| Imaging, UAV | |
UAV & IMAGING
New drone technology locates Aboriginal heritage
Researchers from the Vere Gordon Childe Centre at the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum have identified three previously unregistered Aboriginal rock shelters in the Blue Mountains using drone-based LiDAR technology. Working alongside the Dharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation (DCAC), researchers used drones to scan the Blue Mountains from the air, identifying potential rock shelters that would have been difficult and time-consuming to find on foot.
LiDAR uses laser pulses to create detailed 3D maps of the landscape, helping researchers detect features hidden beneath dense bushland and tree cover. The newly recorded shelters contain visually striking rock art, including red hand stencils, as well as stone artefacts.The team says the approach could help Aboriginal communities, archaeologists and heritage managers locate and protect cultural sites more efficiently across Australia. The research is published in the journal Remote Sensing.
www.sydney.edu.au
Researchers map aquifer from the surface
Groundwater in many areas of the U.S. and across the globe is being depleted as pumping for drinking water and agriculture outpace nature’s ability to refill aquifers. In a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin used remote sensing data and statistical methods to map a municipal aquifer in Nevada. Their goal was to create a cost-effective method of mapping an aquifer by using surface measurements to determine its permeability, or how easily water flows through rock.
When water is pumped out of an aquifer it changes the pressure underground, which can cause the ground overlaying an aquifer to sink subtly, a few millimeters to a few centimeters over months. The study’s lead author Amal Alghamdi, said that this sinking reflects information about the subsurface geology of the aquifer.
Ground subsidence, or sinking, can be measured in different ways. In the study, the researchers used publicly available InSAR satellite data and a statistical method based on a Bayesian inference algorithm developed by co-author Professor Omar Ghattas’ research group at the Oden Institute. They used the information to create a 3D model of how water is likely to flow and spread laterally in the aquifer. By using freely available satellite observations, they mapped a range of possible permeability fields.
The Jackson School research builds on a study conducted by a different research group that calculated the overall hydraulic conductivity of the same Nevada aquifer using subsidence data from GPS monitors. While that research offered a single overall reading of the aquifer’s hydraulic conductivity, a measure that’s related to permeability, the spatial variations in the Jackson School’s maps provide a more detailed view of how permeability changes in different places across the aquifer.
www.jsg.utexas.edu
South Korea launches Nuri rocket
South Korea just launched its first orbital mission of the year.
The milestone came on Oct. 6, when the homegrown Nuri rocket lifted off from the nation’s Naro Space Center, carrying 15 satellites skyward.
Liftoff occurred at 11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 GMT and 12:25 p.m. local time on Oct. 7). Almost everything went well: All but one of the payloads was successfully delivered to low Earth orbit as planned, according to the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
Five of those payloads are microsatellites for South Korea’s nascent New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety (NEONSAT) network.
www.space.com
Ground Control has launched RockBLOCK APNT
Ground Control has launched RockBLOCK APNT, a compact positioning and timing board that gives UAV, USV and autonomous- system manufacturers an independent source of position and precise timing from Iridium PNT. When GNSS is jammed or spoofed, a vehicle relying on it alone has no independent way to tell that its position is wrong, and no second source to fall back on.
RockBLOCK APNT gives developers and OEMs direct access to Iridium PNT, providing a source of position and precise UTC-referenced timing that can be used alongside GNSS and other navigation inputs.
www.groundcontrol.com
RIT receives NASA support for RS experiments
NASA has awarded Rochester Institute of Technology’s Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory (DIRS)
a three-year grant to lead a remote sensing field campaign and share the resulting data with researchers, educators, and the public.
The award, which comes from NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program,
follows the success of ROCX 2025, a community-driven field campaign that drew 75 participants from 24 organizations across six countries to RIT’s Tait Preserve. During the event, researchers collected data for 19 ground experiments using 14 ground instruments, eight UAV platforms, two aircraft, and seven satellite platforms.
As remote sensing technologies continue to evolve, the need for high- quality, well ground-truthed datasets remain critical. These data collections support sensor calibration and validation, algorithm development, and the advancement of future Earth observation capabilities.
www.rit.edu
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