Drone mapping of mussel beds (KB-24-005-009)

Using UAVs, recordings were made using a common digital camera and a hyperspectral camera of two intertidal beds: a mussel bed in the Wadden Sea and an oyster bed in the Oosterschelde Bay. As a references detailed images were recorded inside the beds using a hand-held digital camera. Of these images 3D models were made. Until now the UAV work has given us a lot of insights in possibilities and impossibilities in UAV research on mussel beds. For instance, weather conditions quickly proved to be strongly limiting. First analyses were carried out and a first classification is currently being done. The bed-covering images made so far already show a high potential for research purposes, but for implementation specifically in WOT monitoring the classifications will need to deliver usable results as well.