Remote sensing with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for monitoring land-degradation processes in semi-arid landscapes

<strong>Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU</strong> a lecture by <strong>Dr Irene Marzolff</strong> Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany on <strong>Remote sensing with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for monitoring land-degradation processes in semi-arid landscapes</strong> Date: <strong>27th February 2015</strong> <strong>Abstract:</strong> 'Remote sensing with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for monitoring land-degradation processes in semi-arid landscapes' With flying heights well below conventional airplanes and centimeter resolutions, small-format aerial photography (SFAP) taken from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) bridges the gap between ground observations and satellite imagery. For documenting and monitoring land-degradation processes, geomorphological forms and landscape patterns at various spatial and temporal scales, SFAP offers possibilities not given with conventional air photos or satellite images. From a methodological point of view, the small-format digital images may be analysed using a wide variety of remote sensing, photogrammetry and GIS techniques, ranging from visual image interpretation to multispectral classification to 3D analysis and DEM extraction. This paper will give an overview of the techniques and methods, presenting examples from 20 years of gully-erosion research and other land-degradation studies in semi-arid Spain and Morocco. <strong>About the Speaker :</strong> Dr. Irene Marzolff is faculty at the Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Dr. Marzolff has done extensive research in large-scale remote sensing with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), small format aerial photography (SFAP), small format photogrammetry and GIS for high-resolution monitoring. Her areas of research interest are geomorphological processes, soil erosion, land degradation; effects of land use change and vegetation change on land degradation. Her publications include Small-Format Aerial Photography: Principles, Techniques and Geoscience Applications (Springer, 2010).