In collaboration with the Eddleston Water Project and researchers at the University of Dundee we have been involved in a study to assess various sensing techniques to map the historic river channel near Eddleston. The Eddleston Water project, supported by the Scottish Government, is investigating the effectiveness of natural flood management techniques and habitat restoration measures across the 69 km2 Eddleston Water catchment in the Scottish Borders. Artificial river straightening, commencing several hundred years ago, is believed to be a major factor causing increased flood risk and floodplain habitat loss within the catchment and downstream. Therefore understanding where the original watercourse was located can be very useful for informing plans to return the river to a more natural course, to restore the associated habitats and reduce future flood risk. We have been happy to engage with the Eddleston Water project and colleagues from the University of Dundee to support MSc research in the use of advanced aerial sensing tools for the mapping of the historic river channel within the catchment. The research project explored the ability of multispectral data to detect the historic channel through vegetation changes caused by variations in topography and drainage, using vegetation classification methods and spectral separability analysis. Alternative means of mapping the channel through topographic analysis using Structure from Motion (a photogrammetric technique) and LiDAR (laser scanning) were used to validate results. We supported the project with data acquisition using our Matrice 300 RTK drone with P1 45Mp camera and L1 LiDAR (laser-scanning) sensors, and Mavic 3 Multispectral drone system, as well as associated workstation and software support. This article was published on 2024-06-25
