The impact of forest structure and terrain on energy budget using UAV with LiDAR and Thermal

Keywords: UAV, Snow, Energy Budget, LiDAR, Thermal, Arizona
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

In the Southwest US, water resources largely depend on snowpacks in mountain forests. These snowpacks, which tend to be shallow and ephemeral, are influenced by the structure of the forest and are quite sensitive to forest disturbance and climate variability. Uncertainty in the fate of water originating from mountain forests is also increasing because of climate change, changing land management strategies, and natural disturbances such as wildfire or insect outbreaks. It is, therefore, critical to be able to predict how these factors will impact the snowpack in the region, especially under non-stationary climate conditions and unprecedented forest changes that we are facing now. The goal of this research is to understand how forest cover affects snowpack differently. This research will leverage meteorological measurements already made at the site, detailed 3d maps of land surface and forest canopy structure and temperature made using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and an ultra-high resolution energy balance snow model called the Snow Physics and Laser Mapping (SnowPALM) model. By measuring the radiated energy from the ground and forest structures, including trees, we will figure out how these energies are related to the persistence of snow cover under the variety of forest conditions of the mountain.