Lidar capture / Landslide and slope monitoring
Drone lidar for landslide and slope monitoring
Repeat flights from identical flight plans show where a slope moved, by how much and how fast, including under brush on the scarp.
Why it matters
Alberta's transportation ministry has documented about 500 geohazard sites, with around 250 actively monitored under its Geohazard Risk Management Program. Consultants on that program already use drone photogrammetry for change detection.
Lidar tightens that. The manufacturer lists the payload's point cloud thickness at 1.2 cm (1 sigma) at 120 m, and lidar reaches the ground beneath brush and leaves.
What you get
- Bare earth surface of the slide area, scarp and toe
- Change detection between flights: loss, gain and displacement maps
- Cross sections at your monitoring lines
- Crack and scarp mapping from lidar and high resolution imagery
- Riverbank erosion rates for outer bends and bridge approaches
- Data tied to your existing control and monitoring network
Who uses it
Geotechnical engineering firms, provincial and municipal road authorities, railways, pipeline operators with river crossings, and landowners on unstable valley edges in places like the Peace region and the North Saskatchewan valley.
Capture reference
- Point cloud thickness
- 1.2 cm at 120 m
- Outputs
- Change maps, cross sections
- Cadence
- Spring, summer, fall
- Control
- Tied to your network
- Captured with
- Lidar plus RGB, one flight
- Coverage
- AB base, BC and SK direct
Example scenario
Illustrative, to show the workflowA geotechnical consultant is monitoring a slow moving slide below a county road in a river valley and needs to know whether it is speeding up.
- Permanent control is set and the 30 ha slide is flown in spring.
- The site is flown again in summer and fall from identical flight plans.
- Each capture is compared to the last, and vertical and horizontal movement is mapped across the slide.
- The engineer sees the toe advancing toward the creek and reprioritises the site.
Deliverables in this scenario: Three dated surfaces, change maps, cross sections, movement summary table.
Have a site like this? Send the location and what your team needs out the other end, and a scoped quote comes back, usually within one business day, with the positioning method and delivery window stated.
Get a quote for this workCommon questions
Answered plainlyHow small a movement can drone lidar detect?
The manufacturer rates our long range lidar payload at 3 cm vertical accuracy (RMSE) and under 5 mm ranging repeatability. Detectable movement depends on ground cover and control, and instruments such as inclinometers still measure deep movement.
How often should a slide be flown?
Spring after thaw, then summer and fall, is common. Add flights after heavy rain or when movement is reported.
Can you fly steep valleys safely?
Yes. We fly terrain following routes that hold a steady height above the slope.
Sources: Rating systems for Alberta rock slopes (MDPI Geosciences)
Related lidar work
All lidar work
Flood and drainage
Fresh bare earth terrain at centimetre accuracy, captured under the trees and brush along creeks, for flood studies, stormwater design, culvert sizing and county drainage.
Oil sands and mine sites
Highwall movement, tailings beaches, haul roads and volumes measured flight on flight from a safe standoff.