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

Survey Accuracy & Ground Control Information

Relative Accuracy

~20 cm over 5 km

Vegetation Removal

Yes

Available from Archive Imagery

Yes

Satellites Source(s)

WV1, WV2, WV3

Area of Interest

Custom

Coordinate System

Any, including custom mine grids

Download the Comparison of Topography for DBA

Deliverables

The Topography for Dam Breach Analysis (DBA) package includes these standard deliverables.

Standard Deliverables Optional Deliverables

Precision Orthophoto

High-resolution orthorectified photo of your project area.

Resolution: as per satellite
File format(s): ERS, JPEG, KML, LAS, PDF, PNG, TIF, and XML

Contours

Available in 50 cm, 1 m, 5 m, 10 m, or custom intervals.

File format(s): DWG, DXF, KML, and SHP

Colour Shade

Detailed 3D topography of your area with high elevations in warm colours and low elevations in cool colours.

Water Body Outlines

Digital and geolocated linework of surface water including supernatant ponds, engineered tailings cells, naturally occurring water bodies, and/or seasonal accumulation.

Line: 1 pixel
For water bodies 400 m2 or larger