Micro-Topography
Definition
Small-scale (centimetre to metre) variations in ground surface height. Grave mounding, subsidence hollows, and soil-scrape scars are micro-topographic features typically invisible to standard survey but detectable in high-resolution LiDAR DTMs.
- Scale
- Centimetre to metre variations in ground height
- Detection tool
- High-resolution LiDAR digital terrain model
- Typical features
- Grave mounding, subsidence hollows, scrape scars
- Visible to standard survey
- No, usually undetectable
Common questions
Why does a grave produce a detectable surface feature at all?+
Backfilled soil is looser than undisturbed ground and settles over months to years, first mounding slightly above grade from the disturbed volume and later subsiding into a shallow hollow as decomposition reduces body volume and soil compacts.
What limits how well micro-topography can be mapped?+
Dense vegetation, ground cover, and the resolution of the LiDAR survey all affect whether subtle height changes of only a few centimetres are actually captured; bare, recently surveyed ground gives the clearest signal.
Related terms
- Bare-Earth DTM
- A digital terrain model produced by filtering LiDAR returns to ground-level pulses only, removing vegetation and structure returns. The resulting surface represents...
- Ground Classification
- The algorithmic process (e.g., using LAStools or PDAL) that separates ground-surface returns from non-ground returns in a LiDAR point cloud, enabling bare-earth...
- LiDAR
- Light Detection and Ranging: an active remote-sensing method that emits laser pulses and records the time-of-flight of returning echoes to produce a...
- Point Cloud
- The raw data product of a LiDAR survey: a set of 3D coordinates (X, Y, Z) for each laser return, classified by...
- SfM Point Cloud
- A 3D point cloud derived from overlapping photographs using Structure from Motion photogrammetry. Achieves similar resolution to terrestrial LiDAR at close range...