MAPPING MATTERS

VOL. 5 | ISSUE 2 | April 2025

The COMIT team, esteemed NOAA guests, colleagues and industry partners pose for a group photo at the fourth COMIT Annual Review, February 25-26, 2025, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA Office of Coast Survey (OCS))

COMIT's Fourth Annual Review

Steve Murawski (COMIT Director and Principal Investigator) shares opening remarks with attendees of the COMIT Annual Review.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

The fourth COMIT Annual Review (February 25-26) delivered two days of focused energy, advancing us into the critical final year of our five-year mission. We're sharpening our research methods and capabilities to best support NOAA's vital work in coastal disaster response, preparedness, and resilience. Building on this momentum, we are primed and ready to respond to a new RFP and secure another five years of funding to ensure the continued success of our efforts.

A cheerful greeting between Dr. Saeed Moghimi (NOAA/NOS) and Dr. Yonggang Liu (COMIT/USF-CMS) .

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

Jacob Stock (COMIT/USF-CMS) and Anthony Klemm (NOAA/NOS) admire the process of outfitting

a survey vessel - the R/V Tocobaga.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

Catching up: Margaret Hanley (COMIT/USF-CMS) and Catalina Rubiano (Saildrone and COMIT/USF-CMS alum) in the foreground; Andy Armstrong (UNH/CCOM), Brian Calder (UNH/CCOM), and Corey Allen (NOAA/NOS) in the background.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

We introduced break-out sessions to this year's program, allowing for more intimate and targeted discussions on key topics. Below are some take-homes from these productive conversations.

Emerging Hydro Workflows - Remote Data Access and Processing

AI Integration Requires Human Oversight:
The hydrographic community recognizes the potential of AI in data processing, particularly for efficiency gains; however, there's a strong consensus that AI should augment, not replace, human expertise. Hydrographers must remain central to validating AI outputs, ensuring data integrity, and maintaining the legal defensibility of hydrographic products.

Cloud Adoption Presents Both Opportunities and Challenges:
While cloud technology offers significant advantages for remote data access and processing, its adoption within the hydrographic sector is uneven. There's a clear demand for cloud-deployable software to facilitate seamless data management and collaboration, but infrastructure and standardization are needed to fully realize the cloud's potential.

Evolving Hydrographer Skillsets Emphasize Technological Proficiency:
The future of hydrography requires professionals with advanced technological skills, including proficiency in computer applications, network management, and AI integration. Educational programs and industry training must adapt to this shift, preparing hydrographers to effectively manage and utilize complex technological systems.

Chad Lembke (COMIT/USF-CMS), Michael Scherer (Chance Maritime Technologies), Kristie Erickson (COMIT/FIO) and Grace Angeli (USF/FL HTC Intern) participate in Hydro Workflows and Remote Data breakout session discussions.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

Workforce Development

Industry Demand vs. Educational Output:
Industry participants expressed a significant demand for survey technicians that current educational institutions are struggling to meet, emphasizing the need for simplified job training and a better understanding of technician roles by management.

Skill Diversification and Specialization:
The increasing integration of uncrewed systems and Remote Operation Centers (ROCs) requires a workforce with both versatile problem-solving skills ("MacGyvers") and specialized technical expertise, highlighting a gap in current academic preparation and the need for formalized skill codification.

Academia-Industry Collaboration and Career Development:
Participants emphasized the importance of collaboration between academia and industry to align educational programs with workforce needs, including incorporating project management and leadership skills into curricula, and addressing employee retention through career path development and diverse work experiences.

Sherryl Gilbert (COMIT/USF-CMS), Samantha D'Angelo (COMIT/USF-CMS), and Jay Law (COMIT/USF-CMS) dive deep into Workforce Development.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

Modeling and Forecasting (Geodesy, Circulation, Inundation, Post-Storm Assessments)

Model Selection and Application Awareness:
The session emphasized that choosing the right numerical model is highly application-dependent, requiring modelers to possess a deep understanding of each model's strengths and limitations to ensure accurate and effective results.

Communicating Uncertainty and Building Expertise:
Effective risk communication to the public involves not only presenting model predictions but also transparently explaining potential inaccuracies and influencing factors, while developing and retaining a skilled modeling team is crucial for rapid and efficient responses to critical environmental events.

Advancements and Integration for Improved Accuracy:
The future of ocean modeling relies on the integration of higher-resolution weather models and the coupling of hydrodynamic and hydrologic models to accurately predict compound flooding, with ensemble modeling being a potential avenue for enhanced forecast reliability.

COMIT, USF College of Marine Science, NOAA, and other colleagues and collaborators address needs and explore solutions in Modeling and Forecasting.

(Photo courtesy of Nic Alvarado, NOAA OCS)

COMIT Collaborates with Chance Maritime

Check out the above video capturing some of our data collection operation with

Chance Maritime Technologies.

USF COMIT and Chance Maritime Collect Data for Backscatter Calibration Sites

The University of South Florida College of Marine Science’s Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT) collaborated with Chance Maritime Technologies to acquire data at three backscatter calibration sites off the coast of Tampa Bay, FL (February 6-9).

Click below to read Chance Maritime's press release.

HTC Intern Update

HTC intern, Jeromy Parmar, and PhD student Bea Combs-Hintze observe activity in the eelgrass holding tanks at USF-CMS – donated by Sea & Shoreline aquatic restoration firm.

The Florida High Tech Corridor interns – Grace, Jeromy, Lillian, Landon, and Eloise – have been actively engaged in a wide range of experiences over the past few weeks. Having settled into their research roles (more on that below), they have enthusiastically embraced many other opportunities including participation in a research cruise and glider deployment, a professional development session, the COMIT Annual Review, science communication skills development with the USF-CMS Comms team, a tour of the Saildrone facility at the Maritime Defense and Technology Hub, and an introduction to QPS hydrographic data processing software.

Jeromy and Lillian are working with PhD student, Bea Combs-Hintze and others to learn about shallow water mapping. They are also assisting with quantifying habitat area and type over a video transect for thousands of images of seagrass using recognition software and Python code.

Grace and Eloise are working with PhD student, Sean Beckwith on oceanic glider sound speed profiling using programming language, MATLAB. Additionally, they are utilizing their GIS knowledge to perform spatial analyses of glider paths in ArcPro.

Landon is working with researchers Jay Law and Haibo Xu to assist with calibration, sensor work, and chemistry for the Tampa Bay Observation Network and the Ocean Circulation Lab. He has also begun to assist with the fabrication and deployment of Sargassum-mimicking surface drifters.

HTC Intern, Grace Angeli, works with the USF-CMS Glider Group to deploy an oceanic glider near the Florida Middle Grounds area off the West Florida Shelf.

Landon McLaughlin (HTC Intern) and Jay Law (COMIT/USF-CMS) observe a new field site in Bishop's Harbor for expansion of the Tampa Bay Observing Network (TBON).

Lillian Ring (HTC Intern) points to a data table for seagrass habitat classification.

Eloise Cole (HTC intern) affixes the tail of oceanic glider, Stella, at the USF-CMS Ocean Technology Group's Lab.

US Hydro 2025

Dave Naar, Stephan O'Brien, Sherryl Gilbert, Steve Murawski, Matt Hommeyer, Jacob Stock, Maggy Hanley and Liesl Hotaling representing COMIT and USF-CMS at US Hydro 2025.

COMIT were honored to participate in The Hydrographic Society of America's yearly conference, US Hydro (March 17-20). The team actively coordinated and moderated the technical sessions and panel discussions, while also presenting their current research.

Talks included:

Educating the Entry Level Hydrographer - Challenges, Opportunities & Lessons Learned | Jonathan Beaudoin (HydroOctave) & Matt Hommeyer
Partnering with the ‘Crowd’: Development of a Community Bathymetry Program in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA | Sherryl Gilbert
Bathymetric Mapping in the Coastal Zone: Approaches, Challenges, and Opportunities | Steve Murawski
Backscatter Calibration of a Kongsberg EM2040P Using a Calibrated Single Beam Echo Sounder in Tampa Bay Nearshore Region | Stephan O'Brien

🎉Congrats to master's student, Maggy Hanley, on her 4th place poster award for Linking Past Ice Retreat to Present Benthic Habitats: Insights from the Aurora Subglacial Basin, East Antarctica. 🎉

FCMaP Summit

Kristie Erickson (COMIT/FIO) and Cheryl Hapke (COMIT/USF-CMS) welcome attendees

to the 2025 FCMaP Summit.

FCMaP's diverse stakeholder group.

It's been a busy couple of months for meetings and innovative discussions on everything mapping! The FCMaP Summit (March 12-13) took place just two weeks after COMIT's Annual Review, advancing collaborative strategies for effective sea floor mapping in Florida.

Click below to read USF CMS's coverage of the event.

Kudos

Dr. Mark Luther (COMIT/USF-CMS) received the Propeller Club's Unsung Hero award! This award recognizes individuals who quietly drive success in the maritime industry through their dedication and hard work.

MultiscaleDTM: An open-source R package for multiscale geomorphometric analysis

https://doi.org/10.1111/tgis.13067

PhD Candidate, Alex Ilich's (COMIT/USF-CMS) work, published in Transactions in GIS was among the journals' 2023 top ten most cited papers!

Co-authors include Steve Murawski (COMIT/USF-CMS), Benjamin Misiuk (Dalhousie University), and Vincent Lecours (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi).

Dr. Robert Weisberg's New Book

Dr. Weisberg's (Professor Emeritus, COMIT/USF-CMS) book demystifies ocean circulation and its profound influence on Earth's climate and ecosystems for a general audience, using accessible, non-mathematical explanations. It connects fundamental ocean physics to real-world issues like sea level rise, hurricanes, and algal blooms, with a focus on coastal regions, including Tampa Bay. Beyond education, the book aims to ignite scientific curiosity in young readers, encouraging them to pursue careers in oceanography and related fields.

Snippets

Click on the video to hear Dr. Stephan O'Brien explain how multibeam sonar is used in his COMIT research.

Tools of the Trade: multibeam sonar

USF-CMS has a wonderfully informative series on their social channels called 'Tools of the Trade'. Last month, multibeam sonar and Stephan were featured!

From CMS:

This tool helps researchers determine the ocean’s bathymetry and allows them to understand the substrate of ocean basins.

Multibeam sonar systems emit sound waves from a transducer typically aboard a vessel on the surface of the water. The rate at which these waves bounce back allows scientists to describe the depth and composition of the sea floor.

Maggy Hanley, Sherryl Gilbert, Kylee Rullo, and Steve Murawski at Florida Oceans Day.

USF College of Marine Science graduate students Maggy Hanley and Kylee Rullo joined COMIT Director, Steve Murawski and COMIT Program Manager Sherryl Gilbert in Tallahassee, Florida in support of Oceans Day 2025 (April 1). The theme was 'Florida's Ocean Economy: Building a Sustainable Future for Florida's Economy and Environment' and the team were there to advocate for ocean science, informing legislators and other attendees about the critical ongoing research taking place at the college, COMIT, and NOAA.