Kourou lakes: three water bodies at 13 mm, then erosion monitoring of the Canal de l’Ouest

Background

The three lakes of Kourou are wetlands set within the town, lined by private plots and roads. As part of its responsibility for aquatic environments and flood prevention, the Savanes community of municipalities wanted accurate orthophotos of the lakes and their banks, up to the neighbouring plots and roads. In 2026 it began monitoring bank erosion on Bois Chaudat lake and on the Canal de l’Ouest, which links the lake to the Kourou river: two flood-management structures.

What we did

In late November 2024, each lake got a flight plan suited to its shape: a corridor along Bois Diable lake, a full grid over Marie-Claire lake, a crossed grid around Bois Chaudat lake without flying over the water. Control points, placed on the map beforehand, were measured on the ground. Delivered on 28 November: three orthophotos at 13 mm, three at 39 mm, three surface models and the control-point file. On 15 September 2026, at low tide, the first monitoring campaign: a 12 mm orthophoto of Bois Chaudat lake, a plan of the lake and canal, the mud islets in the northern part of the lake mapped at 22 mm to measure their area, and 34 photos taken from fixed points agreed with the authority, to be repeated identically at every campaign. Delivered two days later, the orthophoto is available on Sentinel Cloud; eight campaigns are scheduled up to February 2028.

2 related missions in the log

1. September 2026

   LiDAR and photogrammetryFrench Guiana

   Erosion monitoring of the Canal de l’Ouest and Bois Chaudat lake

   Kourou · Communauté de communes des Savanes

   First of eight campaigns scheduled up to February 2028: flight on 15 September 2026 at low tide, 12 mm orthophoto, mud islets in the northern part of the lake mapped at 22 mm and 34 photos taken from fixed viewpoints; delivered on 17 September, with three Sentinel Cloud accounts.

   • 12 mm/px
   • 34 reference photos

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2. November 2024

   LiDAR and photogrammetryFrench Guiana

   Orthophotos of the three lakes of Kourou

   Kourou · Communauté de communes des Savanes

   Request of 11 October 2024; one flight plan per lake, a corridor on Bois Diable, a full grid on Marie-Claire, a crossed grid around Bois Chaudat without flying over the water, and control points measured on the ground. Delivered on 28 November: three orthophotos at 13 mm, three at 39 mm and three surface models.

   • 13 mm/px
   • 3 lakes

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All missions