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Josh Logan Wins Award at USGS-GIS Conference
Congratulations to Joshua Logan of the USGS Pacific Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA,
for receiving the award for "Best Analytical Poster" at the recent USGS-GIS 2001 Conference.
The conference was held April 23rd-27th in the Denver Federal Center and brought together
scientists and computer technicians from across the USGS.
Josh is an Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) intern working with the Coral Reef
Project in Santa Cruz. His poster, co-authored by Curt Storlazzi and Mike Field, was entitled
"Analysis of Coral Reef Morphology Using SHOALS LIDAR Data: Southern Moloka'i, Hawai'i."
SHOALS (Scanning Hydrographic Operational Lidar [Light Detection and Ranging] Survey)
imagery provides precise depth measurements to +/- 15 cm. By constructing digital profiles
across selected bathymetric contours, Josh was able to identify characteristic trends in
spur-and-groove morphology (spurs are ridges of coral perpendicular to the shore; grooves
are channels between the spurs.) Co-author Curt Storlazzi analyzed the power spectra of
the morphology through a Matlab application. Together, Josh and Curt have developed a new
and potentially powerful application for understanding reef growth.
Seeing "The Pit:"
3-D perspective view of "The Pit" area of the Moloka'i fringing coral reef, with profile
lines draped over the surface to highlight spur-and-groove morphology. This image was
created by draping a color shaded-relief map over a DEM (digital elevation model) derived
from the SHOALS LIDAR data. The origin of The Pit is currently unknown. It could be a result
of dredging, or it could be a natural feature-a hole maintained by continual freshwater
discharge, the remnant of an ancient stream channel cut into the reef when sea level was
lower and now overgrown, or a combination of the two. |
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June 2001
in this issue:
cover story:
Great Blue Hole of Belize
Channel Islands Cruise
Lake Mead Mapping
New Underwater Microscope System
Hurricane Display
Reston Open House
WHFC Outreach
Monterey Open House
School-to-Work Partnership
Acadiana Migratory Bird Day
SWICA-M³
Global Assessment of Geologically-Sourced Methane
Methane Hydrates
Metadata Workshop
Sue Hunt—Recycling
Coastal Stewardship
GIS 2001: Logan
GIS 2001: Massachusetts Bay
WHFC Visitors
Northeast Earthquake Hazards Map
June Publications List
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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