Surveying for Mining & Development

Topography for Dam Breach Analysis

Simulation-ready data for flow modeling

Many inundation areas cover hundreds of square kilometers and extend tens or hundreds of kilometers downstream of a tailings dam. For engineers, obtaining high quality inundation area topography can delay a tailings dam breach analysis (DBA).

PhotoSat’s Topography for Dam Breach Analysis (DBA) gives engineering consultants the hydro-corrected survey data required for conducting a dam breach analysis, without the need for site access.

Key applications:

Dam breach simulations
Risk assessments
Emergency response planning
Disaster response planning

Elevation grid formats:

File Format(s): ASCII, CSV, DWG, DXF, ECW, ERS, LAS, TIF, and XML.

Thinned Grid formats are available to reduce file size for projects over low-grade slopes.

Learn more about the technology behind our Elevation Surveying.

Technical Specifications:

Type

Bare ground surface (DEM/DTM)

Vertical Accuracy (with control)

~10 – 15 cm RMSE More Info

Satellite Specifications for Elevation Surveys

Some specifications for survey deliverables depend on the satellite used to acquire the imagery.

Satellite	Expected Vertical Accuracy	Orthophoto Ground Resolution (Pixel Size)	Orthophoto Colour	Elevation Grid Spacing (Ground Sample Distance)
WV1	10 – 15 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Greyscale, with colourization options available	1 m or 50 cm
WV2	10 – 15 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Colour	1 m or 50 cm
WV3	10 – 15 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm or 30 cm	Colour	1 m, 50 cm, 30 cm, or 15 cm (resampled)
Pleiades 1A	20 – 30 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Colour	50 cm
Pleiades 1B	20 – 30 cm RMSE (with ground control)	50 cm	Colour	50 cm
Keyhole	--	0.61 m to 1.2 m	Greyscale	0.61 m to 1.2 m