a survey carried out from the air, using an aeroplane or helicopter
aerial survey in American English
noun
1.
a survey made from above, as from an aircraft, a high point, etc
2.
a survey that maps an area by means of aerial photography, photogrammetry, and the like
Word origin
[1915–20]This word is first recorded in the period 1915–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: GI, camouflage, collage, decoder, soviet
Examples of 'aerial survey' in a sentence
aerial survey
It is also conducting an aerial survey of an area that is showing deposits of something very heavy.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
In their first aerial survey they counted 99,481 wildebeest.
The Times Literary Supplement (2016)
An aerial survey in 2009 put the population at 43,000 elephants.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
With the landcape lit by a low sun, an aerial survey has spotted 40 sites, including prehistoric earthworks and a motte and bailey castle, above.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It is equipped with aerial survey technology that analyses the geology of the area it flies over.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
This may include aerial surveys, but it is not quite the breakthrough it sounds.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They tell us by increasing in abundance, something that can be measured using aerial surveys.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Well into his seventies, he would clamber in and out of helicopters to do aerial surveys and shiver in cold hides watching geese.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Divers have searched two reservoirs while drones and light aircraft have carried out aerial surveys.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Previously unknown archaeological sites have come to light from aerial surveys that have shown the outlines of buried remains.