Spatio-temporal monitoring of evolving topography using LIDAR, Real Time Kinematic GPS and sonar data

Sustainable management of highly dynamic coastal topography with fast moving sand dunes, eroding shoreline and anthropogenic changes to bathymetry and beaches represent significant challenges for coastal management. Modern mapping technologies bring capabilities to monitor this dynamic environment with unprecedented spatial and temporal detail. The general research strategy for coastal areas [15] focuses on combination of field experiments with numerical models spanning a range of scales. Both field measurements and models involve processing, analysis and visualization of large volumes of georeferenced data, often in different computational environments and formats. GIS appears as a natural choice for integration of this type of data, however, because the studied processes are highly dynamic, and sometimes distributed in 3 spatial dimensions, a traditional 2D static GIS is not sufficient [14]. Recent developments in integration of GIS and environmental modeling [1], [7] create an opportunity to extend the range of GIS applications to new areas such as oceanography and coastal studies. Emerging multidimensional GIS technology can substantially increase efficiency in data processing and provide the tools to gain new insights into geospatial aspects of complex coastal systems. It also creates new opportunities to improve coastal planning and management [11]. GIS provides useful tools for coastal studies in several areas: