3D Geologic Mapping and Characterization Using Digital Outcrop Models Generated from Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles and Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry

Abstract

Outcrops are a primary source of geologic information and key in developing knowledge for teaching, training, and research. Observations from outcrop exposures provide opportunities to directly characterize detailed sedimentological composition, architectural characteristics, and link observations across various scales. Conventional field mapping techniques have remained largely unchanged for the past two centuries and are commonly limited in their ability to quantitatively constrain measurements, extend observations laterally, and document features at multiple scales. Recently, technological advances in uninhabited/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have prompted wide use in various geoscience disciplines to supplement field data with quantifiable digital information. However, application of UAVs to geologic mapping has been limited, due to unique challenges in data collection, processing, analysis, and visualization predominantly associated with intricate 3D exposures in complex topographic settings. This dissertation is focused on detailed investigation of 3D mapping, analysis, and dissemination from UAV-derived digital outcrop models (DOMs) that can potentially provide multi-scale perspectives and quantitative measurements that were previously difficult, or impossible to achieve with conventional field methods alone.