Ashworth, P.; Nicholas, A. ; Parsons, D.; Sambrook Smith, G.
Digital Surface Models for the South Saskatchewan River, Canada
Cite this dataset as:
Ashworth, P.; Nicholas, A. ; Parsons, D.; Sambrook Smith, G. (2019). Digital Surface Models for the South Saskatchewan River, Canada. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/13695138-227f-4d85-9049-0a9cba9e1867
Download/Access
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This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
https://doi.org/10.5285/13695138-227f-4d85-9049-0a9cba9e1867
Data were collected in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to provide Digital Surface Models (DSM) for two sections of the South Saskatchewan River, Canada. DSMs were generated using aerial plane images with a 0.06m ground resolution, captured at a height of c. 1500 m from a fixed-wing aeroplane with an UltraCamXp sensor. DSMs were generated as part of NERC project NE/L00738X/1. DSMs were constructed using imagery obtained on four occasions (13th May 2015; 2nd Sept 2016; 8th June 2017; and 12th June 2017). The dataset consists of eight DSMs; one for each of the two river sections on each of the four dates.
Publication date: 2019-10-29
View numbers valid from 01 June 2023 Download numbers valid from 20 June 2024 (information prior to this was not collected)
Format
txt
Spatial information
Study area
Spatial representation type
Tabular (text)
Spatial reference system
WGS 84 / UTM zone 13N
Temporal information
Temporal extent
2015-05-13 to 2017-06-12
Provenance & quality
DSMs were constructed to provide information on the morphology or the river, and changes in morphology through time (e.g. due to erosion and deposition of sediment). DSMs were constructed using imagery obtained on four occasions (13th May 2015; 2nd Sept 2016; 8th June 2017; and 12th June 2017). The dataset consists of eight DSMs; one for each of the two river sections on each of the four dates.
The DSM was constructed from photogrammetric quality aerial plane images with a 0.06m ground resolution that were captured at a height of c. 1500 m from a fixed-wing aeroplane with an UltraCamXp sensor. The DSM was constructed from the images using a three stage process:
(1) An orthomosaic was generated from the aerial photography (using up to 160 images) by automated image matching using the SfM program Pix4D (https://pix4d.com/) with the 'large frame' supplementary software package. Bundle adjustment was undertaken using Pix4D’s key point matching system optimised for aerial nadir imagery. Camera properties were specified using calibration certificates and were not allowed to vary during the calculation. A point cloud was then derived following the bundle adjustment.
(2) The point cloud was checked for residual tilt using a network of Ground Control Points with coordinates that were determined by RTK differential GPS survey. The corrected point cloud density was reduced to a resolution of 0.5 m and the resulting dataset was filtered in MATLAB using a Chauvenet-type criterion. This procedure was implemented to derive the DSM in dry (non-submerged) areas of the river.
(3) In wet (submerged) areas, bed elevations were derived using a depth-brightness model as follows. First, water surface elevations at the interface between wet and dry areas of the river bed were extracted from the corrected point cloud and interpolated to generate a water surface elevation field for the submerged bed areas. Second, water depth measurements made at the time of image acquisition were located on the orthomosaic of the river, and pixel brightness values were extracted at these locations. A log-linear regression between water depth and pixel brightness was then derived, and this relationship was used to model water depth for all sub-merged bed areas. Bed elevations in these areas were determined by subtracting the predicted depth from the water surface elevation. The final DSM was derived by combining elevation values for the dry and wet bed areas.
The DSM was constructed from photogrammetric quality aerial plane images with a 0.06m ground resolution that were captured at a height of c. 1500 m from a fixed-wing aeroplane with an UltraCamXp sensor. The DSM was constructed from the images using a three stage process:
(1) An orthomosaic was generated from the aerial photography (using up to 160 images) by automated image matching using the SfM program Pix4D (https://pix4d.com/) with the 'large frame' supplementary software package. Bundle adjustment was undertaken using Pix4D’s key point matching system optimised for aerial nadir imagery. Camera properties were specified using calibration certificates and were not allowed to vary during the calculation. A point cloud was then derived following the bundle adjustment.
(2) The point cloud was checked for residual tilt using a network of Ground Control Points with coordinates that were determined by RTK differential GPS survey. The corrected point cloud density was reduced to a resolution of 0.5 m and the resulting dataset was filtered in MATLAB using a Chauvenet-type criterion. This procedure was implemented to derive the DSM in dry (non-submerged) areas of the river.
(3) In wet (submerged) areas, bed elevations were derived using a depth-brightness model as follows. First, water surface elevations at the interface between wet and dry areas of the river bed were extracted from the corrected point cloud and interpolated to generate a water surface elevation field for the submerged bed areas. Second, water depth measurements made at the time of image acquisition were located on the orthomosaic of the river, and pixel brightness values were extracted at these locations. A log-linear regression between water depth and pixel brightness was then derived, and this relationship was used to model water depth for all sub-merged bed areas. Bed elevations in these areas were determined by subtracting the predicted depth from the water surface elevation. The final DSM was derived by combining elevation values for the dry and wet bed areas.
Licensing and constraints
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
Cite this dataset as:
Ashworth, P.; Nicholas, A. ; Parsons, D.; Sambrook Smith, G. (2019). Digital Surface Models for the South Saskatchewan River, Canada. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/13695138-227f-4d85-9049-0a9cba9e1867
© Natural Environment Research Council
Related
This dataset is included in the following collections
Modelling how sediment suspension controls the morphology and evolution of sand-bed rivers
Citations
Strick, R.J.P., Ashworth, P.J., Sambrook Smith, G.H., Nicholas, A.P., Best, J.L., Lane, S.N., Parsons, D. R., Simpson, C.J., Unsworth, C.A., and Dale, J. (2019). Quantification of bedform dynamics and bedload sediment flux in sandy braided rivers from airborne and satellite imagery. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms, 44: 953-972. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4558
Correspondence/contact details
Authors
Ashworth, P.
University of Brighton
Nicholas, A.
University of Exeter
Parsons, D.
University of Hull
Other contacts
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk
Publisher
NERC Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk