Whiteout Solutions Tackles the Impacts of Climate Change with RIEGL Bathymetric LiDAR Solutions
UTILIZING THE RIEGL VQ-840-GL FOR UAV-BASED DATASETS OF COASTAL EROSION
Whiteout Solutions is a geospatial technology company based in northeastern Vermont. Their main mission is to increase the availability of high-resolution geospatial data and maximize its usage through web-based data delivery and analysis. With the addition of the RIEGL VQ-840-GL topo-bathymetric system, they are now able to document the topological changes and impacts related to extreme weather events on coastal areas and inland waters.
After conducting a series of pilot projects to evaluate the ability for UAS LiDAR to detect microtopographies of sensitive coastal marshland, Whiteout Solutions was contracted by Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to survey all the protected coastal marshlands in the state. The data was to be used as a baseline high-resolution dataset to evaluate elevation change due to coastal erosion and other impacts of climate change over time.
Through their analysis of the pilot data, Whiteout Solutions identified a clear gap in the picture, they knew the details of the vegetation species, elevations of sediment restoration plots, marsh access areas but all the data stopped at the tidal creeks and channels. Every dataset left off everything at the water surface, and while it was possible to survey during low tides, there were still gaps in the low-lying channels and they needed topo- bathymetric data.
The clear solution was RIEGL’s VQ-840-GL topo-bathymetric LiDAR scanner that was light enough to mount on a heavy-lift UAS platform and still provide significant “up” time while on site. Whiteout Solutions took possession of the system in the summer of 2023, and in the proceeding months it was used to collect over 14,000 acres of marshland and upland buffer in Connecticut. As a result, it has produced one of the largest high resolution (200ppsm) topo-bathymetry datasets to date. The project data will be critical for monitoring sea level rise, designing and implementing climate change resiliency projects and more.
“We are very fortunate to have the ability to offer the VQ-840-GL system to our partners as a tool that can collect high resolution topo-bathymetry data of environments that are seeing the first order effects of climate change, specifically on our coastlines and river corridors where we’re seeing increased flooding on a daily basis.” – said Matt Clark, Co-Founder of Whiteout Solutions. “From our perspective, the more people that have and can work with geospatial data, the more likely we are to create lasting solutions that protect us against the impacts of climate change. We’re here to democratize access to geospatial data.”
