Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for Monitoring Archaeological Sites in Nunavik in the Face of a Changing Climate

Over the last century, remote sensing has proven effective in recognizing and studying cultural heritage in various geographic and chronological contexts, and the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) has become an integral part of archaeological research. In this paper, we explore the potential of RPAS equipped with photogrammetry and LiDAR sensors to identify archaeological features covered by vegetation and produce high-resolution models to document sites threatened by climate change (i.e., coastal erosion, forest fires, and shrubification). In 2023, we conducted remote sensing surveys at seven archaeological sites located in two different areas of Nunavik (Northern Québec, Canada), producing orthomosaics, Digital Surface and Terrain Models (DSMs and DTMs), and 3D models. The analysis of such products highlights the effectiveness of photogrammetry in recording sites affected by coastal erosion and features recently cleared by forest fires. In addition, we show that LiDAR sensors can help to locate archaeological features hidden by shrubs; however, in cases where the vegetation is exceptionally dense, even LiDAR struggles to identify anthropogenic features.