Author: Hannah Sirianni

Dense Fog Impacts Field Efforts

Feb 2, 2022 Fog Field Crew. Phil (far left), Robert, Ryann, and Liz (far right).

A dense fog surprised the field crew on a cold February morning causing them to wait a few hours before they could survey. This delay in precious fieldwork time was a disappointment, but the field crew didn’t let that stop them from trying and having a good time!

New Lab Member, Liz Schunk!

Liz Schunk joins the Lab as an undergraduate research assistant. Liz is a senior double majoring in GIScience & Technology and Geography (concentration in environmental systems). She is also the vice president of ECU’s Beta Iota chapter of Gamma Theta Upsilon. Liz is interested in coastal and marine wildlife/habitat conservation and management. She plans to combine these interests along with her Lab experience using geospatial technologies to help develop original ideas for a master’s thesis. Liz plans to enter a master’s program upon her graduation, and her experience in the lab will provide her the training and support she needs to make her applications competitive.

New Lab Intern, Robert Shin!

Robert Shin joins the Lab as an intern for the Spring 2022 semester! Robert is a senior with a concentration in Geographic Information Science and Technology. For his Lab internship, Robert is learning how to use geospatial technologies such as drones and RTK-GNSS to collect topographic and bathymetric data. Robert has a love for fieldwork because he likes to spend his time hunting and fishing in North Carolina wetlands. This has also sparked his interest in wetland conservation and monitoring using geospatial technologies. In particular, wildlife monitoring using satellite transmitters to track the migration and the stopping points of migratory birds. Very cool, Robert! Welcome to the Lab!

Watch MaRS take off!

A fine resolution camera is needed to capture the topography of beaches and sand dunes. Otherwise the glare from the sun will make it difficult to resolve features necessary for creating tie points when conducting structure-from-motion photogrammetry. Here, we configured our best drone for measuring topographic complexity of beaches and sand dunes. Meet the Matrice 600 Pro aircraft equipped with a Ronin-MX gimbal carrying a Sony A7III camera, also known as MaRS. Grad student Phil Van Wagoner pilots the MaRS while grad student Jessica Richter watches as the visual observer.

Aeolian Erosion of Sand Dunes

  • Jess scans a target using the TLS while Phil collects RTK-GNSS data in the background..
  • Phil catches the Phantom 4 Pro from the sky.
  • Dr. Sirianni sets up the MaRS aircraft.
  • Jess lays out ground control points for drone surveys.
  • Dr. Gares installs anemometers.
  • A beautiful Province Lands sunset!

Sand dunes provide natural coastal protection against storm surge and high waves while preventing coastal flooding and providing important ecological habitat. A dune blowout is a gap in a dune caused by strong winds blowing sand out from under and around the vegetation, where loss of vegetation and loose sand can result in greater erosion of the dune. Over the last 10 years, coastal geomorphologist Dr. Paul Gares has been monitoring changes in dune blowouts within the Province Lands in Cape Cod National Seashore. Here, the crew obtained a permit from the park to join Dr. Gares in collecting topographic and wind data to monitor aeolian erosion.

Sugar Loaf Island Erosion

The research crew heads to Sugar Loaf Island located in Morehead City, NC to conduct topographic surveys of the eroding shoreline. This baseline dataset will be used in conjunction with subsequent topographic and bathymetric surveys to gain a better understanding of onshore erosion and offshore sediment transport due to storms and dredging of the Beaufort Inlet channel.