Popis: |
Salt marshes occur throughout the extra-tropical regions of the world, along low energy shores, where a surplus of fine sediment is available, and they have been estimated as some of the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. They exhibit complex topographies primarily modelled by hydrodynamics which, in turn, determine geobiophysical processes and the pattern of occurring communities. This makes accurate salt marsh topography a prerequisite for the understanding of their function and structure. Only recently, have remote-sensing techniques become widely available to obtain high-resolution topographic data in an environment otherwise extremely arduous to access. Still, extraction of bare-earth surface remains difficult and especially problematic in areas of dense vegetation. LiDAR data, although widely in use still isn’t readily available worldwide and requires intensive post-processing and validation. |