Predicting the future by analysing the past

Working as a team
Helping the ITG team on the expedition were French and Italian Leica Geosystems technicians, in particular, manager Farouk Kadded. An experienced mountaineer and climber, Kadded could assist the team with their questions and they were able to learn a lot from him.

“We have been using Leica Geosystems instruments since 2011. Working together and receiving assistance from specialists such as Farouk had made us fully understand the difference of working with dedicated assistance from Leica Geosystems versus working with a company that only wants to sell instruments,” said Santagata.

Industry-leading Leica Cyclone software was used to process the data into highly detailed 3D point cloud models. It simplifies the entire post processing workflow by preparing and cleaning data in one step. Cyclone is capable of:

• Registering the original scans extremely fast
• Cleaning unnecessary information from large amounts of data
• Stitching together the scans seamlessly

“Using the 3D Reshaper software smoothes out the rough edges of triangles of meshes, giving results a realistic look. It integrates seamlessly with Cyclone and actually with the entire solution, saving us a lot of time and unnecessary steps while processing,” said Santagata. “We can also create ice terrain models and make a time series, to monitor changes over five or even 10 years.

The team now has the first complete 3D model of the cave. The team also has ice samples and records of one year’s monitoring with data loggers. This is the starting point for all future comparisons, providing important information on climate change and morphological changes happening within the Dolomites. Currently, there are no similar projects offering such data anywhere.

“We are very happy with Leica Geosystems instruments. We are always sure that when we come down from that mountain, the instruments have collected exactly what we need. I can’t say that about any other brands.”

Back to Reporter 77 article overview

Story: Predicting the future by analysing the past
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Documenting the effects of time
Chapter 3: Working as a team