Ocean Engineer with the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Science and Products
SQUID-5 camera system
The SQUID-5 is a Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras.
PCMSC MarFac Field Equipment and Capabilities
Learn about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Marine Facility’s vast array of field equipment, sampling devices, and mapping systems, and our capabilities. Our engineers, designers, mechanics, and technicians have also designed and developed some of the specialized field equipment we use in field operations in the nearshore, in the deep sea, and on land.
PCMSC Marine Facility (MarFac)
Learn about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Marine Facility, or MarFac
BOB Sled
Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “BOB Sled,” is and underwater video camera system that can operate to depths of 700 meters.
Mini BOB Sled
Mini Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “Mini BOB Sled,” is and underwater video tow fish that can operate to depths of 75 meters.
Multichannel minisparker seismic-reflection data collected offshore Glacier Bay National Park during USGS field activity 2015-629-FA
Multichannel seismic reflection data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in May of 2015 outside of Palma Bay, Alaska. Seismic data were acquired coincidentally with high resolution bathymetry (Dartnell and others, 2022). Data were acquired to map the offshore extension of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault. The fault has produced several significant earthquakes during the last 150 year
Hydrographic and sediment field data collected in the vicinity of Wainwright, Alaska, in 2009
This dataset consists of hydrographic, geomorphic, and sediment field measurements obtained during the ice-free summer of 2009 in the vicinity of Wainwright, Alaska. Time-series data were collected with a bottom-mounted instrument package and consist of wave statistics, vertical water flow velocity profiles, water temperatures, conductivity, and salinity concentrations. Data collected at distinct
Overlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Looe Key, Florida, in July 2021, with structure-from-motion derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Underwater images were collected using a towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The raw images and associated navigation data were collected at Looe Key, a coral reef located within the Florida Keys
Overlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Eastern Dry Rocks coral reef, Florida, in May 2021, with derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Underwater images were collected using a towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5).
The raw images and associated navigation data were collected at Eastern Dry Rocks, a coral reef located within the Flo
Point clouds, bathymetric maps, and orthoimagery generated from overlapping lakebed images acquired with the SQUID-5 system near Dollar Point, Lake Tahoe, CA, March 2021
Underwater images were collected in Lake Tahoe, CA, using a recently developed towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The data were collected March 10th and 11th of 2021 to assess the accuracy, precision, and effectiveness of the new SQUID-5 came
Overlapping lakebed images and associated GNSS locations acquired near Dollar Point, Lake Tahoe, CA, March 2021
Underwater images were collected using a recently developed towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). However, there were only 4 cameras operational for this collection due to a cable failure. Images were collected March 10th and 11th of 2021 by tow
Historical shorelines and morphological metrics for barrier islands and spits along the north coast of Alaska between Cape Beaufort and the U.S.-Canadian border, 1947 to 2019
A suite of morphological metrics were derived from existing shoreline and elevation datasets for barrier islands and spits located along the north-slope coast of Alaska between Cape Beaufort and the U.S.-Canadian border. This dataset includes barrier shorelines and polygons attributed with morphological metrics from five time periods: 1950s, 1980s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
Near-bed velocity measurements in Monterey Bay during arrival of the 2010 Chile Tsunami
On February 27, 2010, a tsunami originating near Chile arrived in Monterey Bay, California. This data release comprises two hours of pressure and near-bed velocity data spanning the largest tsunami waves. At the time, the U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center had a remotely-controlled instrumented platform deployed adjacent to the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf (mean depth 9
SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
The new structure-from-motion (SfM) quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras (SQUID-5) was tested in July 2019 at Crocker Reef in the Florida Keys. The SQUID-5 was developed to meet the unique challenges of collecting SfM underwater imagery, including multiple cameras with different perspectives, accurate geographic locations of images, accurate and precise scaling of derived surfa
High-resolution acoustic backscatter data collected southwest of Montague Island, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA
High-resolution acoustic backscatter data, bathymetry data, single channel minisparker seismic-reflection data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May of 2014 southwest of Chenega Island and southwest of Montague Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during USGS field act
Colored shaded-relief bathymetric map and orthomosaic from structure-from-motion quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras of the Lake Tahoe floor, California
This two-sheet publication displays a high-resolution colored shaded-relief bathymetric map (sheet 1) and orthomosaic (sheet 2) of part of the Lake Tahoe floor in California generated from a U.S. Geological Survey towed surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5).
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry can be used with digital underwater photographs to generate high-resolution bathymetry and orthomosaics with millimeter-to-centimeter scale resolution at relatively low cost. Although these products are useful for assessing species diversity and health, they have additional utility for quantifying benthic community structure, such as coral growth and fine
Authors
Gerry Hatcher, Jonathan Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie, Evan Dailey, David G. Zawada, Christine J. Kranenburg, Kimberly K. Yates
Integrating structure from motion, numerical modelling and field measurements to understand carbonate sediment transport in coral reef canopies
Reef canopies are complex and extremely variable across a range of spatial scales. This variability affects the velocity above as well as within the canopy, and directly impacts the transport of sediment along the bed as well as suspended in the water column. How a canopy affects the transport of sediment is important to understand and predict changes in the position of the adjacent shoreline, par
Authors
Andrew Pomeroy, Curt D. Storlazzi, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Gerry Hatcher, Jonathan Warrick
Practical approaches to maximizing the resolution of sparker seismic reflection data
Sparkers are a type of sound source widely used by the marine seismic community to provide high-resolution imagery of the shallow sub-bottom (i.e.,
Authors
Jared W. Kluesner, Daniel S. Brothers, Patrick E. Hart, Nathaniel C. Miller, Gerry Hatcher
End of the chain? Rugosity and fine-scale bathymetry from existing underwater digital imagery using structure-from-motion (SfM) technology
The rugosity or complexity of the seafloor has been shown to be an important ecological parameter for fish, algae, and corals. Historically, rugosity has been measured either using simple and subjective manual methods such as ‘chain-and-tape’ or complicated and expensive geophysical methods. Here, we demonstrate the application of structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry to generate high-resolut
Authors
Curt D. Storlazzi, Peter Dartnell, Gerry Hatcher, Ann E. Gibbs
Autonomous bed-sediment imaging-systems for revealing temporal variability of grain size
We describe a remotely operated video microscope system, designed to provide high-resolution images of seabed sediments. Two versions were developed, which differ in how they raise the camera from the seabed. The first used hydraulics and the second used the energy associated with wave orbital motion. Images were analyzed using automated frequency-domain methods, which following a rigorous partial
Authors
Daniel Buscombe, David M. Rubin, Jessica R. Lacy, Curt D. Storlazzi, Gerald Hatcher, Henry Chezar, Robert Wyland, Christopher R. Sherwood
Application of GPS drifters to track Hawaiian coral spawning
Authors
Gerald A. Hatcher, Thomas E. Reiss, Curt D. Storlazzi
Marfac Machine Vision Camera Interface
This project contains the C# software developed to control and acquire imagery from a FLIR GigE machine vision camera. It is built using the FLIR Spinnaker 64bit SDK version 2.4.0.144 and requires the spinview application and associated dll's.
This software was developed using Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 to control and acquire imagery from a GigE machine vision camera (Model: BFS-PGE-50S5C-C, t
squid5-software
This software was developed for and used by the structure-from-motion (SfM) quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras (SQUID-5) project. The SQUID-5's camera exposure and sensor gain settings are set identically using a program written with the Spinnaker SDK and examples. Another Spinnaker SDK based program was created to collect, format and save image data to long-term-storage wit
Science and Products
- Science
SQUID-5 camera system
The SQUID-5 is a Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras.PCMSC MarFac Field Equipment and Capabilities
Learn about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Marine Facility’s vast array of field equipment, sampling devices, and mapping systems, and our capabilities. Our engineers, designers, mechanics, and technicians have also designed and developed some of the specialized field equipment we use in field operations in the nearshore, in the deep sea, and on land.PCMSC Marine Facility (MarFac)
Learn about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Marine Facility, or MarFacBOB Sled
Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “BOB Sled,” is and underwater video camera system that can operate to depths of 700 meters.Mini BOB Sled
Mini Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “Mini BOB Sled,” is and underwater video tow fish that can operate to depths of 75 meters. - Data
Multichannel minisparker seismic-reflection data collected offshore Glacier Bay National Park during USGS field activity 2015-629-FA
Multichannel seismic reflection data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in May of 2015 outside of Palma Bay, Alaska. Seismic data were acquired coincidentally with high resolution bathymetry (Dartnell and others, 2022). Data were acquired to map the offshore extension of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault. The fault has produced several significant earthquakes during the last 150 yearHydrographic and sediment field data collected in the vicinity of Wainwright, Alaska, in 2009
This dataset consists of hydrographic, geomorphic, and sediment field measurements obtained during the ice-free summer of 2009 in the vicinity of Wainwright, Alaska. Time-series data were collected with a bottom-mounted instrument package and consist of wave statistics, vertical water flow velocity profiles, water temperatures, conductivity, and salinity concentrations. Data collected at distinctOverlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Looe Key, Florida, in July 2021, with structure-from-motion derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Underwater images were collected using a towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The raw images and associated navigation data were collected at Looe Key, a coral reef located within the Florida KeysOverlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Eastern Dry Rocks coral reef, Florida, in May 2021, with derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Underwater images were collected using a towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The raw images and associated navigation data were collected at Eastern Dry Rocks, a coral reef located within the FloPoint clouds, bathymetric maps, and orthoimagery generated from overlapping lakebed images acquired with the SQUID-5 system near Dollar Point, Lake Tahoe, CA, March 2021
Underwater images were collected in Lake Tahoe, CA, using a recently developed towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The data were collected March 10th and 11th of 2021 to assess the accuracy, precision, and effectiveness of the new SQUID-5 cameOverlapping lakebed images and associated GNSS locations acquired near Dollar Point, Lake Tahoe, CA, March 2021
Underwater images were collected using a recently developed towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). However, there were only 4 cameras operational for this collection due to a cable failure. Images were collected March 10th and 11th of 2021 by towHistorical shorelines and morphological metrics for barrier islands and spits along the north coast of Alaska between Cape Beaufort and the U.S.-Canadian border, 1947 to 2019
A suite of morphological metrics were derived from existing shoreline and elevation datasets for barrier islands and spits located along the north-slope coast of Alaska between Cape Beaufort and the U.S.-Canadian border. This dataset includes barrier shorelines and polygons attributed with morphological metrics from five time periods: 1950s, 1980s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.Near-bed velocity measurements in Monterey Bay during arrival of the 2010 Chile Tsunami
On February 27, 2010, a tsunami originating near Chile arrived in Monterey Bay, California. This data release comprises two hours of pressure and near-bed velocity data spanning the largest tsunami waves. At the time, the U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center had a remotely-controlled instrumented platform deployed adjacent to the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf (mean depth 9SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
The new structure-from-motion (SfM) quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras (SQUID-5) was tested in July 2019 at Crocker Reef in the Florida Keys. The SQUID-5 was developed to meet the unique challenges of collecting SfM underwater imagery, including multiple cameras with different perspectives, accurate geographic locations of images, accurate and precise scaling of derived surfaHigh-resolution acoustic backscatter data collected southwest of Montague Island, Alaska during field activity 2014-622-FA
High-resolution acoustic backscatter data, bathymetry data, single channel minisparker seismic-reflection data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in May of 2014 southwest of Chenega Island and southwest of Montague Island, Alaska. Data were collected aboard the Alaska Department of Fish and Game vessel, R/V Solstice, during USGS field act - Maps
Colored shaded-relief bathymetric map and orthomosaic from structure-from-motion quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras of the Lake Tahoe floor, California
This two-sheet publication displays a high-resolution colored shaded-relief bathymetric map (sheet 1) and orthomosaic (sheet 2) of part of the Lake Tahoe floor in California generated from a U.S. Geological Survey towed surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras. The system is named the Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). - Multimedia
- Publications
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry can be used with digital underwater photographs to generate high-resolution bathymetry and orthomosaics with millimeter-to-centimeter scale resolution at relatively low cost. Although these products are useful for assessing species diversity and health, they have additional utility for quantifying benthic community structure, such as coral growth and fineAuthorsGerry Hatcher, Jonathan Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie, Evan Dailey, David G. Zawada, Christine J. Kranenburg, Kimberly K. YatesIntegrating structure from motion, numerical modelling and field measurements to understand carbonate sediment transport in coral reef canopies
Reef canopies are complex and extremely variable across a range of spatial scales. This variability affects the velocity above as well as within the canopy, and directly impacts the transport of sediment along the bed as well as suspended in the water column. How a canopy affects the transport of sediment is important to understand and predict changes in the position of the adjacent shoreline, parAuthorsAndrew Pomeroy, Curt D. Storlazzi, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Gerry Hatcher, Jonathan WarrickPractical approaches to maximizing the resolution of sparker seismic reflection data
Sparkers are a type of sound source widely used by the marine seismic community to provide high-resolution imagery of the shallow sub-bottom (i.e.,AuthorsJared W. Kluesner, Daniel S. Brothers, Patrick E. Hart, Nathaniel C. Miller, Gerry HatcherEnd of the chain? Rugosity and fine-scale bathymetry from existing underwater digital imagery using structure-from-motion (SfM) technology
The rugosity or complexity of the seafloor has been shown to be an important ecological parameter for fish, algae, and corals. Historically, rugosity has been measured either using simple and subjective manual methods such as ‘chain-and-tape’ or complicated and expensive geophysical methods. Here, we demonstrate the application of structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry to generate high-resolutAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Peter Dartnell, Gerry Hatcher, Ann E. GibbsAutonomous bed-sediment imaging-systems for revealing temporal variability of grain size
We describe a remotely operated video microscope system, designed to provide high-resolution images of seabed sediments. Two versions were developed, which differ in how they raise the camera from the seabed. The first used hydraulics and the second used the energy associated with wave orbital motion. Images were analyzed using automated frequency-domain methods, which following a rigorous partialAuthorsDaniel Buscombe, David M. Rubin, Jessica R. Lacy, Curt D. Storlazzi, Gerald Hatcher, Henry Chezar, Robert Wyland, Christopher R. SherwoodApplication of GPS drifters to track Hawaiian coral spawning
AuthorsGerald A. Hatcher, Thomas E. Reiss, Curt D. Storlazzi - Software
Marfac Machine Vision Camera Interface
This project contains the C# software developed to control and acquire imagery from a FLIR GigE machine vision camera. It is built using the FLIR Spinnaker 64bit SDK version 2.4.0.144 and requires the spinview application and associated dll's. This software was developed using Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 to control and acquire imagery from a GigE machine vision camera (Model: BFS-PGE-50S5C-C, tsquid5-software
This software was developed for and used by the structure-from-motion (SfM) quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras (SQUID-5) project. The SQUID-5's camera exposure and sensor gain settings are set identically using a program written with the Spinnaker SDK and examples. Another Spinnaker SDK based program was created to collect, format and save image data to long-term-storage wit - News