Autonomous Vehicles Mapping Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

A groundbreaking study leverages autonomous vehicles and advanced remote sensing to map Plitvice Lakes National Park, revealing intricate bathymetric features of its cascading lakes. The research demonstrates that increased dissolved organic matter disrupts travertine formation, a critical process in the park's unique ecosystem. By combining high-resolution aerial imagery with multibeam sonar surveys conducted by an autonomous surface vehicle, the study generated unprecedentedly detailed and georeferenced bathymetric models. These models captured numerous depressions consistent with previous studies, offering deeper insights into the lakes' geological dynamics. The integration of autonomous vehicles significantly enhanced survey efficiency, data precision, and accuracy compared to traditional manual methods.

Kapetanović, N., Kordić, B., Vasilijević, A., Nađ, Đ., & Mišković, N. (2020). Autonomous Vehicles Mapping Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. Remote Sensing, 12(22), 3683. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12223683