Aerial mapping of submerged landscapes in shallow water
Aix-Marseille University
Reference Teacher: Jafar Anbar (AMU)
Teacher(s): Jafar Anbar & Prof. Kalliopi Baika
This course offers a fundamental skills-set for submerged landscapes documentation in shallow water technologies, focusing on the integration of cutting-edge tools (UAV-Drones) and techniques for geological, geoarchaeological and archaeological studies. Participants will follow a theoretical course (3 hours), perform hands-on experience practice (6 hours) including drone photography and mapping of shallow waters for UW photogrammetric recording of submerged geological and archaeological landscapes. The course includes a desk-based training on data treatment (3 hours). The objective is for participants to acquire an operational experience on the field focusing on experience-based fieldwork in an all-inclusive approach, from the theoretical introduction to the actual acquisition of systematic scientific documentation using non-destructive techniques, to the treatment in specific softwares (after a thorough technical introduction) in order to be able to proceed to the scientific analysis of the collected data.
PhD training in Aix-Marseille University (The PhD training platform ADUM (Accès Doctorat Unique et Mutualisé). Master, PhD students and professionals for up-skilling, re-skilling, and capacity building.
Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental technologies associated with 3D visual documentation of submerged landscapes, including geological features or archaeological sites (coastal or submerged). They will explore the application, advantages and the limitations of these immersive technologies in the context of submerged cultural heritage sites (i.e. the submerged archaeological harbour site of Aigina, Greece). Moreover, they will also acquire the specific knowledge and skills to implement step by step the main phases of the systematic documentation of an underwater cultural/natural heritage site.
Participants will be able to perform a systematic, high-resolution and precisely georeferenced documentation of any UW cultural/geological/natural heritage site by using cutting-edge as well as efficient, time saving and non-destructive techniques.
Based on the site accessibility, the weather, the depth, the visibility and the time factor (among others), the participants will be able to make decisions to achieve better results.
Participants will be able to visualise and demonstrate the documentation results and the analysed photogrammetric data effectively using interactive 3D scans and models. Finally, these results can be shared by the participants in different formats and can be exported for further analysis with other software.
This course gives the chance for the participants to perform the documentation tasks themselves, which will increase their ability of understanding the functionality of the instrument and enrich their skills to adapt to or solve any problems that they could face during the survey with the supervision of the trainers. This hands-on experience method minimises the doubts or the stress that the participants may have before using the instruments.
Diving skills: Level II of diving / Diving equipment / Personal laptop with installed photogrammetry software (@Metashape)
Lectures (in-person or online), fieldwork sessions and desk-based training
Evaluation by the completion of the fieldwork project and the final visualisation and sharing of the 3D data. Evaluation sheet from AMU (in English, French, – adapted to other languages as well) sent online.
The course focuses on drone technologies, covering operational techniques, data acquisition, and applications of drone mapping of real study areas submerged or in shallow waters. A particular module will include photogrammetric documentation techniques and creating 3D models in @Metashape software. Instruction will be given, and participants will work individually and in teams in order to prepare the treated data for real-world applications and scientific analysis in marine biology, archaeology, geology, environmental science, and related fields.
The expected learning outcomes can contribute to the achievements of the following goals: Goal 14: Life below water, Goal 13: Climate Action, and Goal 4: Quality Education
For PhD students of Aix-Marseille University, they can simply apply through their personal account on ADUM (https://adum.fr/index.pl). For other PhD, master students and professionals by simply showing their interest to follow this course through contacting the following email address: info@unescochair-mca.org
By the end of this program, participants will be able to:
Understand the principles of underwater 3D photogrammetry
Familiarize themselves with the equipment required for underwater 3D photogrammetry
Learn the step-by-step process of conducting an underwater 3D photogrammetric survey
Process and analyse the collected data to create detailed 3D models and DEMos
Introduction to aerial drone technology and an overview of drone components and types. Overview of drone regulations and airspace restrictions, responsible drone operation and ethical considerations, privacy concerns and respecting airspace regulations. Drone applications in underwater archaeology: Case-studies highlighting successful drone deployments, emerging trends and future outlook for drone technology.
Pre-flight checklist and safety protocols, understanding drone controls and flight modes, emergency procedures and troubleshooting in addition to basic Drone manoeuvres such as take-off and landing techniques, ascending, descending, forward flight, turns and hovering. Finally, explain camera capture settings and different recording modes for photos and videos.
Demonstration of a manual and an automatic flight planning, including selecting survey area, considering weather conditions, height, and determining photographing routes. Guide participants through the process of capturing a series of overlapping images, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the survey area. Two drones will be employed for the participants to perform both manual and automatic aerial mapping under the supervision of the trainers.
Show participants the fundamental role of optical process in converting raw images into meaningful 3D models in photogrammetry. Introduce Agisoft Metashape as a powerful tool for processing and analysing photogrammetric data. Guide participants through the Metashape interface, highlighting key features and tools. Explain data processing workflow including importing photos, launching the photos alignment, building the points dense clouds, creating 3D meshes and 3D models, texture mapping for realistic visualization. Moreover, advanced features will be demonstrated to the participants such as geographical coordinate system setup within Metashape for accurate georeferencing using control points in real-world coordinates which will allow participants to create 2D georeferenced orthophotos. Finally, data export will be performed in different formats to be integrated in the GIS database built in QGIS where the participants will be able to interpret and analyse the 2D and 3D documentation results for various applications.
Several sections from the user manuals of different software-s can be useful during and after the completion of the course.
– Drone piloting user manual:
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/DJI_Mavic_3/DJI_Mavic_3_User_Manual_v1.0_en.pdf
– Agisoft Metashape user manual: https://www.agisoft.com/pdf/metashape-pro_1_7_en.pdf
Moreover, step by step instructions and practical recommendations will be provided in PDF format to guide the participants on how to operate drones, capture and process accurate data, and create detailed georeferenced 3D models