UAV geothermal mapping in Austurengjar

  Author: Jóhann Mar Ólafsson                                                                                                                          Year: 2018                                                                                                                                            Supervisors:  Juliet Newson , Victor Madrigal , and Daniel Ben-Yehoshua 
Abstract:

The aim of this study was to produce and analyze a thermal map of a geothermal area in Iceland. Austurengjar, an area part of the Krýsuvík volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula was selected. The area was mapped by a UAV equipped with a dual thermal and RGB camera. The resulting thermal image and RGB orthophoto were compared to conventional mapping methods and analyzed. Temperature polygons were created for various temperature ranges in to obtain a greater understanding of the thermal distribution in the area. The methods for UAV mapping showed promising results as highly detailed images were produced after a flight of ten minutes. The results show that UAVs could be a key tool in baseline geothermal mapping and monitoring in the near future.