Digital Surface Mapping
Geology, Geography, and Historical Architectural survey.
These beautiful box canyons near Bluff, UT, were once used for cattle ranching. The area is now part of the Episcopal Mission and Navajo Church, historically a valuable center for the Bluff communities. Water, communication, and connection to the families on the nearby Navajo reservation were invaluable contributions to local history. The structures were mapped in greater detail by a second drone mission; this digital elevation map highlights the stark contrast of the upper Bluff Bench sandstone and the San Juan River bottomlands where the structures reside.
This map was derived from a photogrammetry mission with the Freefly Astro using a 61 megapixel Sony camera to create a feature and detail rich dense point cloud. A 3D mesh model also reveals great perspectives on the landscape.
Precision of geolocation and elevation were carried out with a Reach RS2 base station used for PPK correction of the camera coordinates. The particular drone mission was on the order of 100 acres - though this view shows a smaller area of interest.
Southwest Topography
The San Juan River channel is dominated by the Bluff Bench slick rock on both sides. The surface derived from this dense point cloud is a digital surface map with very little vegetaion - essentially a digital elevation map (DEM - shown above, color coded by elevation). The DSM contains more than 800 million points with a sub centimeter pixel resolution for relative position.
Digital 3D mesh model with texture
The 3D model of the area is strikingly realistic. It highlights the value of being able to visually and materially survey a site from an aerial position well above the permissible flight level of data collection by the drone mapping mission. The photogrammetry derived model is higher resolution than most lidar scan missions and provides a detailed documentary record of the survey site.