The University of Brighton is using a drone in Western Canada to map a river bed both above and below water level, and then model how sandy rivers respond to human interference and environmental change.
The radio-controlled quadcopter gives scientists an aerial view of the river at such a high resolution that is possible to see a 10p coin on the ground.
Phil Ashworth, Professor of Physical Geography, is leading the technological development of the drone following a Natural Environment Research Council grant of £742,000 to a team of researchers from Brighton, Exeter, Hull, Birmingham and Illinois universities.
Read the full article in issue 2 of Drones Monthly Magazine