Analysing Dredge Plume Using a UAV

This was an interesting project and one that forces you to think outside the box. Imagine being on a small boat moving forward at 5 knots, winds of 8 knots from the side and then having to map and video a dredging vessel moving on a different path. There is no ground control and your timing must be perfect because the dumping process happens for only 10-15 minutes every two hours. These were just some of the challenges we had to overcome. Nothing that gets the heart pumping when the crosswind on the moving boat delays your landing and you get a battery low warning. It does improve your landing skills. With a bit of brainstorming and changes to traditional way of mapping, we got the results. This is more cinematography and not the mosaic info but it does show a nice time-lapse of the dump. This allowed us to measure the movement with currents and the rate the Plume dissipated.