Detection of land subsidence is an important task for many reasons. When an area subsides, it can cause a variety of problems including damage to infrastructure and loss of property value. In some cases, subsidence can even lead to dangerous sinkholes. There are a number of methods that can be used to detect land subsidence, but lidar is one of the most effective tools available. In this blog post, we will discuss how lidar is used to detect land subsidence and some of the benefits of using this technology.
Lidar is an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging. Lidar surveys are typically conducted using an airborne platform, such as an airplane or helicopter. The lidar system consists of a laser, a sensor, and a GPS receiver. The laser is used to emit pulses of light that bounce off the ground and are detected by the sensor. The time it takes for the pulse to return to the sensor is used to calculate the distance to the ground. This information is then combined with GPS data to produce a highly accurate map of the area being surveyed.
One of the benefits of using lidar for detecting land subsidence is that it can cover large areas very quickly. A single lidar survey can cover hundreds of square kilometers in a matter of hours. This is important because it allows for the timely detection of land subsidence before it can cause serious damage. Additionally, lidar surveys can be conducted on a regular basis to monitor for changes over time. Another benefit of using lidar to detect land subsidence is that it produces very accurate results. Lidar surveys have an accuracy of centimeters or better, which is much more precise than other methods such as GPS leveling or InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar). This high level of accuracy is important for detecting small changes in the ground surface that could indicate land subsidence.
