Topographic Survey with Disto x and 3D Representation of the Caves by Laser Grammetry, Case of the AZIZA Cave, Errachidia, Morocco

Abstract

From the middle of the 19th century, speleological topography became a discipline, if not an art, which supported the work of both explorers and scientists. Underground explorations in Morocco remain an area to be discovered and developed. The Moroccan 99,890 km² limestone surface, represents 14% of the total surface which potentially contains a large number of caves, only 3 of them are developed. This under-exploitation is explained by the lack of evaluation of the richness of Morocco’s karst and cave heritage, the topographic maps of Moroccan Caves are poorly carried out or absent, the last inventory of Moroccan Caves dates from 1981.The objective of this study is to represent the AZIZA Cave virtually, appreciate its volume, and optimize the topography of the latter based on 3D technologies. Two methods were used, the topography of the cave by a DISTO-X, and the results of the 3D projection of the cave were carried out on the software VISUAL TOPO. Secondly, we carried out 3D modeling by lasergrammetry using a TLS FARO FOCUS 70, to scan the main entrance, the main axes, and the large rooms of the AZIZA Cave, the final rendering was provided by the scene software. Laser grammetry gave us the possibility of having a virtual representation of the cave and also of important details that conventional methods cannot give because of this heritage dimension, conservation conditions are essential, also given the potential to be appreciated that the cave and its environment offer, which can constitute a typical example of the exploitation of karst heritage and its environment.