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 conducts collaborative research and development across several NOAA line offices, especially within the traditional Navigation Services: the National Geodetic Survey, the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services and the Office of Coast Survey. ECO has also helped lead NOAA's efforts to establish Sentinel Sites for monitoring the impact of changing sea levels and coastal inundation.
Last week, NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) provided custom training on geodesy and geodetic surveying for 11 representatives from 7 National Estuarine Research Reserves System (NERRS) sites. This training represents a critical element supporting both the NERRS Sea Level Sentinel Site Initiative, as well as the larger NOAA Sentinel Site Program...more
On March 27-28 at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) hosted an annual meeting for all Texas coastal refuges. This year's theme focused on a newly-funded initiative to install a state-wide coastal monitoring network. The network will be based on a clustering of similar monitoring infrastructure and protocols at all eight coastal refuges....more
The NGS ECO team has experienced some exciting changes in the last few months. Galen Scott, former ECO team lead, is pursuing his PhD at the University of Rhode Island Environmental Data Center with the Environmental and Earth Sciences group and will therefore be absent from the ECO team for the next year and a half. Christine Gallagher has stepped in to take over the functions of team lead. She is working closely with external partners and other NOAA offices to develop new projects and move ECO forward. Philippe Hensel is continuing as lead researcher on Surface Elevation Tables and other coastal applications of surveying technology, as well as assisting partners with projects which require precise wetland and coastal elevations. Aria Remondi will be working on special projects with the NGS ECO team, including maintaining and continuing the development of ECO's web presence. Check this space frequently for more updates!
The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) successfully completed a mission in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) the week of December 5. Working in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service, NGS trained NERR staff in deep rod mark-setting and high-precision digital barcode leveling procedures....more
The week of July 18th, NGS hosted Neil Winn, a geographer from the National Park Service stationed at the Assateague Island National Seashore. Over the past year, Winn has been developing a local geodetic control network throughout the entire Assateague Island to monitor barrier island migration and the positional evolution of critical dune habitats as environmental (and sea level) conditions change....more
From June 15 to June 23, NOAAs National Geodetic Survey (NGS) ECO team installed precise positioning infrastructure and conducted fieldwork off the coast of Belize in Central America to assist the Smithsonian Institution in reconstructing sea-level change history since the last ice age. NGS also conducted a series of simultaneous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations on several islands....more
On Friday, December 10, representatives from NOAAs National Geodetic Survey (NGS) met with researchers and administrators at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, MD, to explore ways in which NGS may assist SERC in developing a high- accuracy local geodetic control network....more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has recently turned to NOAAs National Geodetic Survey (NGS) for assistance in the application of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology to obtain high-accuracy positions and elevations across its northeast coastal refuge system....more
This week the NOAAs National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS), and Center for Operational Oceanographic Products ` and Services (CO-OPS) began a 90-day deployment of seven Real-Time Global Navigation Satellite System (RT GNSS) "floats" at strategic locations...more
On February 5, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) showcased its terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanner at the NOAA Science Center to NOAA staff and FOX 5 News during the sneak preview of the 2010 NOAA Heritage Week...more