{"id":74611,"date":"2020-05-15T16:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T20:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronelife.com\/?p=74611"},"modified":"2020-05-15T16:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T20:01:00","slug":"orthophoto-survey-drones-help-predict-flash-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronelife.com\/2020\/05\/15\/orthophoto-survey-drones-help-predict-flash-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"Orthophoto Survey Drones Help Predict Flash Flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Orthophoto
Source: WingtraOne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Orthophoto survey drones<\/a> are providing new insights to scientists tracking ice and water levels in Alaska.<\/p>\n

A research team led by Gabriel Wolken of the University of Alaska Fairbank’s Climate Adaptation Science Center<\/a> has been measuring rising and falling ice and water levels in Suicide Basin glacial lake just outside Juneau.<\/p>\n

By working to visualize and predict the glacial lake’s seasonal flux, the team hopes to learn how the water interacts with the Mendenhall Glacier<\/a>, which sits next to the basin and holds it together.<\/p>\n

\u201cMendenhall was once connected to Suicide Glacier before rising temperatures separated them, resulting in Suicide Basin,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cWhen basin waters rise to a point, Mendenhall Glacier can’t hold them anymore and the entire basin drains, immediately causing flash floods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to climate change, flash flooding across Suicide Basin<\/a> began in 2011, damaging local infrastructure in the valley several times.<\/p>\n

“This flooding potentially threatens a bridge that is connected to the road system,” Wolken said. “And this is the only road that would connect residents on the north side to hospitals and other vital facilities, so if this bridge was impacted it would cause some very serious issues for a lot of people.”<\/p>\n