31 Aug 2022

Photographic Aerial Transects of Fort Wainwright, Alaska

Abstract: This report presents the results of low-altitude photographic transects conducted over the training areas of US Army Garrison Fort Wainwright, in the boreal biome of central Alaska, to document baseline land-cover conditions. Flights were conducted via a Cessna™ 180 on two flight paths over portions of the Tanana Flats, Yukon, and Donnelly Training Areas and covered 486 mi (782 km) while documenting GPS waypoints. Nadir photographs were made with two GoPro™ cameras operating at 5 sec time-lapse intervals and with a handheld digital camera for oblique imagery. This yielded 6,063 GoPro photos and 706 oblique photos. Each image was intersected with a land-cover-classification map, collectively representing 38 of the 44 cover categories.

29 Sep 2020

Using Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and Satellite Imagery to Map Aquatic and Terrestrial Vegetation

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the application potential of using unmanned aerial systems (UAS) combined with a time series of moderately high-resolution satellite imagery for mapping ecological restoration progress and resulting land cover changes. This technical note addresses a project under the US Army Corps of Engineers Ecosystem Management and Restoration Research Project (EMRRP) focusing on image acquisition and assessment, digital image processing techniques, analytical methodology, geospatial product development, and documentation of best practice for future data acquisition and analysis in support of ecological management efforts.