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

Francesco Peri1, Crystal Schaaf1 and Ian L Paynter2, (1)University of Massachusetts Boston, School for the Environment, Boston, MA, United States, (2)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.