GeoPerspectives has released the most accurate and up-to-date aerial photomap of the whole of Wales. The highly detailed, full colour photography covers approximately 20,000 square kilometres at 25cm resolution. Captured using new digital camera technology, in partnership with aerial surveying company COWI, the onboard digital sensor also captured infrared imagery for identifying vegetation. In addition land elevation data has been extracted from the stereo photography allowing the creation of a three-dimensional terrain model of the whole country.
Approximately 7,000 individual images of Wales were captured making this the most complete, accurate and up-to-date coverage available. Using the latest Vexcel UltraCamD photogrammetric aerial survey camera both full colour photography (RGB) and colour infrared imagery (CIR) for the whole of Wales were captured simultaneously. This additional image layer perfectly matches the standard photography and is a valuable tool for identifying vegetation type and indicating its state of health.
A highly accurate Digital Terrain Model (DTM) has also been created from the original data. With individual height values every 5 metres, each with a positional accuracy of better than 1.5 metres, this model provides a detailed and accurate representation of the earth’s surface for a wide range of applications including environmental modelling, flood risk assessment and 3D visualisation.
The survey was originally undertaken as the result of a contract awarded by the Welsh Assembly to create a map-accurate image layer for the whole of Wales for projects including the administration of land management, agricultural and environmental monitoring and control. As a result of an exclusive partnership with COWI, GeoPerspectives offers the enhanced 25cm image layer, height data and CIR to academic, government and commercial organisations as part of the GeoPerspectives product range. Clients that are already benefiting from this data include Pembrokeshire County Council, Snowdonia National Park and Aberystwyth University and the data is also available to purchase online at www.geoperspectives.co.uk
