P.N. Aigüestortes

In July 2015 a field campaign was completed in the Aigüestortes National Park. The objective of this campaign was the characterization of the discontinuity pattern of the Pala de Morrano slope, in order to define kinematically detachable rock mass volumes and potential sliding surfaces. The characterization of the discontinuity pattern has been typically carried out by means of scanlines, using the geological compass and tape. This procedure has obvious limitations due to the inaccessibility of the outcrops (especially in steep cliffs), high time consumption for data collection and the possibility of measurement errors.

Modern techniques allow us to characterize the rock mass structure visible from a remote and safe position. New non-invasive techniques such as the digital photogrammetry and the laser scanner have allowed the preparation of 3D surface models, from which measure the orientation of the discontinuities, their persistence, the spacing as well as identifying potentially unstable rock masses and rock bridges.

All the data necessary for the generation of the surface models have been obtained using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones), a helicopter flight, and several ground-based cameras.  The digital images captured and the LIDAR-generated point clouds were georeferenced with GPS.

The following video shows the tridimensional model resultant of the post-process of the data obtained in this campaign and the fracture pattern obtained