Using an ultraportable Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) to monitor coastal erosion in the Boston Harbor Islands

Francesco Peri, University of Massachusetts Boston, School for the Environment, Boston, MA, United States, Crystal Schaaf, University of Massachusetts Boston, School for the Environment, Boston, United States and Ian L Paynter, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, United States
Abstract:
Coastal systems are highly dynamic sediment transfer zones and the frontline defense against sea-level rise. Terrestrial Laser Scanners (TLS) using Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) can provide structural information at a previously unachieved temporal and spatial scale, allowing characterization of coastal ecosystem value and vulnerability. A custom-built TLS was deployed both before and after a major New England storm event (i.e., a nor-easter) to quantify erosion on a bluff in the Boston Harbor Islands at the centimeter scale. Future plans for long-term deployment of an autonomous TLS to continuously monitor erosion within the Boston Harbor Islands will also be discussed along with climate change applications.
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