Analysis of Low-Cost UAV Photogrammetry Solutions for Beach Modelling and Monitoring Using the opensource Quantum GIS

Coastlines are fundamentally unique features. Their behavioural patterns are predominantly subjects of numerous environmental and engineering studies. With the magnitude of the effects of coastal flooding and erosion, there is a need for accurate techniques for data capture and data processing. With an emphasis on the zero-cost open source GIS software, there is no existing evaluative procedure for demonstrating the analytical capabilities of large-scale UAV-based outputs for microscale analysis for small changes on the beach such as sediment movement, erosion/accretion of individual features. There were four different drone surveys in the study area to determine microscale change over time. A three-stage analysis procedure helps in determining the overview of the coastline and highlights the region(s) of optimum change requiring further spatial analysis with micro-scale change detection. Results obtained show the analytical capabilities of large-scale UAV-based outputs for relatively small but detailed analysis using the open-source QGIS. Results obtained show that spatial analyses of the zoomed areas at different viewpoints and scales improve the confidence level of the hillshading and contour of that particular section on the coastline. The UAV photogrammetry and the three-stage analysis procedure can detect a 1cm change on the beach using the free and open-source QGIS software. It shows the profile modelling of the coastal inundations for both pre and post-flooding events at sub-centimetre intervals can be obtained from QGIS modelling, data computation, analysis, and visualization.