Response to comment by Daley et al., on “Assessing gully erosion and rehabilitation using multi temporal LiDAR DEMs: Case study from the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia”

Abstract

Daley et al. (2023a) argue that at least 10–15 years apart Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived DEMs of Difference (DoD) surveys are needed to detect reliable geomorphic change within the gullied landscapes of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. We acknowledge that the reliability of observed geomorphic change increases as more subtle geomorphic processes are detected with longer monitoring periods. As further good quality long-term legacy datasets become available, we encourage utilising these to improve confidence in targeting erosion rehabilitation. However, our approach to consistently apply 2–3 year DoDs to contrasting gully morphologies enabled capture of more intense geomorphic processes acting over shorter timeframes and provided valuable and timely information on (i) contrasting erosional mechanisms and erosion rates between variable gully morphologies, and (ii) rehabilitation efforts undertaken. In this paper, we take the opportunity to concisely address all the concerns raised by Daley et al. (2023a).

Keywords

• Digital elevation models
• (dis)connectivity
• Restoration
• Geomorphic change detection
• Geomorphic effectiveness
• GIS