| Use of a Digital Aerial Video System to Monitor Projects of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act |
PRESENTATION
Paul C. Chadwick and Scott Wilson
USGS National Wetlands Research Center
700 Cajundome Blvd.
Lafayette, LA 70506
(Presented by Joy Marino)
Abstract
The U.S. Geological Survey's National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) in Lafayette, Louisiana, has developed an experimental digital aerial video system that uses both a color infrared video (CIRV) camera and a natural color video (NCV) camera to collect remote sensing (RS) imagery. This system has been used to acquire imagery for a number of projects at NWRC and to monitor the land-water status of several Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) terracing projects in the Vermilion Bay area. It has proven to be an effective RS monitoring tool for collecting baseline post construction land estimates, and for monitoring the status of the following projects at various stages of completion: Little Vermilion Bay Sediment Trapping (TV-12), Sediment Trapping at "The Jaws" (TV-15), Cheniere Au Tigre Sediment Trapping Demonstration (TV-16), Lake Portage Land Bridge (TV-17), and Four Mile Canal Terracing and Sediment Trapping (TV-18). This system allows project managers to acquire multi-spectral and multi-temporal imagery at various resolutions to fit the needs of individual projects. This is especially critical for monitoring small features of terracing-type projects. In addition, this system has the potential for extremely fast post-processing of images which allows analyses to be generated in a matter of weeks. As is the case with traditional aerial photography and satellite image analyses, however, there are still some challenges that must be overcome. Accurate information about water levels is essential for multi-temporal analyses. Without this critical information, land-water ratio comparisons can often be misleading, especially in coastal areas. Additionally, seasonal effects on vegetation can generate false land gains and losses. More information is needed to understand the effects of these processes on land-water analyses, and also to understand the short-term dynamics of generating land with terracing projects. The NWRC video system may allow for the type of repeated measures study that is necessary to quantify this information.
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