Towards a three-dimensional cost-effective registration of the archaeological heritage

Himalayan glacier tongues are commonly debris covered and they are an important source of melt water. However, they remain relatively unstudied because of the inaccessibility of the terrain and the difficulties in field work caused by the thick debris mantles. Observations of debris-covered glaciers are therefore scarce and airborne remote sensing may bridge the gap between scarce field observations and coarse resolution space-borne remote sensing. In this study we deploy an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) before and after the melt and monsoon season (May and October 2013) over the debris-covered tongue of the Lirung Glacier in Nepal. Based on stereo-imaging and the structure for motion algorithm we derive highly detailed ortho-mosaics and digital elevation models (DEMs), which we geometrically correct using differential GPS observations collected in the field. Based on DEM differencing and manual feature tracking we derive the mass loss and the surface velocity of the glacier at a high spatial accuracy. On average, mass loss is limited and the surface velocity is very small. However, the spatial variability of melt rates is very high, and ice cliffs and supra-glacial ponds show mass losses that can be an order of magnitude higher than the average. We suggest that future research should focus on the interaction between supra-glacial ponds, ice cliffs and englacial hydrology to further understand the dynamics of debris-covered glaciers. Finally, we conclude that UAV deployment has large potential in glaciology and it may revolutionize methods currently applied in studying glacier surface features.

High-Resolution Monitoring of Himalayan Glacier Dynamics Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

High-resolution monitoring of Himalayan glacier dynamics using unmanned aerial vehicles

On introducing an image-based 3D reconstruction method in archaeological excavation practice

Multi-image photogrammetry as a practical tool for cultural heritage survey and community engagement

In the course of their research campaign in Siberia, Ghent University archaeologists have developed a simple and cost effective method for the rapid 3D imaging of rock art, standing stelae and surface monuments. Their procedure will undoubtedly have a big role to play in archaeological research in advance of the oil pipeline expected soon.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0003598X00047980

Three-dimensional recording of archaeological remains in the Altai Mountains

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/5836299/file/8516600.pdf

Potential of cone penetrating testing for mapping deeply buried palaeolandscapes in the context of archaeological surveys in polder areas

Wetland landscape dynamics, Swifterbant land use systems, and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in the southern North Sea basin

Exploring Integrated Geophysics and Geotechnics as a Paleolandscape Reconstruction Tool: Archaeological Prospection of (Prehistoric) Sites Buried Deeply below the Scheldt Polders (NW Belgium)

The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the wetland margins of the southern North Sea basin occurred well over a millennium after the transition in neighboring loess regions. This article investigates the possible role of hydrological dynamics in the presence of the last hunter-gatherer-fishermen in these wetland regions. A Bayesian modeling approach is used to integrate stratigraphic information and radiocarbon dates both from accurately datable archaeological remains and key horizons in peat sequences in the Scheldt floodplain of northwestern Belgium. This study tests whether the Swifterbant occupation of the study area was contemporaneous with hiatuses in peat growth caused by organic clastic sedimentation due to increased tidal influences and local groundwater rise. The results suggest that the appearance of this culture followed shortly after the emergence of a brackish tidal mudflat landscape replacing a freshwater marsh.

/pdf/chronology-of-wetland-hydrological-dynamics-and-the-4mgr3t51a1.pdf

Jeroen Verhegge

Papers

Three-dimensional recording of archaeological remains in the Altai Mountains

Potential of cone penetrating testing for mapping deeply buried palaeolandscapes in the context of archaeological surveys in polder areas

Wetland landscape dynamics, Swifterbant land use systems, and the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in the southern North Sea basin

Exploring Integrated Geophysics and Geotechnics as a Paleolandscape Reconstruction Tool: Archaeological Prospection of (Prehistoric) Sites Buried Deeply below the Scheldt Polders (NW Belgium)

Chronology of wetland hydrological dynamics and the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition along the Lower Scheldt: a Bayesian approach