March 2023: ALS data acquisition flight

Acquisition of remote sensing data by means of Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and Airborne Laser Bathymetry (ALB) was carried out at the beginning of March 2023 covering almost 50 km².

Laser scanning, often referred to as LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), is an important component for modelling objects and terrain from airborne (ALS) and terrestrial (TLS) platforms. The ability of laser scanners to record surfaces even under dense vegetation has made them viable tools for the detection of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental features in woodlands and dense macchia. For coastal and/or submerged settlement sites the development of scanners utilizing green lasers with small footprints is of special interest, as they have the capability to penetrate clear water and consequently measure the underwater topography (ALB) in high detail.

The project partner University of Vienna processed the data in April 2023. In May 2023, an initial survey of terrestrial and underwater structures – interpreted from the ALS/ALB-based digital terrain models (DTM) – took place.

If you move the slider (white vertical line) in the image, you can see what the ALS can achieve:  Beneath the dense macchia vegetation, the ALS reveals “naked” topography with karst features (doline) and remains of the past land use (©Osorbeyondthemyth).

20. March 2023