Coupling terrestrial LiDAR and video imagery to perform 3D intertidal beach topography

This study investigates the possibility of combining two shore-based remote sensing techniques, 2D LiDAR and video imagery, to measure 3D intertidal beach topography. The shoreline elevation, measured on a single cross-shore section of the beach by a 2D LiDAR, was combined with the video-derived shoreline contour to finally obtain intertidal beach topography. Vertical root-mean-square error between differential GPS and remotely-derived intertidal beach profiles had an average value of 0.12 m, with maximum disparities of 0.14 m. Two 3D Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of the beach produced over two tidal cycles demonstrated the feasibility of shore-based LiDAR-video system of describing in detail the short-term morphological evolution of the intertidal area. Results suggest that the LiDAR-video system can improve the capability of remotely surveying intertidal beach topography providing high quality measurements.