Assessing the preservation potential of temperate, lowland alluvial sediments using airborne lidar intensity

Archaeological applications of airborne lidar topographic data are now well known and documented in the academic literature. Rather less well explored by archaeologists are the potential of lidar intensity data. In this paper we explore theapplicationoflidarintensity forgeoarchaeologicalprospectioninriver valley floors.Afterbrieflyconsideringthe context of archaeological remote sensing in river valleys, we examine some factors influencing the lidar intensity record andexplore processing stepsthat may berequired to effectivelyutilizeintensitydata, beforereviewing the utilityofintensity data for the geoarchaeological assessment of test sites in the Trent Valley of the English Midlands (UK). Results suggest that intensity imagery may assist greatly in the interpretation of airborne lidar topographic data and that its analysis contributes to a qualitative understanding of land cover and the burial environment of archaeological remains, either cultural orenvironmental; furthermore in some circumstances it is possible to identifyanthropogenic archaeological cropmarks in intensity imagery. It is concluded that the standard methodology employed in using airborne lidar for archaeological survey should as a matter of course include the collection and analysis of intensity data.

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“…Kaasalainen et al ., 2009). Our own field investigation to test this hypothesis is reported upon elsewhere (Challis et al ., 2011).…”

Section: Assessing Variation In Intensity Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne lidar intensity and geoarchaeological prospection in river valley floors

Challis

Carey

Kincey

et al. 2011

Archaeological Prospection

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“…Since its introduction to the archaeological community by Holden et al (2002) the use of airborne LiDAR has become well established in archaeological research with applications ranging from landscape-scale geoarchaeological analysis (Carey et al, 2006;Howard et al, 2008), or the use of LiDAR survey to assist in compilation of systematic records of the historic environment to applications utilizing some of the unique facets of LiDAR, for example its ability to penetrate the vegetation canopy to record underling archaeological features (Devereux et al, 2005;Doneus and Briese, 2006;Crow et al, 2007;Chase et al, 2011). Recent research has turned to new kinds of LiDAR sensor, for example the advantages offered over more usual discrete return data by full-waveform LiDAR (Doneus et al, 2008) and to relatively underused aspects of LiDAR survey such as intensity data (Challis et al, 2011a(Challis et al, , 2011b. As the use of LiDAR in archaeological research matures, a number of authors have considered data and image processing techniques that may be used to extract the maximum level of archaeological detail from LiDAR surveys to aid expert interpretation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Generic Toolkit for the Visualization of Archaeological Features on Airborne LiDAR Elevation Data

Challis

Forlin

Kincey

2011

Archaeological Prospection

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A range of techniques have become established for the visualization and analysis of airborne LiDAR elevation data within the field of archaeology. In this paper we discuss the visualization of test data representing archaeological features in a variety of terrains using a suite of techniques, all available through generic geographical information system or image processing software. These comprise elevation shading using constrained colour ramps, slope analysis, hillshading, principal component analysis of multi-azimuth hill-shading, local relief models and solar insolation modelling. The strengths and weaknesses of each technique are discussed and a generic toolkit, suited to the visualization of airborne LiDAR data for archaeological purposes, is presented.

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“…Palaeochannels are remnant channels that have been isolated as the river has migrated over its floodplain and evolved, subsequently being infilled by younger sediment to the point that they may become fully terrestrialized (Clarke, ); typically, through the process of hydrosereal succession. Palaeochannels represent key locations in the landscape to examine historic river channel and community change and can be easily located using contemporary maps and field surveys, and increasingly via the use of topographic models based on aerial surveys using unmanned aerial vehicles and LIDAR (Challis, Carey, Kincey, & Howard, ). This information can be used to inform the reconstruction of historic river courses and their environmental history (Howard et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of palaeoecological and contemporary macroinvertebrate community data to characterize riverine reference conditions

Seddon

Hill

Greenwood

et al. 2019

River Research & Apps

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Defining reference conditions is a crucial element in quantifying the extent of anthropogenic modification and for identifying restoration targets in riverine ecosystems. Despite palaeoecological approaches being widely applied in lakes to establish reference conditions, their use in lotic ecosystems remains limited. In this study, we examine contemporary, historical (1930 and 1972), and palaeoecological macroinvertebrate biodiversity and biomonitoring scores in Eastburn Beck, a headwater tributary of the River Hull (UK) to determine if palaeoecological approaches can be used to characterize lotic system reference conditions. Palaeoecological samples comprised a greater gamma diversity (18 taxa) than contemporary samples (8 taxa), samples taken in 1972 (11 taxa) and 1930 (8 taxa). Palaeoecological samples supported taxonomically different Gastropoda, Trichoptera, and Coleoptera (GTC) communities compared with contemporary and historical samples (1930 and 1972). Results from biomonitoring indices using the GTC community indicated that the palaeochannel had (a) similar invertebrate biological quality, (b) a less energetic flow regime, and (c) increased fine sediment deposits compared with the contemporary channel. The results clearly illustrate that palaeoecological data can provide a suitable method to characterize reference conditions for lotic habitats. However, it is important to recognize that faunal data from palaeochannel deposits provide a short‐term “snapshot” of the conditions within the river immediately prior to its hydrological isolation. River restoration activities should therefore draw on multiple lines of evidence, including palaeoecological information where possible, to characterize a range of reference conditions to reflect the highly dynamic nature of lotic ecosystems.

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Assessing the preservation potential of temperate, lowland alluvial sediments using airborne lidar intensity

Cited by 25 publications

References 24 publications

Airborne lidar intensity and geoarchaeological prospection in river valley floors

Airborne lidar intensity and geoarchaeological prospection in river valley floors

A Generic Toolkit for the Visualization of Archaeological Features on Airborne LiDAR Elevation Data

The use of palaeoecological and contemporary macroinvertebrate community data to characterize riverine reference conditions

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