Images

) R/V Petrel leaving the dock in Beach Haven, NJ to begin the geophysical survey in May 2018.

Chuck Worley (USGS) monitoring the real-time sonar data aboard the R/V Petrel during the geophysical survey in May 2018.

Subbottom profiler system towed on pontoons behind the R/V Petrel during the geophysical survey in May 2018

Captain Steve Evert (Stockton University) at the helm of the R/V Petrel during the geophysical survey in May 2018.  Captain Evert is also director of the Stockton University Marine Field Station and mentor to several students who joined the team for various parts of the geophysical and sampling surveys.

Displays showing themultibeam-sonar data acquisition and the navigation system aboard the R/V Petrel during the geophysical survey in May 2018.

Beach at the southern end of Long Beach Island in the town of Holgate, NJ.  Note the large eroded scarp on beach with person as scale. 

Surveying with UAS in cooperation with US Army Corps of Engineers (Cape Cod, MA).

 The beach-dependent shorebirds project at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center relies heavily on collaborations with other DOI agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.

USGS scientists measure beach elevation and other profile characteristics as part of a project that models how barrier islands will likely change with sea-level rise - and how those changes will ultimately affect piping plover and other shorebird nesting habitat availability.

An in-progress piping plover nest on Parramore Island, Virginia -- females typically lay 3 to 4 eggs in a nest over the course of a week. Both the male and female will take turns incubating eggs when the final egg is laid. This nest was established in new overwash habitat created by storms during the winter of 2017-2018. 

Group photo of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

View from a drone!  Aerial view of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's Quissett Campus.

Steve Suttles (USGS) uses a radio to determine if an Acoustic Backscatter sensor (white circle) is still operating at the end of the deployment.

he USGS team and R/V Savannah crew prepare to lower the quadpod deployed at the offshore site onto the deck during recovery operations.  Note all the hairy encrusting organisms that grew in 3 months.

Elizabeth Pendleton and Seth Ackerman of the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center at A-450 drone pilot training in Gainesville, Florida in January 2018. Drone pilot training was provided by the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS), and was also attended by employees from USGS water and volcano centers, other DOI agencies, and the US Forest Service.

Rob Thieler, Sandy Brosnahan and Alex Nichols deploying ground control targets for a UAS study on Coast Guard National Seashore in Eastham, MA.  

Elizabeth Pendleton and Seth Ackerman of the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center at A-450 drone pilot training in Gainesville, Florida in January 2018. Drone pilot training was provided by the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS), and was also attended by employees from USGS water and volcano centers, other DOI agencies, and the US Forest Service.

Elizabeth Pendleton and Seth Ackerman of the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center at A-450 drone pilot training in Gainesville, Florida in January 2018. Drone pilot training was provided by the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS), and was also attended by employees from USGS water and volcano centers, other DOI agencies, and the US Forest Service.

Elizabeth Pendleton and Seth Ackerman of the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center at A-450 drone pilot training in Gainesville, Florida in January 2018. Drone pilot training was provided by the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS), and was also attended by employees from USGS water and volcano centers, other DOI agencies, and the US Forest Service.

Elizabeth Pendleton and Seth Ackerman of the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center at A-450 drone pilot training in Gainesville, Florida in January 2018. Drone pilot training was provided by the DOI Office of Aviation Services (OAS), and was also attended by employees from USGS water and volcano centers, other DOI agencies, and the US Forest Service.

Drone operations conducted at Sandy Neck Barnstable, MA.  Pilots Elizabeth Pendleton and Seth Ackerman are flying a 3DR Solo quadcopter collecting images to be used in the photogrammetry software package, photoscan, to ultimately create 3d surface models.