Object-based Shell Craters Classification from LiDAR-derived Sky-view Factor

This paper presents the results of the first attempt to assess, identify and quantify the residual number of shell craters of World War I currently present in the Vezzena/Luserna/Lavarone Plateau, areas of Millegrobbe, Bisele and Cima Campo (Province of Trento, Italy). Historical sources report the existence of several thousand artillery explosions: therefore, a field survey or a classic photo-interpretation would be labour-intensive and highly time-consuming. For this reason, a digital terrain model (DTM) of the test-site was processed using the Sky-view Factor algorithm and was analysed with an object-based approach, which implied: (1) multiresolution segmentation; (2) classification (main features considered size, shape and colour).