Applications of Topo-Bathymetric LiDAR in the coastal zone

Previous airborne bathymetric lidar sensors were large and expensive and concentrated on mapping as deep as possible using a combination of near-infrared and green lasers.

This talk will present the Chiroptera II, a new shallow water topo-bathymetric lidar sensor owned by the NSCC that is designed to collect seamless elevation data from land to the submerged terrain under coastal or freshwater.

In addition to collecting the elevation at high resolution ~ 1m and vertical precision ~ 15 cm, the intensity of the reflected green laser also provides insights into what is on the seabed and can be exploited for mapping.

A 60 MPIX RCD30 camera capable of capturing NIR and RGB bands of imagery is co-aligned with the lidar sensor to provide additional data that can be directly georeferenced and used with the lidar for mapping and engineering applications.

The AGRG Coastal Research Team have conducted several surveys in the Maritimes since 2014. Various applications of these data will be presented including mapping submerged aquatic vegetation, input to hydrodynamic model simulations, and shoreline sensitivity mapping.

Dr. Tim Webster, Research Scientist
Applied Geomatics Research Group
Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) – NSCC

Tim is a research scientist with the Applied Geomatics Research Group at the Nova Scotia Community College in Middleton, NS. His research focus is mapping, monitoring and modeling processes in the coastal zone. He is the principal investigator of a recent Canada Foundation for Innovation Award to obtain a topo-bathymetric lidar to support coastal and aquatic research. 

He is the 2010 recipient of the Gulf of Maine Council Visionary Award, and obtained his PhD from Dalhousie University in 2006, MSc from Acadia in 1996, Advanced Diploma from the College of Geographic Sciences (now part of NSCC) in 1988, and a BSc from UNB in 1987. He was a faculty member at the Centre of Geographic Sciences teaching remote sensing and GIS from 1991 to 2000 until moving into the role as research scientist.