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Northeast Region Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Capability Team

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By Northeast Region September 21, 2026

Learn about the USGS Northeast Region's Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Capability Team.

The Northeast Region uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) capability team provides support for regional UAS users and collaborators and strives to build a centralized regional network for developing the UAS capability.  Uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) technology provides a rapid and low-cost solution for collecting aerial data. The interdisciplinary nature of the data collected, and the breadth of applications make UAS technology applicable to multiple scientific investigations. UAS products can be used to meet many science objectives, including quantifying geomorphic changes in landscapes, classify landcover, assess habitat suitability, provide estimates of wildlife populations, quantify water velocity estimates and many other innovative approaches to help support scientific investigations.

UAS capabilities and products

  • Digital Surface Models (DSM) created from Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry software models using still camera imagery
  • Multispectral radiance datasets created from a 5 spectral band camera can be used to create indexes to investigate vegetation properties (ex. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI)
  • Thermal imaging using infrared cameras 
  • Lightweight Hyperspectral sensor
  • Doppler radar techniques to provide data on river velocities
  • Large Scale Particle Imaging Velocimetry (LSPIV) techniques using video footage to provide volume estimates
  • Topographic lidar elevation capabilities
  • Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys
Collecting thermal imagery at Cape Cod cranberry bog USGS pilot flying a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) sUAS flight path sUAS in flight USGS and NPS pilots flying a sUAS Great Marsh, Barnstable, MA aerial image Aerial image over Trunk River Beach
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Field photos collected by the Team.

 

Filter Total Items: 14

Orthoimagery and elevation data derived from UAS imagery for Palmyra Atoll, USA 2016 (ver. 1.1, November 2020) Orthoimagery and elevation data derived from UAS imagery for Palmyra Atoll, USA 2016 (ver. 1.1, November 2020)

Point clouds, high resolution digital surface models (DSM), and high resolution orthoimagery of Palmyra Atoll, USA, were generated from aerial 3-color and 5-band imagery collected October 2016 using Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS, or "drones"). Data were processed in sections corresponsing to flight areas using photogrammetry to generate three-dimensional point clouds (.las) by...
By
Columbia Environmental Research Center

Aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018 Aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018

Low-altitude (80 and 100 meters above ground level) digital images were taken over an area of the Plum Island Estuary and Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts using 3DR Solo unmanned aerial systems (UAS) on February 27, 2018. These images were collected as part of an effort to document marsh stability over time and quantify sediment movement using UAS technology. Each...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Learn about the USGS Northeast Region's Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Capability Team.

The Northeast Region uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) capability team provides support for regional UAS users and collaborators and strives to build a centralized regional network for developing the UAS capability.  Uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) technology provides a rapid and low-cost solution for collecting aerial data. The interdisciplinary nature of the data collected, and the breadth of applications make UAS technology applicable to multiple scientific investigations. UAS products can be used to meet many science objectives, including quantifying geomorphic changes in landscapes, classify landcover, assess habitat suitability, provide estimates of wildlife populations, quantify water velocity estimates and many other innovative approaches to help support scientific investigations.

UAS capabilities and products

  • Digital Surface Models (DSM) created from Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry software models using still camera imagery
  • Multispectral radiance datasets created from a 5 spectral band camera can be used to create indexes to investigate vegetation properties (ex. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI)
  • Thermal imaging using infrared cameras 
  • Lightweight Hyperspectral sensor
  • Doppler radar techniques to provide data on river velocities
  • Large Scale Particle Imaging Velocimetry (LSPIV) techniques using video footage to provide volume estimates
  • Topographic lidar elevation capabilities
  • Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys
Collecting thermal imagery at Cape Cod cranberry bog USGS pilot flying a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) sUAS flight path sUAS in flight USGS and NPS pilots flying a sUAS Great Marsh, Barnstable, MA aerial image Aerial image over Trunk River Beach
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Field photos collected by the Team.

 

Filter Total Items: 14

Orthoimagery and elevation data derived from UAS imagery for Palmyra Atoll, USA 2016 (ver. 1.1, November 2020) Orthoimagery and elevation data derived from UAS imagery for Palmyra Atoll, USA 2016 (ver. 1.1, November 2020)

Point clouds, high resolution digital surface models (DSM), and high resolution orthoimagery of Palmyra Atoll, USA, were generated from aerial 3-color and 5-band imagery collected October 2016 using Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS, or "drones"). Data were processed in sections corresponsing to flight areas using photogrammetry to generate three-dimensional point clouds (.las) by...
By
Columbia Environmental Research Center

Aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018 Aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018

Low-altitude (80 and 100 meters above ground level) digital images were taken over an area of the Plum Island Estuary and Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts using 3DR Solo unmanned aerial systems (UAS) on February 27, 2018. These images were collected as part of an effort to document marsh stability over time and quantify sediment movement using UAS technology. Each...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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