Marine environments

Studying marine and coastal areas from the air poses technical challenges due to surface movement, the reflection of the sun’s rays and the salinity of the spray. Demand for data on these environments is rising, and L’Avion Jaune has developed solutions for conducting aerial imaging projects along the coastline and offshore.

Coastal erosion

The retreat of coastlines is a natural phenomenon which is being exacerbated by pressure from human activity: 22% of the coastline of mainland France is retreating due to marine erosion. Large-scale urban development has placed a major part of human activity in immediate proximity to coastlines. Consequently, precise knowledge of how coastlines are evolving has become crucial for numerous reasons, including personal security in the case of submersion, protection of property, insurance estimations, hazard zoning and regulatory planning. L’Avion Jaune responds to these issues by providing management agencies with precision data ideal for use in integrated studies and diachronic monitoring: accurate, verifiable, and reliable.

Drone M600 + Scanner Lidar Vx-20

Detection of marine fauna

Counting marine animals (dolphins, cetaceans, seals, etc.) is a delicate exercise usually carried out by observers flying over the sea on a plane. Despite rigorous methods, error rates can be high. The rapid development of optical sensors and deep learning techniques is bringing vast improvement here. L’Avion Jaune and the company Wipsea have joined forces to offer a powerful and economical automated counting method. It proved its worth during a mission in the Pacific Ocean to calculate the number and spatial distribution of dugongs in the lagoon around New Caledonia.

Repérage espèces marines

Lagoons and tidal flats

The aesthetic beauty of lagoons is a boon for tourism, attracting flocks of visitors. Unfortunately, these environments are fragile and react strongly to human pressures. Their conservation depends, to some extent, on our ability to identify their “pathologies” – such as coral bleaching, parasitic sedimentation, clogging, and colonisation by invasive species. Aerial imaging can identify and help correct these factors. Flyovers demand often highly complex methodologies given the number of factors to take into account, such as current intensity, waves, solar height and the length and times of tides.

L’Avion Jaune has crucial experience in this domain.

Lagon mururoa