Using drone mounted multispectral cameras to map fossil sites

In this paper the uses of drone mounted multispectral cameras are tested in the field of paleontology with the intent to locate fossils. To test this methodology a map, made of up of many aerial near infrared images, were analyzed based on light returns in the near infrared spectrum (850 nm). Using these returns specific value for the fossils were established and 2 classification techniques were applied (Pixel inspector and interactive supervised classification). The results show that there are many fossils in the study area that can be excavated. A shapefile of all found fossils was created and the best groupings of fossils were selected to be possible fossil sites of which there were 23. These sites were then ranked based on number of possible fossils in a site by the size of the site which helped determine the sites worth excavating. This study shows the benefits of using drone mounted cameras to scout an area prior to a paleontological excavation. Finding a possible fossil site prior to an excavation allows a researcher to focus the bulk of their time and energy on the excavation rather than looking for the fossils on foot.