Aerial Surveys

Each Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operator is trained and licensed with Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) granted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

We use special photogrammetric software to stitch together large volumes of high-res imagery to create georeferenced orthomosaic, Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and 3D models.

These, in conjunction with ground truth sampling, allow us to accurately map areas of conservation interest and enable us to rapidly enumerate species found in cryptic habitats.

We have applied this technique to:

• Mud and sand flats
• Honeycomb worm reefs (Sabellaria alveolata)
• Seagrass beds (Zostera spp.)
• Mussel beds
• Rocky reefs (including chalk platforms)
• Saltmarshes
• Sand dunes
• Seal pup counts
• Coastal bird counts

More about the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) we operate