ABSTRACT
Whilst some of the platforms used for environmental applications have been specialised custom examples, the rapid growth in small, low-cost platforms has led to more of these platforms being standard off-the-shelf Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) (e.g. the DJI Phantom) has become very popular as and RTF. Inevitably the opportunity to monitor changes to the coastal environment has been one of the applications where UAVs have considerable potential given the ease with which it is now possible to acquire multi-temporal photographic imagery not only to see changes to the coastline in terms of erosion and deposition but also to be able to measure the change e.g. cutback and to determine the rate of coastal erosion. In this chapter, three different examples are used to illustrate the potential of these small airborne platforms and sensors to gather data on various aspects of the coastal environment. Spanning some 30 years, these provide a good indication of how the aerial platform and sensor technologies have advanced, over a relatively short period of time to the present day, empowering a wide range of people with the potential to acquire and process high-resolution environmental data.
