Using LiDAR Technology for Geoheritage Inventory and Modelling: Case Study of Đavolja Varoš Geosite (Serbia)

• Published in: Geoheritage 2024-06, Vol.16 (2), Article 41
• Main Authors: Tešić, Dajana, Tomić, Tijana, Tomić, Nemanja, Marković, Slobodan B., Tadić, Elena, Marković, Rastko, Bačević, Nikola, Davidović Manojlović, Marina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biogeosciences; Earth; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geoheritage; Gullies; Gully erosion; Historical Geology; Hydrology; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Lidar; Mineralogy; Original Article; Paleontology; Photogrammetry; Physical Geography
• ISSN: 1867-2477; 1867-2485
• DOI: 10.1007/s12371-024-00947-9

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) brought a big step forward in the research of landform processes. TLS enables detailed, precise and accurate representation of terrain and all other natural or manmade structures. For this study, the badlands with earth figures of Đavolja Varoš geosite were scanned and modelled with the help of TLS, areal photogrammetry and GNSS receiver. This geosite was chosen due to rapid morphological changes occurring on a seasonal level. The scanning of the Đavolja Varoš geosite was conducted in October 2021 at 198 scanning locations, resulting in a point cloud of 1,281,664,716 points. By classifying and analyzing the obtained data, an ultra-high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) was obtained, on the basis of which surface and hydrology analysis were performed using ArcGIS Pro software. This research represents the first complete and thorough documentation of the number, structure and dimensions of earth figures. The geosite consists of 2 hidromorphological units - Đavolja and Paklena gully. Based on the processed data, Paklena gully has a larger number of earth figures, their number reaches 124, while Đavolja gully has 77 earth figures. In total, 131 earth figures have an andesite caprock and 70 are without a caprock. The average height of the figures in Đavolja Gully is 5.64 m, while the average height in Paklena gully is 4.2 m. The highest earth figure in Đavolja Varoš is 15.5 m, and the lowest is 0.8 m. Gully erosion is more intense in Đavolja gully and thus the figures are much higher. This paper laid the foundations for further investigation of site erosion, where future studies will compare the time series of processed LiDAR point cloud data, therefore, our understanding of how earth figures change will be greatly enriched by results of further research.