Beach Profiling & Sea Level Rise

1. Beach Profiling & Sea Level Rise Location: Assawoman Island, Virginia April 2010 James Quimby and Brian Peeters

2. Outline • Locations • Tools • Goals • Possible Errors • Pictures

3. Locations • Marine Science Consortium • NASA Wallops Flight Facility Goddard Space Flight Center • Assawoman Island Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

4. Maps Marine Science Consortium:

5. Maps NASA Wallops Flight Facility Goddard Space Flight Center:

6. Maps Study Area:

7. Maps All together now:

8. Part of the Drive:

9. Tools • GPS (hand held) (Trimble) • Total Station • LIDAR

10. Global Positioning System 24 satellites orbiting the Earth use radio signals to broadcast location information GPS receives signals from satellites to determine a location Software, base station, and communication link Accurate by a centimeter

11. Trimble handheld GPS unit • Used for local government organizations, utility companies, federal agencies. e.g. land survey, mapping, agriculture • Compatible with ESRI ArcPad, program files and maps are preloaded before the field • After processing 4in (10cm) accuracy

13. Total Station (base unit) • An instrument used in modern surveying • Angles and distances are measured using two sets of points Using northing, easting and elevation (x,y,z) • A microwave or infrared signal is launched and then reflected off a prism reflector • Data is downloaded from the total station to the computer, and then measurements are processed (differential correction). A map will then be constructed.

15. LIDAR • Light Detecting And Ranging • Measures the frequency of scattered light • Detects time gap between sending and receiving signal • National LIDAR Dataset Programs for geology, archaeology, geography, meteorology, etc. • A laser is projected and intersects at a mirror-prism, then reflects to the satellite, in which determines the coordinate position and angle.

16. LIDAR

17. Goals • To do beach profile to determine sea level rise and erosion • Create A DEM of Assawoman Island to give to Wildlife Refuge • Set up reflective area for LIDAR

18. Beach Profiling • The process at which a beach is measured in straight lines, plotting waypoints at a specific interval. • Measured from 1m depth of water, until 100-200 feet or further. • 3-dimensional lines that measure northing and easting. • Beach profiling is a method of gathering accurate data of a specific location and time of a beach landscape in order to create an accurate map.

21. Errors • Differential Correction • Measurement Accuracy • Waypoints • Human Error

22. Differential Correction Enhancements made by analyzing satellite positions at the time of data collection Three ground-based reference stations broadcast the data gap between satellites A network of fixed points that measure differences between satellites and fixed positions.

23. Measurement Accuracy • It is very important to gather correct and accurate data, or the data is unusable.

24. Waypoints • Waypoints are a set of coordinates that locate a specific point in physical space • In the earths atmosphere and outer space it is measured latitude, longitude, and elevation • It is very important to get the proper Waypoints

25. Human Error

26. Pictures

28. Acknowledgement • NASA WFF, US FWS, and MSC • Scott Schaire, Alex Brown from NASA, Louis Hinds from US FWS, Amber Parker and others at MSC • Administration of East Stroudsburg University (President Robert Dillman and Vice Provost Thomas Tauer) and Millersville University for the support. • ESU and MU team