Modelling karst landscape with massive airborne and terrestrial laser scanning data

Abstract

Recent developments in data collection methods such as laser scanning technology contributed to the rise of massive datasets representing the landscapes with an unprecedented accuracy. However, processing of the massive datasets poses new challenges. Current geographic information system softwares have a limited capability to effectively handle such data. Therefore, specialised software must be used in order to further analyse the data in a geographic information system. This study describes the key methodological aspects of processing massive laser scanning datasets with a set of software tools and demonstrates the benefits of integrating the data in a geographic information system. The presented case study represents a complex karst landscape in the south-eastern part of Slovakia.