What question did this study set out to answer?

Evaluate the effectiveness of various 3D mapping techniques for monitoring sand dunes in coastal environments.

January 6, 2026Land0 citationsOpen Access

GNSS NRTK, UAS-Based SfM Photogrammetry, TLS and HMLS Data for a 3D Survey of Sand Dunes in the Area of Caleri (Po River Delta, Italy)

MFMassimo FabrisUniversity of Padua MMMichele Monego

Key Points

Evaluate the effectiveness of various 3D mapping techniques for monitoring sand dunes in coastal environments.
Used GNSS with NRTK for 3D point acquisition
Implemented UAS-based structure-from-motion photogrammetry
Employed terrestrial laser scanning and handheld mobile laser scanning
Collected georeferenced point clouds using ground control points
Compared accuracy and performance of different data acquisition techniques
Point clouds were produced with standard deviations of differences lower than 9.3 cm
GNSS NRTK captured bare-ground surfaces but at lower resolution
Photogrammetry provided similar averages to TLS, with variations due to vegetation density

Abstract

Coastal environments are fragile ecosystems threatened by various factors, both natural and anthropogenic. The preservation and protection of these environments, and in particular, the sand dune systems, which contribute significantly to the defense of the inland from flooding, require continuous monitoring. To this end, high-resolution and high-precision multitemporal data acquired with various techniques can be used, such as, among other things, the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) using the network real-time kinematic (NRTK) approach to acquire 3D points, UAS-based structure-from-motion photogrammetry (SfM), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and handheld mobile laser scanning (HMLS)-based light detection and ranging (LiDAR). These techniques were used in this work for the 3D survey of a portion of vegetated sand dunes in the Caleri area (Po River Delta, northern Italy) to assess their applicability in complex environments such as coastal vegetated dune systems. Aerial-based and ground-based acquisitions allowed us to produce point clouds, georeferenced using common ground control points (GCPs), measured both with the GNSS NRTK method and the total station technique. The 3D data were compared to each other to evaluate the accuracy and performance of the different techniques. The results provided good agreement between the different point clouds, as the standard deviations of the differences were lower than 9.3 cm. The GNSS NRTK technique, used with the kinematic approach, allowed for the acquisition of the bare-ground surface but at a cost of lower resolution. On the other hand, the HMLS represented the poorest ability in the penetration of vegetation, providing 3D points with the highest elevation value. UAS-based and TLS-based point clouds provided similar average values, with significant differences only in dense vegetation caused by a very different platform of acquisition and point of view.

问 AI

Bookmark

View Full Paper