Multi-directional change detection between point clouds

•3D change between point clouds is commonly measured normal to the local surface.•Our approach finds a dominant movement direction (DMD) occurring at each point.•It does this by considering local changes in multiple directions (n = 60).•We show that the DMD can differ considerably from the surface normal.•This can provide an important alternative view of movement:•where overall displacement of a surface or feature is needed,•where movement processes operate in a direction that is not surface-normal,•where the underlying process(es) may not be known,•where movement(s) across the point cloud scene is not oriented along a single axis.