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Lidar for Lunch at St. Petersburg, Florida, Propeller Club
Amar Nayegandhi, an ETI Professionals contractor at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) office in St. Petersburg, Florida, was invited to be the luncheon speaker at the monthly meeting of the Propeller Club at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on January 17, 2008. Bill Horner, the current Propeller Club president, requested a high-technology presentation by a speaker who would share some new scientific findings with club members. Horner wanted "to provide current science and technology information to keep this group of maritime-industry representatives on top of issues affecting our natural coastal resources and the shipping industry." When he learned of lidar (an acronym for "light detection and ranging") and its many applications, he knew it would be perfect for his group. Nayegandhi discussed the basic principles of airborne lidar technology and presented examples of how the USGS uses this technology in his talk titled "Applications of Lidar Technology in Coastal and Marine Environments." Nayegandhi highlighted scientific applications that include monitoring coastal-change hazards, characterizing coastal-vegetation communities, and monitoring trends and health of coral-reef habitats (see URL http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/remote-sensing/). The USGS took the opportunity to share several resources with the group, including a recently published map, "Topobathymetric Data for Tampa Bay, Florida" (URL http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1051/), for which some of the source data were acquired by lidar. The Propeller Club recognizes that science and technology dominate maritime-related professions in the area, thanks to the C.W. "Bill" Young Marine Science Complex in downtown St. Petersburg (see Sound Waves story, "Appreciation Day for Congressman Young of Florida"). The group is interested in expanding their membership and hopes to encourage science and technology professionals in the area to join their group. If interested, contact Bill Horner at (727) 898-6055.
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in this issue:
Sea-Floor Survey Off Key Largo Coral-Reef Builders Vulnerable to Ocean Acidification USGS Everglades Science in National Geographic Program Lidar for Lunch at Propeller Club Northern Gulf of Mexico Land-Cover Characterization Workshop Best Publication in The Condor |