LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS IN THE IMPACT STRUCTURE OF CERRO DO JARAU USING UAV

Abstract

Craters formed by meteorite impacts are rare formations on the Earth's surface. The impact structure of Cerro do Jarau, (Latitude: 30°12’05’’ S and Longitude: 56°32’12’’ W), municipality of Quaraí (state of Rio Grande do Sul), is an impact crater formed by a celestial body, the structure has a circular shape with a diameter of approximately 14 km, which shows to be different from surrounding morphological features. The present study carried out an aerophotogrammetric survey using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to develop a Digital Surface Model (DSM), and an orthomosaic of two transects, one in the north-south direction, and the other in the east-west direction, with approximately 12 km in length, and 300 m in width. The DSM with a spatial resolution of 0.25 m / pixel and the orthomosaic with a spatial resolution of 0.10 m / pixel allowed us to detect and analyze the morphology/geology of the study area, identifying surface features such as hills, small hills and water bodies with centripetal radial pattern, which distinguish Cerro do Jarau area from the surrounding landscape.