Abstract

Benthic Marines Surveys - Geo-tagging video transects
Track: Ocean, Coastal, and Marine Resources
Authors: David Klap

• Historically our video transect work was done by viewing video footage and transcribing features from the video into preset excel templates. This task was often done in 'spatial isolation' (did not consider the spatial context). Our idea was to transfer the data entry task from excel into ArcGIS where we could take advantage of its scripting, visualisation and analysis capabilities. We developed a new survey methodology that used mobile mapping and built a custom tool within ArcGIS that used GPS data to geo-tag video footage. The tool allowed the user to scroll through the video, see their relative position along the transect line and then add geo-referenced features to a spatial database as they appeared in the video. The result was increased efficiency and a more detailed level of data capture and analysis. By spatially enabling the workflow we generated a greater user engagement and a more refined result.