21 D1. Advances in Geomorphology and Quaternary Geology (Posters)

Sunday, 15 October 2023
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Hall B

UAV AND GROUND-BASED PHOTOGRAMMETRY APPLICATIONS FOR USE IN BOULDER MASS DISTRIBUTION FOLLOWING MORAINE-DAMMED LAKE FAILURES IN NORTHERN PATAGONIA

Paper number: 21-24
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

There is an increasing risk of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) hazards due to global environment change. As a result, new and efficient methods of studying GLOF mass distribution are becoming increasingly important to develop. This study investigated the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ground-based imagery to measure the mass of boulders deposited by a GLOF. The study was conducted in the upper Soler Valley, Northern Patagonia, Chile. The researchers used a DJI Mavic 2 Hasselblad UAV drone, Pix4DMapper, and Pix4DCatch software to construct 3D models of boulders. The 3D modeled boulders were used to determine factors of volume for boulder mass calculations. The mass of the boulders was calculated using volume estimates from Pix4DMapper. Results showed that the 3D models generated were accurate and detailed to a resolution of 2 in/pixel. The study showed that even with some likely inaccurate volume estimations, the boulders still showed the predicted decrease in mass with increased distance from the glacial lake. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of UAV and ground-based imagery for measuring the mass of boulders following glacial lake outburst floods.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-393388

© Copyright 2023 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.