Detailed Analysis of Complex Waveforms of a UAV Laser Bathymeric Profiler

Abstract

Abstract: Linear recording of profiles in hydrology and hydraulic engineering is still justified despite the availability of multidimensional modeling. The Bathycopter based on the BDF-1, developed by RIEGL, is a measuring device for profile acquisition especially suitable for small-scale, unmanned airborne applications. The primary expected result of a flight with this instrument is a topographic profile of a water body consisting of the lines of the ground and the water surface. With the recording technique used, the complete waveforms of the backscattered laser echoes are first recorded in order to extract the points of the surface and the ground in a post-processing. The recorded waveforms show a high level of detail which is currently unused and not yet fully understood. While the study of the course of backscattering in the atmosphere is part of the standard repertoire in laser measurement technology, the study of propagation details in the water column has not yet completely arrived in everyday technical life. A distinction between artefacts caused by the method itself and structures useful for the understanding of the water column could be a first step towards a utilization of these data, which are already generated by the method but are currently unused.