Airplane

Visibility Correction Factors for Multiple Species of Sea Ducks and Diving Ducks Using an Aerial Remote Sensing Approach

Submitted by tadamson on

Aerial ocular surveys are the most cost- and time-efficient method of evaluating the relative abundance and spatial distributions of breeding, staging, and wintering waterfowl. However, the survey method is subject to substantial visibility bias, and visibility correction factors must be calculated to correct for incomplete detection. Calculation of these factors in remote or hard to access places, such as open water environments, is difficult, but new technologies offer a solution.

Automated Detection of Wildlife Targets in Aerial Imagery

Submitted by tadamson on

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Dr. Stella Yu’s research group at the University of Michigan, is advancing the development of machine learning algorithms to detect and classify seabirds, waterfowl, and other marine wildlife from digital aerial imagery.

Aerial Seabird and Marine Mammal Surveys

Submitted by tadamson on

California’s oceanic waters provide habitat for numerous migratory, resident, and breeding species of seabirds and marine mammals. Recent technological advances have made offshore wind energy infrastructure development a possibility for the deep waters off the U.S. West Coast. Multiple wind energy projects have been proposed for the region including two wind energy areas in deep offshore waters off central and northern California.

River Speed from an Airplane: A Case Study along the Tanana River, Alaska

Submitted by tadamson on

Don’t stare—take moving pictures, they will last longer. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing a workflow for estimating the speed of the water flowing in a river using imagery acquired from a moving aircraft. Previous studies have, in fact, stared, by mounting cameras on quasi-stationary platforms (drone, helicopter, satellite) that hover in place while acquiring image sequences over rivers. River speed is then estimated using a technique called particle image velocimetry (PIV).

Mapping Irregularly Flooded Wetlands, High Marsh, and Salt Pannes/Flats

Submitted by tadamson on

Irregularly flooded wetlands supply important ecosystem services, such as providing habitat for fish and wildlife, enhancing water quality, ameliorating flooding impacts, supporting coastal food webs, and protecting coastlines from erosion. Mapping irregularly flooded wetlands is a daunting challenge given their expansive coverage and dynamic nature.

The Earth Resources Observation and Science Center-Imaging Spectroscopy Project (EROS-ISP): Paving the Way for Landsat’s Future

Submitted by tadamson on

The joint U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)--National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth observation Landsat mission began in July 1972 and surpassed its 50th anniversary in July 2022. The 50-year Landsat global data archive comprises eight independently developed NASA multispectral visible-to-shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) observatories that have been or are currently operated by the USGS.

Mapping Barrier Island Habitats for Monitoring and Adaptive Management

Submitted by tadamson on

Barrier islands, headlands, and coastal shorelines provide numerous ecosystem goods and services, including storm protection and erosion control for the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, salinity regulation in estuaries, carbon sequestration in marshes, and areas for recreation and tourism. These coastal features are dynamic environments; storms, wave energy, tides, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful forces that shape local geomorphology and habitat distribution.