Monitoring At-Risk Archaeological Features Using Phone-Based Lidar at Fort Irwin National Training Center, California

Summary

This is an abstract from the "MARS General Military CRM Poster Session" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2002, the Installation Archaeologist at Fort Irwin National Training Center began an “Off Limits Monitoring” (OLM) archaeological site monitoring program to assess at-risk sites for disturbances and to provide recommendations on how to reduce risk and protect these sites in the training areas of Fort Irwin. A robust live-fire military training program, climate change, and the rugged environment of the Mojave Desert itself have created unique challenges for effectively monitoring these protected sites. Auxilo Management and Ayuda Companies contractors for the Department of Public Works (DPW) are working with the Installation Archaeologist to find innovative ways to track and evaluate these changes and risks over time. This poster presents data from a new, multi-year initiative using phone-based lidar units to track changes in high-risk site features over time. Using an iPhone 14 Pro, we scanned four features—(1) petroglyphs, (2) a sniper’s nest from World War II Era military training activities, and (3) two thermal features at risk due to erosion and active alluvial sediments—using the Scaniverse App. Sites were rescanned five months later with results assessed using the program Cloud Compare to determine a schedule for future monitoring efforts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• MARS General Military CRM Poster Session   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40388.0