Geodesy at the Water’s Edge

The NGS Ecosystem and Climate Operations (ECO) Program adapts geodetic survey technologies, instrumentation, and procedures in support of coastal community resilience, ecosystem services, and ecological integrity, especially in responding to climate change. ECO partners with numerous organizations including NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Smithsonian Institution, to help them observe and monitor changes in coastal land elevations and water levels and apply them to issues of management concern.

ECO also conducts collaborative research and development across several NOAA offices including the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), the Office of Coast Survey (OCS), and the Office for Coastal Management (OCM). By providing access to foundational geospatial infrastructure, models, and tools, NGS and ECO support the three National Ocean Service priorities of “Coastal Intelligence”, “Coastal Resilience”, and “Place-based Conservation”.

To keep partners informed of ECO Program activities, the team distributes a bi-monthly newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter online and review past newsletters for more information.

Related Efforts and Programs

ECO has established guidelines and provided training to assist its partners install geospatial infrastructure in coastal areas. When a significant amount of resources and monitoring infrastructure is concentrated at one location, we refer to the place as a “sentinel site.” You can review the NGS one-pager to learn more about the types of monitoring infrastructure installed to create a sentinel site and the benefits of this approach.

Many ECO partners have invested in the sentinel site concept, especially NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Institution. To help coordinate these related efforts, the NOAA Sentinel Site Program was established to directly engage local, state, and federal managers as part of a Cooperative team within a geographic area. ECO works with all NOAA Sentinel Site Cooperatives and helps lead the Chesapeake Bay Sentinel Site Cooperative.