Please be aware that there will be drone monitoring of our Dunes Next Week. The City has contracted with the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, as part of our Department of Community Affairs grant, to monitor the dunes the City built as part of the beach nourishment last year.
The Institute comes out quarterly, using a drone with a high-resolution camera to take pictures of the dunes the length of the beach. They compare each survey with the prior one to measure rates of sand erosion and accretion. They have been taking surveys since the City built the dunes early last year.
Claudia Venherm, the research technician leading the project, will be out doing the latest survey next week, starting on Monday (22nd) and finishing on Thursday (25th).
Typically, several resident volunteers help Claudia with the project by laying out Ground Control Points (GCP) so she can replicate each survey exactly. Next week, however, she will be alone with an assistant from the Institute. Some GCPs will be in the dunes, mostly close to crossovers and they will leave about five (5) of them overnight, and they will be out there only two (2) at a time. All will be gone on Thursday, wind and weather permitting.
So, expect to see Claudia and her assistant on the beach and yes, in the dunes, next week, from about 7am to 3pm. She will be busy flying the drone but welcomes interest in our project. We're sure she and her assistant will readily answer questions and tell you more about the project if you happen to see them.
