Exploration and Evaluation of High-Resolution Imagery for Environmental Assessment
The goal of this project is to assess potential and develop protocols for the use of high-resolution LiDAR and multi-spectral imagery to evaluate environmental characteristics of Iowa DOT (DOT) project areas. Specifically, the research team will evaluate how LiDAR and multi-spectral imagery can support the assessment of design alternatives, and if these data could help DOT staff select alternatives earlier and with less fieldwork required. In addition to capturing normal land survey and engineering data concurrently, which is invaluable to the design and project development process, the team will augment this data with high-resolution remotely obtained data. This will allow the team to assess the extent to which the following can be completed using such imagery: (a) wetland spatial extent and vegetation characterization; (b) stream channel morphology determination (depth, width, center-line location); and (c) tree assessment (tree stand density and health, individual tree heights, diameter and health). In addition to land survey data for engineering purposes, the DOT also believes this remote sensed data (in the form of high resolution multi-spectral orthoimagery and LiDAR) will provide ancillary benefit that will allow potential threatened and endangered species habitat to be identified early as well as an Archaeological Landform and Architectural Building/Setting Assessment to be investigated further through correlation of field collected data. While these additional assessments are not part of this proposal, the images and data gathered in this project will be available for future investigation. Current DOT methods for environmental assessment require a significant amount of manual and on-site work, driving up the costs and time associated with these phases of projects. This project will determine what savings might be realized through use of high-resolution imagery and what the break-even point for this type of data collection might be in terms of the size of the study area. Specifically, the team intends to evaluate the use of three types of imagery at approximately a 15-50 cm spatial resolution: standard (near infrared) LiDAR elevation and terrain data, multi spectral color (blue, green, red, and near infrared) reflectance data, and narrow-band green LiDAR imagery which penetrates into water surfaces and gives information relevant to topography under shallow water.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $199979
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Contract Numbers:
Addendum 611
17-SPR2-002
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Sponsor Organizations:
Iowa Department of Transportation
800 Lincoln Way
Ames, IA United States 50010 -
Managing Organizations:
Center for Transportation Research and Education
2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
Ames, IA United States 50010-8664 -
Project Managers:
Hofer, Brad
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Performing Organizations:
Center for Transportation Research and Education
2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
Ames, IA United States 50010-8664 -
Principal Investigators:
Kaleita-Forbes, Amy
- Start Date: 20170815
- Expected Completion Date: 20200731
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Data collection; Environmental impact analysis; Evaluation and assessment; Imagery; Laser radar
- Identifier Terms: Iowa Department of Transportation
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Environment; Transportation (General);
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01662476
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Iowa Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: Addendum 611, 17-SPR2-002
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Mar 9 2018 2:18PM