A Novel Water–Land Discriminator Based on Near Water Surface Penetration of Green Laser

Given water-surface uncertainty problem, it is difficult for green lasers to detect the exact water surface. The near water surface penetration (NWSP) of green laser in water is not beneficial for high-accuracy water depth measurements but provides a possible mean for water–land discrimination. A novel water–land discriminator based on the NWSP of green laser is proposed in this study. The performance of water–land discriminator based on NWSP is evaluated using water–land interface derived by the traditional waveform clustering. Water–land discriminator based on NWSP can reach an overall accuracy of 99.45%. The proposed method which needs IR and green laser point clouds is recommended for water–land discrimination with high-accuracy in coastal and inland waters.