Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island

Mahmut Oğuz Selbesoğlu; Mustafa Fahri Karabulut; Esra Günaydın; Oleg Vassilev; Tolga Bakırman; Burak Akpınar; Özgün Oktar; Burcu Özsoy

doi:10.31127/tuje.1935836

Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island

Abstract

Changes in the Earth’s radiation balance have increased global average temperatures, accelerating glacier melt in Antarctica. Monitoring this process has become of great importance for future modeling studies. Therefore, obtaining accurate, reliable, and most importantly rapid, logistically feasible, and cost-effective measurements of glacier melt is critically important for regions with harsh conditions such as Antarctica. The Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) and positional accuracy of photogrammetric products generated by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry are critical to accurately assessing snow and glacier dynamics. In this context, the study presents accuracy assessments and planning recommendations for various flight plan scenarios in a rugged area with slopes up to 40% and partial snow and glacial cover. The study was conducted on a test site on Horseshoe Island, and the UAV flight missions were performed under two operational modes: (i) terrain-follow and (ii) fixed-height. The flight missions were real-time kinematic (RTK)-supported; however, ground control points (GCPs) were also placed and measured prior to the flights. The images were evaluated to assess the positional accuracy achieved through RTK-supported processing and GCP-based georectification, with each flight mode analyzed separately. Fixed-height flight planning resulted in lower spatial accuracy than terrain-follow mode, indicating that maintaining a constant flight height over irregular topography reduces spatial resolution due to variable image scales. It was also observed that it performs better in terms of key points per image and bundle block adjustment (BBA)-Average reprojection error in terrain-follow scenarios. In terms of 3D positional accuracy, using a limited number of GCPs resulted in root mean square error (RMSE) values of approximately 1–2 cm in the horizontal and 2–3 cm in the vertical components; however, the RTK-supported flights exhibited higher errors in the Z component, with values of 12.18 cm for the fixed-height and 6.85 cm for the terrain-follow flights.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK

Project Number

121N033

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Photogrametry

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Mahmut Oğuz Selbesoğlu ^*
0000-0002-1132-3978
Türkiye

Mustafa Fahri Karabulut
0000-0001-8513-3475
Türkiye

Esra Günaydın
0000-0003-1868-0887
Türkiye

Oleg Vassilev
0000-0002-8407-8416
Bulgaria

Tolga Bakırman
0000-0001-7828-9666
Türkiye

Burak Akpınar
0000-0002-3076-1578
Türkiye

Özgün Oktar
0000-0002-0188-6267
Türkiye

Burcu Özsoy
0000-0003-4320-1796
Türkiye

Publication Date

October 16, 2026

Submission Date

April 22, 2026

Acceptance Date

August 16, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 4

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1935836

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA96SC57AM

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Selbesoğlu, M. O., Karabulut, M. F., Günaydın, E., Vassilev, O., Bakırman, T., Akpınar, B., Oktar, Ö., & Özsoy, B. (2026). Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island. Turkish Journal of Engineering, 10(4), 1803-1814. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1935836

AMA

1.Selbesoğlu MO, Karabulut MF, Günaydın E, et al. Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island. TUJE. 2026;10(4):1803-1814. doi:10.31127/tuje.1935836

Chicago

Selbesoğlu, Mahmut Oğuz, Mustafa Fahri Karabulut, Esra Günaydın, et al. 2026. “Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island”. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10 (4): 1803-14. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1935836.

EndNote

Selbesoğlu MO, Karabulut MF, Günaydın E, Vassilev O, Bakırman T, Akpınar B, Oktar Ö, Özsoy B (October 1, 2026) Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10 4 1803–1814.

IEEE

[1]M. O. Selbesoğlu et al., “Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island”, TUJE, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1803–1814, Oct. 2026, doi: 10.31127/tuje.1935836.

ISNAD

Selbesoğlu, Mahmut Oğuz - Karabulut, Mustafa Fahri - Günaydın, Esra - Vassilev, Oleg - Bakırman, Tolga - Akpınar, Burak - Oktar, Özgün - Özsoy, Burcu. “Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island”. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10/4 (October 1, 2026): 1803-1814. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1935836.

JAMA

1.Selbesoğlu MO, Karabulut MF, Günaydın E, Vassilev O, Bakırman T, Akpınar B, Oktar Ö, Özsoy B. Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island. TUJE. 2026;10:1803–1814.

MLA

Selbesoğlu, Mahmut Oğuz, et al. “Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island”. Turkish Journal of Engineering, vol. 10, no. 4, Oct. 2026, pp. 1803-14, doi:10.31127/tuje.1935836.

Vancouver

1.Mahmut Oğuz Selbesoğlu, Mustafa Fahri Karabulut, Esra Günaydın, Oleg Vassilev, Tolga Bakırman, Burak Akpınar, Özgün Oktar, Burcu Özsoy. Evaluation of UAV Flight Planning Strategies on the Accuracy of Glacier Mapping in Rugged Antarctic Terrains: A Case Study of Horseshoe Island. TUJE. 2026 Oct. 1;10(4):1803-14. doi:10.31127/tuje.1935836