Geomorphological analysis using small unmanned aerial vehicles and submeter GNSS (Gara Soultana butte, High Plateaus Basin, Eastern Morocco)

Abstract

The High Plateaus Basin is an important region to understand landscape evolution and human occupation in North Africa during the Quaternary. We focused on the Gara Soultana area, applying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, photogrammetry and a submeter Global Navigation Satellite System, for large scale geomorphological mapping. This work in the upper Moulouya catchment has allowed us to define the landform sequence. Conglomerate platforms previously considered to be fluvial terraces, are interpreted here as exhumed bedrock layers of the Plio-Pleistocene stacked series. The El Haï river incision consists of a first phase, represented only by the exhumation of Gara Soultana butte, and a second phase when five strath terraces developed from +20-22 m to the thalweg, formed since the Middle Pleistocene. Holocene terraces could be associated with brief aggradation phases in the lower Moulouya catchment due to rapid climate changes. Fluvial incision led to the formation of mantled pediments and talus flatirons.

The Influence of Image Properties on High-Detail SfM Photogrammetric Surveys of Complex Geometric Landforms: The Application of a Consumer-Grade UAV Camera in a Rock Glacier Survey

“…The above results highlight the relevance of the information provided in photogrammetric reconstructions in geomorphic research, as pointed out by [16]. Most geomorphic related studies do not indicate the properties of the images beyond the camera used (e.g., [1,3,5]). Although this information would be sufficient in numerous investigations, there are studies where it may play a critical role, as found in the present study.…”

“…Geoarchaeology [1], environmental geography [2], coastal geomorphology [3], volcanology [4], and glaciar or periglaciar geomorphology [5][6][7] are some of the many fields of study that benefit from these systems. Flexibility and ease of use, added to the good results offered by consumer-grade equipment, are reasons for its application.…”

Monitorización de glaciares y glaciares rocosos pirenaicos: más de una década aplicando técnicas geomáticas en La Paúl y Maladeta

“…Revisar la aplicación de fotogrametría SfM en investigaciones vinculadas solamente a las geociencias ya es un trabajo extenso debido al elevado número de publicaciones. La geoarqueología (Benito-Calvo et al, 2020), geografía medioambiental (Brown et al, 2021), geomorfología costera (de Sanjosé et al, 2020), vulcanología (Granados-Bolaños et al, 2021 y geomorfología glaciar y periglaciar (Ewertowski et al, 2019;Vidaller et al, 2021;Santos-González et al, 2022), son solo algunos campos de aplicación donde se emplea fotogrametría SfM mediante drones para la generación de levantamientos topográficos en estudios geomorfológicos. Y es que incluso las revisiones del estado del arte de la técnica, suelen limitarse al estudio de algunos tipos de configuraciones y/o escenarios (ej.…”