Testing the use of unmanned aircraft systems for intertidal surveys - proof of concept

Project Description

Intertidal monitoring is essential to establish benchmarks and to monitor important resources that are particularly important to the people living in Alaska's coastal environments. One of the shortfalls of the traditional sampling typically conducted through on-the-ground surveys is the small area that can be feasibly monitored with limited people-power and time due to low tide series. What is needed is a cost-effective mechanism that can be used to survey larger areas during the short low tide time period. We are currently providing a proof of concept that unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are a cost-effective tool that can be used to 1) expand the typically small-scale (on the order of meters) monitoring with larger-scale (on the order of kilometers), high resolution imagery taken from low-flying UAS, and 2) monitor new areas where benchmark data are currently lacking. This projects links to and expands the Gulf Watch Alaska intertidal monitoring that is currently being conducted in Kachemak Bay.

Project Funding

Coastal Marine Institute
Start Date: 2014-00-00
End Date: 2016-00-00

Publications and products

Konar B, K Iken, M Rogers and S Vanderwaal. (2015). "Testing the use of unmanned aircraft systems for intertidal surveys: proof of concept". Oral Tidbit Presentation at the Kachemak Bay Science Conference. March 2015.

Konar B, K Iken, M Rogers and S Vanderwaal. (2015). "Testing the use of unmanned aircraft systems for intertidal surveys: proof of concept". Poster at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium. January 2015.

Iken K, Konar B, M Rogers and S Vanderwaal. (2015). "Testing the use of unmanned aircraft systems for intertidal surveys: proof of concept". Oral Presentation at the Coastal Marine Institute Annual Reivew. January 2015.