Decision Guide: Ground or Aerial Survey?
Quick Answer: Both! Detailed topographic mapping from our MapWarehouse archives is popular with civil engineers to model terrain in 3D. Users can predict the flow of surface water, air movement, acoustic modeling, sight line analysis, make volumetric calculations, and even show depth on a flat image when used together with orthophoto. Most big projects, however, also have a ground survey component. Why buy DEM or contour mapping if you need a survey anyway? One's not better than the other, they both have their place in the project life cycle. Take a detailed look: