I monitor ponding and mud pan evolution of arid environment in wet and dry phases.
You may try to place a stick or a square of known dimensions on the ground, and then take a photo from the air vertically above. You may use a cheap camera drone or a small baloon. See for example the site http://myfirstdrone.com/tutorials/buying-guides/top-3-drones-beginners-100/ , or similar sites you may find by Googling camera drone.
Once you have a picture taken vertically above the area of interest, you may take measures (polygon area, crack lenght) directly from the picture and then calculate the real dimension by comparing with the known stick or square in the picture. It is important to take the pictures vertically, or (in case of slightly oblique view) to rectify the photo to simulate a vertical photo (orthophoto, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthophoto).
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- Agricultural Science
- Soil Science
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