{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]],"date-time":"2026-03-18T17:35:51Z","timestamp":1773855351832,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,7]],"date-time":"2023-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1696636800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This work describes a procedure for building a high-quality 3D model of a rocky pinnacle in the Dolomites, Italy, using Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques. The pinnacle, known as \u201cCampanile di Val Montanaia\u201d, is challenging to survey due to its high elevation and sub-vertical cliffs. The construction of the 3D model is the first step in a multi-disciplinary approach to characterize the rock mass and understand its behavior and evolution. This paper discusses the surveying operations, which involved climbing the pinnacle to collect Ground Control Points (GCPs) and using a UAV to capture aerial imagery. The photographs were processed using SfM software to generate point clouds, mesh, and texture, which were then used for rock mass discontinuity mapping. The study compares models of different qualities and point densities to determine the optimal trade-off between processing time and accuracy in terms of discontinuity mapping. The results show that higher quality models allow for more detailed mapping of discontinuities, with some drawbacks due to noise in the case of the densest solution (e.g., increase in frequency of outliers across the point cloud). These pros and cons are also discussed in relation to the computational cost necessary to build the models. The study also examines the limitations and challenges of performing discontinuity mapping in the different models, including subjectivity in interpretation. A further element of interest is the publication of a high-quality 3D georeferenced model of the \u201cCampanile di Val Montanaia\u201d to be used for several potential further applications, such as stability analyses and numerical modeling.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15194854","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,9]],"date-time":"2023-10-09T04:52:36Z","timestamp":1696827156000},"page":"4854","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A Laboratory for the Integration of Geomatic and Geomechanical Data: The Rock Pinnacle \u201cCampanile di Val Montanaia\u201d"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0395-7185","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Tavasci","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5896-1088","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Lambertini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4083-5910","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Davide","family":"Donati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9257-9803","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valentina Alena","family":"Girelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0882-4189","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni","family":"Lattanzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy (DIFA), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7714-7041","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Castellaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy (DIFA), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2096-5670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefano","family":"Gandolfi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5407-8362","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lisa","family":"Borgatti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1016\/0148-9062(76)90003-6","article-title":"The shear strength of rock and rock joints","volume":"13","author":"Barton","year":"1976","journal-title":"Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.2113\/gseegeosci.8.1.19","article-title":"Fracturing within anticlines and its kinematic control on slope stability","volume":"8","author":"Badger","year":"2002","journal-title":"Environ. Eng. Geosci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsg.2015.02.002","article-title":"A critical review of rock slope failure mechanisms: The importance of structural geology","volume":"74","author":"Stead","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Struct. Geol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrmge.2018.08.001","article-title":"The Hoek\u2013Brown failure criterion and GSI\u20142018 edition","volume":"11","author":"Hoek","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"(1978). International society for rock mechanics commission on standardization of laboratory and field tests: Suggested methods for the quantitative description of discontinuities in rock masses. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr., 15, 319\u2013368.","DOI":"10.1016\/0148-9062(78)91472-9"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stead, D., Donati, D., Wolter, A., and Sturzenegger, M. (2019). Application of Remote Sensing to the Investigation of Rock Slopes: Experience Gained and Lessons Learned. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi8070296"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fullin, N., Duo, E., Fabbri, S., Francioni, M., Ghirotti, M., and Ciavola, P. (2023). Quantitative Characterization of Coastal Cliff Retreat and Landslide Processes at Portonovo\u2013Trave Cliffs (Conero, Ancona, Italy) Using Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data. Remote Sens., 15.","DOI":"10.20944\/preprints202306.0021.v1"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1007\/s10346-022-01970-z","article-title":"Airborne combined photogrammetry\u2014Infrared thermography applied to landslide remote monitoring","volume":"20","author":"Vivaldi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Landslides"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1002\/esp.3493","article-title":"Terrestrial laser scanning of rock slope instabilities","volume":"39","author":"Oppikofer","year":"2014","journal-title":"Earth Surf. Process. Landforms"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2235","DOI":"10.1007\/s00603-015-0763-5","article-title":"Back Analysis of the 2014 San Leo Landslide Using Combined Terrestrial Laser Scanning and 3D Distinct Element Modelling","volume":"49","author":"Spreafico","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rock Mech. Rock Eng."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1007\/s11263-007-0107-3","article-title":"Modeling the World from Internet Photo Collections","volume":"80","author":"Snavely","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int. J. Comput. Vis."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1023\/B:VISI.0000029664.99615.94","article-title":"Distinctive Image Features from Scale-Invariant Keypoints","volume":"60","author":"Lowe","year":"2004","journal-title":"Int. J. Comput. Vis."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Birch, J. (2006). Laser and Photogrammetric Methods for Rock Face Characterization, Colorado School of Mines."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"300","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geomorph.2012.08.021","article-title":"\u2018Structure-from-Motion\u2019 photogrammetry: A low-cost, effective tool for geoscience applications","volume":"179","author":"Westoby","year":"2012","journal-title":"Geomorphology"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Francioni, M., Antonaci, F., Sciarra, N., Robiati, C., Coggan, J., Stead, D., and Calamita, F. (2020). Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data and Discrete Fracture Network Models for Improved Rockfall Simulations. Remote Sens., 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs12122053"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.5194\/isprsarchives-XL-1-W4-313-2015","article-title":"UAV-Based Point Cloud Generation For Open-Pit Mine Modelling","volume":"XL-1\/W4","author":"Shahbazi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1045","DOI":"10.1007\/s10346-018-0978-0","article-title":"Multitemporal UAV surveys for landslide mapping and characterization","volume":"15","author":"Rossi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Landslides"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1016\/j.geomorph.2016.02.025","article-title":"Close-range airborne Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry for high-resolution beach morphometric surveys: Examples from an embayed rotating beach","volume":"261","author":"Brunier","year":"2016","journal-title":"Geomorphology"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Al-Rawabdeh, A., He, F., Moussa, A., El-Sheimy, N., and Habib, A. (2016). Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Digital Imaging System to Derive a 3D Point Cloud for Landslide Scarp Recognition. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs8020095"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"916069","DOI":"10.3389\/feart.2022.916069","article-title":"Kinematic Analysis of the 2020 Elliot Creek Landslide, British Columbia, Using Remote Sensing Data","volume":"10","author":"Donati","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Earth Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s12518-015-0165-0","article-title":"UAV monitoring and documentation of a large landslide","volume":"8","author":"Lindner","year":"2016","journal-title":"Appl. Geomat."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1177\/0309133313515293","article-title":"Mapping landslide displacements using Structure from Motion (SfM) and image correlation of multi-temporal UAV photography","volume":"38","author":"Lucieer","year":"2014","journal-title":"Prog. Phys. Geogr. Earth Environ."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elmo, D., and Stead, D. Disrupting rock engineering concepts: Is there such a thing as a rock mass digital twin and are machines capable of learning rock mechanics?. Proceedings of the 2020 International Symposium on Slope Stability in Open Pit Mining and Civil Engineering.","DOI":"10.36487\/ACG_repo\/2025_34"},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Carulli, G.B. (2006). Carta Geologica del Friuli Venezia Giulia alla Scala 1:150.000\u2013Note Illustrative, S.E.L.C.A.. Regione autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Direzione Centrale Ambiente e Lavori Pubblici, Servizio Geologico."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Ferasin, F. (1969). La \u201cLinea dell\u2019alto Tagliamento\u201d fra la val Cimoliana ed il Gruppo del Verzegnis in Carnia: (con 1 Fig. nel Testo e 1 Carta Geol.), Soc. Coop. Tipografica. Memorie degli Istituti di Geologia e Mineralogia dell\u2019Universit\u00e0 di Padova."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Picotti, S., Sirovich, L., Pettenati, F., Giorgi, M., Carcione, J., Mucciarelli, M., and Affatato, A. (2012). XXXI Convegno Nazionale Gruppo Nazionale di Geofisica della Terra Solida GNGTS, Potenza, Mosetti Tecniche Grafiche."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1061\/(ASCE)0733-9453(2007)133:2(56)","article-title":"Efficiency and Reliability of Ambiguity Resolution in Network-Based Real-Time Kinematic GPS","volume":"133","author":"Kashani","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Surv. Eng."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5005","DOI":"10.1029\/96JB03860","article-title":"Precise point positioning for the efficient and robust analysis of GPS data from large networks","volume":"102","author":"Zumberge","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Papadopoulou, E.E., Vasilakos, C., Zouros, N., and Soulakellis, N. (2021). DEM-Based UAV Flight Planning for 3D Mapping of Geosites: The Case of Olympus Tectonic Window, Lesvos, Greece. ISPRS Int. J. -Geo-Inf., 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi10080535"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Du, Q., Li, G., Zhou, Y., Chen, D., Chai, M., Qi, S., Cao, Y., Tang, L., and Jia, H. (2022). Route Plans for UAV Aerial Surveys according to Different DEMs in Complex Mountainous Surroundings: A Case Study in the Zheduoshan Mountains, China. Remote Sens., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14205215"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"495","DOI":"10.5194\/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W13-495-2019","article-title":"Efficient Flight Planning For Building Fa\u00e7ade 3D Reconstruction","volume":"XLII-2\/W13","author":"Palanirajan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote. Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Takasu, T. (2023, August 15). RTKLIB 2.4.3. Available online: https:\/\/www.rtklib.com\/."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"469","DOI":"10.1016\/j.asr.2020.04.015","article-title":"GipsyX\/RTGx, a new tool set for space geodetic operations and research","volume":"66","author":"Bertiger","year":"2020","journal-title":"Adv. Space Res."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"887","DOI":"10.1007\/s10291-016-0575-4","article-title":"Study on GPS\u2013PPP precision for short observation sessions","volume":"21","author":"Gandolfi","year":"2017","journal-title":"GPS Solutions"},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"Agisoft LLT (2023, August 15). Agisoft Metashape Professional 2.0.2. Available online: https:\/\/www.agisoft.com\/."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enggeo.2011.02.005","article-title":"Terrestrial remote sensing-based estimation of mean trace length, trace intensity and block size\/shape","volume":"119","author":"Sturzenegger","year":"2011","journal-title":"Eng. Geol."},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"CloudCompare (2023, August 15). CloudCompare 2.12 [GPL Software]. Available online: https:\/\/www.cloudcompare.org\/."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Rocscience Inc (2023, August 15). Dips 8. Available online: https:\/\/www.rocscience.com\/software\/dips."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.5194\/isprs-annals-III-3-51-2016","article-title":"Towards Complete, Geo-Referenced 3D Models From Crowd-Sourced Amateur Images","volume":"III-3","author":"Hartmann","year":"2016","journal-title":"ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"282","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-62800-0_22","article-title":"Use of Non-professional UAV Video Sequences for the 3D Modelling of Archaeological Sites by SfM Techniques","volume":"Volume 1246","author":"Parente","year":"2020","journal-title":"R3 in Geomatics: Research, Results and Review"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Themistocleous, K. (2016, January 4\u20138). The use of open data from social media for the creation of 3D georeferenced modeling. Proceedings of the fourth International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of the Environment, Paphos, Cyprus.","DOI":"10.1117\/12.2242804"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"977","DOI":"10.1080\/15583058.2020.1853851","article-title":"Crowdsource Drone Imagery\u2014A Powerful Source for the 3D Documentation of Cultural Heritage at Risk","volume":"16","author":"Alsadik","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Archit. Herit."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.5194\/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W6-355-2017","article-title":"Quality Assessment Of Combined Imu\/Gnss Data For Direct Georeferencing in the Context Of Uav-Based Mapping","volume":"XLII-2\/W6","author":"Nex","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1557","DOI":"10.5194\/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-2-2023-1557-2023","article-title":"Direct Georeferencing Approaches For Close-Range And Uav Photogrammetry in the Built Heritage Domain","volume":"XLVIII-M-2-2023","author":"Chiabrando","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Correia, C.A.M., Andrade, F.A.A., Sivertsen, A., Guedes, I.P., Pinto, M.F., Manh\u00e3es, A.G., and Haddad, D.B. (2022). Comprehensive Direct Georeferencing of Aerial Images for Unmanned Aerial Systems Applications. Sensors, 22.","DOI":"10.3390\/s22020604"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, X., Lian, X., Yang, W., Wang, F., Han, Y., and Zhang, Y. (2022). Accuracy Assessment of a UAV Direct Georeferencing Method and Impact of the Configuration of Ground Control Points. Drones, 6.","DOI":"10.3390\/drones6020030"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"661","DOI":"10.5721\/EuJRS20154836","article-title":"Common problems encountered in 3D mapping of geological contacts using high-resolution terrain and image data","volume":"48","author":"Guerin","year":"2015","journal-title":"Eur. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijrmms.2010.11.014","article-title":"The synthetic rock mass approach for jointed rock mass modelling","volume":"48","author":"Pierce","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. Sci."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/19\/4854\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T21:02:41Z","timestamp":1760130161000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/19\/4854"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,7]]},"references-count":48,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10]]}},"alternative-id":["rs15194854"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs15194854","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,7]]}}}