Characterization of Cold-Regions Terrain Using Airborne Laser Profilometry

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Abstract
This paper provides a review of the characteristics of airborne laser profilometry and its application to quantitative characterization of cold-regions terrain. The limitations of profilometry due to the profiler instrumental characteristics and instability of the aircraft platform (resulting from variations in aircraft altitude and attitude) are discussed. For typical aircraft speeds of the order of 100 m/s these limitations restrict the accurately measured roughness content to the approximate wavelength range 2 m to 300 m. Digital filtering and hardware techniques for removing the aircraft motion, and hence extending the long wavelength validity of the profile, are discussed.Regarding terrain characterization, particular attention is given to Arctic, sea ice. Ridge height and spacing distribution models for sea ice in conjunction with digitally processed laser profiles allow efficient characterization of sea-ice ridging using only a few parameters. In particular, a single ridging intensity parameter has been found to allow reasonable estimation of the number of ridges encountered at any height level along a straight-line path. Examination of spectral characteristics of first-year and multi-year ice suggest that laser profiles may be used to identify the ice type of floes and ridges. Comparisons of laser data and submarine sonar data are made which suggest that ratios ofc. 6.5: 1 can be used to estimate ridge keel depths from laser data. Use of laser profilometry to characterize tundra and indirectly 10 measure variation in snow depth is briefly discussed.

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