Reliable and direct information about rock slope materials and discontinuity parameters from field investigation are keys to engineering design, structure maintenance and soil/water conservation. Under the impact of global climate change and the surge in extreme weather events, rapid and accurate equipment or procedures for geological engineering surveys are necessary to harmonize engineering facilities with natural environment. This study utilizes 3D laser scanning technology (also known as ground LiDAR), which obtains the coordinates of surface geometry rapidly in point clouds, to survey two outcrops. Applying ground LiDAR in a geological survey, we compare the results with those provided by the International Society of Rock Mechanics, and analyze the slope stability.This study also discusses the applicability and limitations of ground LiDAR technology in discontinuity investigation and estimation of rock mass engineering characteristics. Suggested operating procedures for the use of ground Li-DAR technology in outcrop surveys are provided accordingly. The results show that ground LiDAR technology reduces the in-situ operation time significantly, thus facilitating efficient discontinuity surveys and outcrop parameters evaluation. However, the quantities of office work and the accuracy of point clouds depend on the velocity and accuracy of ground LiDAR surveys. Therefore, inspection of survey results and output parameters, along with the application and operating specifications of geological surveys, including point cloud resolution, reasonable error of superimposition,inspection procedures and data analysis, still await further research.
Key Words : Rock engineering, highway slope, site investigation, rock discontinuities, engineering parameter estimation,LiDAR.