Dynamic exploring use of UAVs to map snow deposits

Dynamic Avalanche Consulting Ltd. utilized an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry to map snow avalanche debris in the Mounds avalanche path (Mt. Tupper) in Glacier National Park, BC. Restricted Activity Permits were acquired.

Dynamic carried out an aerial survey of the Mounds avalanche path using a UAV. Using SfM (a photogrammetric range imaging technique for estimating three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional image sequences), a digital elevation model (DEM) of the avalanche debris surface was generated. This debris surface DEM was georeferenced and compared with the existing ground surface DEM, and used to extrapolate avalanche debris volume.