Case study · Geomatics & linear engineering

Bathymetric and topographic fusion

We merged green-wavelength bathymetric lidar with multibeam sonar into one continuous surface across 86 river kilometres, refraction-corrected at the waterline and accepted for hydraulic model input without rework.

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Context

The situation.

Water authority mapping flood-prone river corridors where lidar and sonar coverage must align.

Scope

Conjoined processing of green-wavelength bathymetric lidar and multibeam sonar surveys: refraction-corrected point merging at the waterline, a single continuous surface across the wet-topped boundary, and change rasters between survey epochs for sediment budgeting.

Outcome

One continuous bathy-topo surface for 86 river km, accepted for hydraulic model input without rework.

Stack
PythonPDALPostGISQGIS
Challenges

What made it hard.

The waterline moved 14 m between lidar and sonar passes: we introduced an observed-stage correction model keyed to gauge readings, making epoch comparison valid.

Vegetated banks absorbed green lidar, leaving gaps: we fused photogrammetric points from the same sortie and flagged confidence per cell instead of interpolating blindly.

FAQ

Common questions.

What was the scope?

Conjoined processing of green-wavelength bathymetric lidar and multibeam sonar surveys: refraction-corrected point merging at the waterline, a single continuous surface across the wet-topped boundary, and change rasters between survey epochs for sediment budgeting.

Who was the client?

Client names are withheld under confidentiality agreements. References are available on request.

What was the outcome?

One continuous bathy-topo surface for 86 river km, accepted for hydraulic model input without rework.

Related capability

Data & MLOps

Ingestion, warehousing, pipelines, model serving, drift monitoring.

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Trust

This is one of roughly fifty engagements we ship per year. The full record, 2011 to today, lives on the delivery history page.

Have a similar problem?

Fixed scope, senior engineers, staging from week one.

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