Digital surface model derived from UAS imagery for Bluffton Native Habitat Waterway, Indiana, 20160907

A high resolution digital surface model (.tif) of the Bluffton [Indiana] Native Habitat Waterway bottomland restoration site was generated to complement field vegetation data collected in 2015 and 2016. Aerial images were collected on 07 September, 2016 using Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS, or "drones"). Data were processed using photogrammetry to generate a three dimensional point cloud that identifies pixels from multiple images representing the same object and calculates the x, y, and z coordinates of that object/pixel. The point cloud was processed to create a digital surface model of the site (6 cm resolution), representing the continuous surface of the uppermost reflective surface (i.e., data have not been filtered for vegetation classes or height). Finally, source images were stitched together based on shared pixels and orthoganally adjusted to the digital surface model to create a high resolution (approximately 3 cm) orthoimage for the study area.