Marsh Monitoring with Drones Webinar
On March 26, 2024, the CBSSC with Maryland Sea Grant, presented a “Marsh Monitoring with Drones” introductory webinar to to learn about the challenges and opportunities that come with using drones in wetland research, ask questions of some experts, and to get to know who is doing what with drones on our Chesapeake Bay coasts. Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS), such as drones and other remote sensing technologies, offer exciting opportunities to view and monitor ecosystems, including tidal wetlands. But site and software access, flight customization, and expenses can make it difficult for fledgling flight missions to get off the ground. This webinar highlighted regional drone marsh monitoring work across four sites and shared our speakers’ experiences of the benefits and practicalities of using drones in their research.
On May 7, 2019, the CBSSC, in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserves in Virginia and Maryland, presented a “SET 101” introductory webinar to review why we use Surface Elevation Tables (SET) to monitor marsh elevation change, and how to install, measure, and use SET data.
Review the presentation
Visit our source material
The surface elevation table and marker horizon technique: A protocol for monitoring wetland elevation dynamics by James C. Lynch, Philippe Hensel, and Donald R. Cahoon
Use this handy checklist for SET Installation from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5. This is an informal Standard Operating Procedure and not an official FWS protocol, but it does include safety gear and provides a step-by-step photos for installation. It should be used as supplemental information and is not guaranteed to cover all aspects of SET installation and safety needs at a given site.