USE OF LIDAR TO STUDY URBAN STREAMBANK EROSION ASSOCIATED WITH ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES

Streambank erosion in urban streams is a natural process greatly complicated by human activities. The acceleration of streambank erosion results in greater sediment yields, less stable stream channels, loss in soil nutrients, and many other ramifications. Traditional approaches to quantify streambank erosion, including erosion pins, sedimentologial evidence, and planimetric resurvey, often require direct measuring restricted by weather, terrestrial accessibility, human error, and other factors. Direct measuring may also be difficult or even dangerous at certain circumstances. This paper uses a new surveying technique, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), to quantify streambank erosion at the Third Creek, an urban stream in Knoxville, Tennessee. The stream channel properties and sediment movement has changed due to the recent construction of a Wal-Mart on its side. The raw dataset is processed using a streamlined analysis toolset and ArcGIS, and the result is compared with direct measurement. This study also demonstrates that LiDAR can be an accurate measurement for streambank properties.