Monitoring rivers and streams with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for determination of ecological status

The PhD research focuses on monitoring rivers and streams with remote sensing techniques from unmanned aerial systems in order to support the determination of ecological status. The use of UAS promises to reduce cost and increase the temporal and spatial resolution of data collection compared to traditional methods. Data collected from UAS can both directly measure ecological status paramteres and identify proxies for the ecological status. Hyperspectral stream mapping will be used to map phytoplankton concentration in streams, identify benthic vegetation, classify the stream sediment and to retrieve bathymetry. Thermal mapping is used to identify stream habitats and identify inflow sources. Digital elevation models of the riparian zone are retrieved with Structure from Motion photogrammetry methods as well as with LiDAR sensors.