Drone Flight Manual: UCSD Mangrove Imaging Procedure. Version 1.2.

Abstract

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Engineers for Exploration and the Aburto Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) (henceforth UC San Diego team), along with Centro para la Biodiversidad Marina y Conservación, and the Gulf of California Marine Program, have collaborated to develop a pipeline for drone based aerial data acquisition and processing to produce high-quality image products. The resulting images are intended for use with machine learning to classify mangrove extent and species composition. This machine learning image processing procedure will be henceforth called the Image Processing Procedure. When completed, the Image Processing Procedure creates the following products:• High-altitude wide area white-balanced visible-spectrum orthomosaic• Low-altitude small area white-balanced visible-spectrum orthomosaic• Digital elevation model (DEM)This manual details field procedures for taking aerial red-green-blue (RGB) imagery of mangrove forests for the subsequent Image Processing Procedure. It includes instructions for safe drone operation, efficient time management, and functional data organization.The UCSD team has also established procedures for acquiring similar data with the addition of multispectral imagery and GPS ground control points.