IE GSI Photogrammetry Coverage Ireland (ROI) ITM View

Photogrammetry is important as it can be used to create a Digital Surface Model (DSM), a 3D representation of the ground surface. Knowing the height of the Earth’s surface is important for a number of reasons.

DSM’s of coastal areas are useful to anyone working in the coastal zone. These include scientists, engineers and coastal managers. Knowing the shape of coastal sites is vital for understanding coastal processes such as flooding, wave action, water currents and sediment (e.g. sand) transport.

Coastal flooding happens when low-lying areas are covered by water. This happens when seawater is pushed onto the land (e.g. in a storm), or from river water escaping from the river and covering the land. DSMs allow low-lying areas at risk of flooding to be identified.

Waves hit against our coastlines. How this wave energy affects the coast depends on the shape of the coastline. Some places will receive the full energy of waves, while other places can reflect wave energy elsewhere. Identifying how waves hit against the shore help geoscientists to understand processes like erosion and deposition of sediment.

Currents flow in the sea. The shape of the coastline changes how these currents flow. DSMs allow marine and coastal scientists understand how water moves along the shore.

Erosion (rock or sediment being removed) and deposition (sediment being deposited) occur around the coast due to the processes of wave action and current flow. DSMs produced at different times (e.g. 5 years apart) can show difference in the shape of the ground. These changes in the ground level allow geoscientists to see where erosion and deposition is occurring.