Nuvuk video camera 2 time exposure
Using Video Imagery to Study Sediment Transport and Wave Dynamics: Nuvuk
Learn how the USGS is using video imagery from Point Barrow, to observe and quantify coastal processes such as wave run-up, bluff erosion, movement of sandbars and ice floes, and sediment entrainment and transport by ice.
Detailed Description
Two video cameras are installed atop a utility pole near the northernmost point of land in the United States at Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska. The cameras point northwest toward the Arctic Ocean and the boundary between the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Every half hour during daylight hours, the cameras collect snapshots and video for 10 minutes. The most recent image from camera 2 is shown here. Please note that it takes 10 minutes for the images to be posted, once they are collected by the solar-powered camera. Also note that if an old image is shown, the solar panels may not be getting enough sun and the camera system goes into power-saving mode.
This is a time-averaged image of all frames over 10 minutes, which smooths away surface waves and helps determine the location of persistent wave-breaking (indicative of shallow sandbars). [Larger version]
Learn more about how the USGS uses these images to study wave dynamics.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.