Digital Modeling of Construction Site Terrain Using Remotely Sensed Data and Geographic Information Systems Analyses

Abstract

Topography and physical characteristics of a project should be considered in the preconstruction planning for any construction site. However, many of the technologies used for generating digital models of site topography rely extensively on project site surveys. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by improving the understanding of the nature and sources of remotely sensed data for construction applications as well as the accuracy of digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from remotely sensed data. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), satellite imagery, and models provided by the USGS are three different sources of remotely sensed data that have been used in this study. It is expected that the research outcome will overcome some of the drawbacks of the existing methods for modeling site topography. The elevation values derived from these terrain models are compared with the values that have been measured in the field. The results indicate that the LiDAR-based DTM represents the best vertical accuracy in comparison to satellite-image-based and USGS DTMs.