3. Terrestrial Laser Scanner Surveying in Coastal Settings

Over the last decade, there has been a proliferation of commercially available tripod-mounted Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) systems that use the phase difference or the time-of-flight of emitted pulses of light to rapidly acquire high-density topographic and surface reflectance data. These TLS systems have been well received in the Earth science community because of their ability to collect 10²–10⁵ measurements per second of azimuth, zenith, distance, intensity, and surface color data at distances ranging from 10⁰ to 10³ m. A TLS instrument’s portability, ease of use, and rate of data collection opens the possibility of collecting detailed topographic data at sites where such surveys may not have been possible before. The application of TLS data to current Earth sciences research has allowed us to better understand of the character, timing, rates, and spatial scales of different processes that have been difficult, if not impossible, to evaluate using traditional survey techniques. However, the successes achieved with TLS systems in certain projects may result in unrealistic expectations regarding the density and quality of data that can reasonably be achieved in different settings. This chapter seeks to orient potential or experienced TLS users to its applicability in above-water coastal settings. An emphasis is placed on providing insight into both the variety of current research using TLS data, as well as the compromises in spatial resolution that necessarily arise from field conditions and survey design.