high water levels and of earthworks, such as removal of sand in river areas. The conclusion of this study is that as far as the test area is concerned, which appears to be a good representative of the fluvial regions in the Netherlands, the laser data allow one to recover the relief information needed for river management with the desired quality.
photogrammetry river management airborne laser scanning dtm