Volumetric Change Detection in Bedrock Coastal Cliffs Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning and UAS-Based SfM.

Three-dimensional (3D) morphological changes in rocky coasts need to be precisely measured for protecting coastal areas and evaluating the associated sediment dynamics, although volumetric measurements of bedrock erosion in rocky coasts have been limited due to the lack of appropriate measurement methods. Here we carried out repeat surveys of the 3D measurements of a small coastal island using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry with an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for 5 years. The UAS-SfM approach measures the entire shape of the island, whereas the TLS measurement enables to obtain more accurate morphological data at a scale of centimeters on the land side.

The climatic signature of incised river meanders.

Climate controls landscape evolution, but quantitative signatures of climatic drivers have yet to be found in topography on a broad scale. Here we describe how a topographic signature of typhoon rainfall is recorded in the meandering of incising mountain rivers in the western North Pacific. Spatially averaged river sinuosity generated from digital elevation data peaks in the typhoon-dominated subtropics, where extreme rainfall and flood events are common, and decreases toward the equatorial tropics and mid-latitudes, where such extremes are rare.