Vision-Based Terrestrial Surface Monitoring

The monitoring of geo-risk areas is getting more and more importance due to increasing damage caused by hazardous events such as rock slides, as a result of the environmental change. Terrestrial long-range sensing (up to several kilometres of distance between sensor and target region) is a valuable means for monitoring such sites using non-signalized targets in high resolution, which is necessary to detect regions, amount, direction and trends of motion early enough to take risk mitigation measures. The technology to realize such a sensing strategy combines various fields of research, such as sensor technology, surveying, computer vision and geological sciences. This chapter describes two vision-based sensing techniques suited for terrestrial surface monitoring (terrestrial laser scanning, and image-based tacheometers), and their sensing strategies, data processing and data exploitation issues. Examples for monitoring frameworks are given, and technical and engineering solutions are described. A set of applications from permafrost, glacier and snow cover monitoring, as well as rock fall site monitoring shows the relevance, technologic maturity and limits of existing approaches. Rock falls and other geo-hazards being the major fields of application for such systems, the chances of saving lives, protecting infrastructure and habitats and avoiding injury to field personnel are increased so that the better and more accurate event can be monitored. The research and technology described in this chapter will help the surveying, photogrammetry and computer vision community fighting global warming impacts.