Photogrammetric Techniques and UAV for Drainage Pattern and Overflow Assessment in Mountainous Terrains - Hatta/UAE

Accurate and precise spatial hydrologic information is essential for effective management of natural resources, planning, and disaster response. Very high-resolution images and precise digital elevation models (DEMs) are crucial to accurately predict overflow in urban and mountainous regions; however, available course resolution DEMs with insufficient details cannot provide reliable overflow models. In this context, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer a competitive alternative over satellites or airplanes and provide high spatial details essential for significant improvement of hydrological modeling. In this study, photogrammetric processing that includes stereo images captured via a fixed-wing drone were processed to generate a high-resolution DEM for the area surrounding the Hatta Dam in the United Arab Emirates. Three levels of details were introduced: data collection, photogrammetric processing, and hydrologic modeling. This study determined that flow modeling based on the UAV DEMs resulted in accurate hydrological modeling.