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MAPPING MATTERS
VOL. 4 | ISSUE 4 | October 2024
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Check out Emily, Jaden, and Garrett's video project capturing their time on the NOAA ship Nancy Foster!
· July 15-21, 2024 ·
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Renato Kane (OET), Daniel Tauriello (UNH-CCOM), and Jacob Stock (USF-COMIT)
in the E/V Nautilus data lab, preparing for an ROV dive
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Kudos to Jaden Crute
Jaden was selected as a 2024 ROV Engineering Intern for the E/V Nautilus! Lebuu's Voyage I and II will explore deep-sea habitats within the Palau Marine Sanctuary in October and November. Jaden said: "The opportunity to sail on such a prestigious research vessel with experts in the field of oceanography is so exciting. It’s a privilege to have the chance to observe their work firsthand and to directly learn from them about what goes into the research that they do."
Read the full Media Release from OET here
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Back-to-Back Storms: News and Recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton | |
Satellite image of Hurricane Helene making landfall near Perry, Florida | NOAA | |
The devastating impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which made landfall in Florida less than two weeks apart, brought unprecedented storm surge, flooding, and widespread damage to our region and beyond. As our team and communities grapple with the aftermath, the urgency of our research has never been greater. We invite you to explore the latest news and insights from our researchers as they delve into the complex issues surrounding these extreme weather events. | | |
The arrival of mega-hurricanes will show us nature's darkest side. Here's what that means | |
“At this point, we’re committed to sea level rise over the next 50–100 years that will likely approach 1m (approx 3ft). So, for infrastructure supposed to be long-lasting, we need to start thinking long-term and take that into account for planning purposes.”
Tim Dixon, COMIT Co-PI
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How a USF glider helped forecast Hurricane Helene | |
“Things were beginning to get rough around St. Pete, but we were closely watching the glider. We were happy to see it made it through the storm.”
Chad Lembke, COMIT Co-PI
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How back-to-back hurricanes impacted Florida's Gulf Coast | |
“There’s the likelihood that (dunes) may have stopped some of (Milton’s) water from being able to flow into the streets in the community. They were already leveled by Hurricane Helene in most areas, there was nothing to stop. There was nothing to protect.”
Cheryl Hapke, COMIT Co-PI
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National Ocean Service helps reopen Florida ports after Hurricane Milton | |
“Reopening the ports is critical. The faster we can get the necessary information to our partners so the port can be reopened, the better. The navigation response teams are heroes — they work around-the-clock to get the surveying done.”
Nicolas Alvarado, NOAA Navigation Manager (FL, PR and USVI) and COMIT Collaborator
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Our COMIT modeling team successfully maintained the West Florida Coastal Ocean Model (WFCOM) and the Tampa Bay Coastal Ocean Model (TBCOM) nowcast/forecast systems during the storm events. Based on the WFCOM, the Ocean Circulation Lab provided successful 3-day forecasts of storm surge for the entire west Florida coast. Particularly, they used the TBCOM-flooding model in predicting the coastal inundation process for the Tampa Bay periphery successfully two days before the landfall of Hurricane Helene.
Check out the map below.
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Map of the northeast region of St. Petersburg, FL, showing the 2-day forecast for coastal flooding and inundation before Hurricane Helene | |
Welcome New Students, Staff and Interns | |
Ocean Mapping Engineer
Jacob joined COMIT in August, following his time aboard the E/V Nautilus as a Navigator for the Hawaiʻi - American Samoa Mapping Expedition (July 20 – August 6, 2024) with OET. Jacob is no stranger to all-things-sonar and is already a valued member of the team!
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Jacob trains Zoe on the many nuances of cleaning multibeam data | | |
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Undergraduate Intern
With COMIT since June, Emily has made engineering strides modeling components for a fluorometer (including: lens, camera, sensors, circuit boards, and battery) loaned to the Ocean Technology Group by Connectsix LLC.
An Environmental Engineering sophomore at USF (Class of 2027), Emily participated in the NOAA Nancy Foster cruise in July (video here), has assisted with pressure testing underwater gliders, and field testing new props and propellers for USV TREVOR.
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CAD renderings showing 3-D models of the chassis Emily and team have been working on for the fluorometer | |
Congratulations to Rosemary Burkhalter-Castro on a successful master's defense! Rosemary's thesis: Revealing grounding zone and subglacial processes at Cosgrove Ice Shelf. The third and final podcast of Deep Soundings is now available and features the use of autonomous vessels in Antarctic research - including sound bites from Rosemary and COMIT alum Alastair Graham. | |
Rosemary's Master's Thesis Defense - October 2, 2024 | | |
Garrett Miller, Chad Lembke, Matt Hommeyer and Sherryl Gilbert at the City Hall on Tour event at USF with St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch | | |
COMIT took part in the City Hall on Tour event at USF St. Pete to showcase our many mapping projects with residents of the city and with Mayor Ken Welch.
· September 18, 2024 ·
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COMIT completed a Trident Tools Satellite Derived Bathymetry training - expanding geospatial skills and gaining hands-on-experience with TCarta's proprietary software.
· August 20-22, 2024 ·
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COMIT welcomed Harold Orlinsky, who delivered a SonarWiz training - giving participants the opportunity to learn some of the core workflows and tools available for side-scan sonar, multibeam bathymetry, and seismic profiles.
· October 22-24, 2024 ·
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Looking to the Future (Of Mapping...) | |
Push to map Great Lakes bottom gains momentum amid promises effort will help fishing and shipping | COMIT Director and Principal Investigator, Steve Murawski, recently shared insights on the advantages of a high-resolution lakebed map in an October 2, 2024 AP News article. The NOAA-certified Great Lakes Observing System is leading this significant mapping endeavor. | | | |
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Submit an abstract to present your work at US Hydro 2025.
Future of Hydrography: Innovation & Access submission topics include:
- Innovation in Acquisition Systems
- Innovation in Processing
- Innovation in Platforms
- Innovation in the Blue Economy
- Access & Workforce
- Access & Environment
Deadline: December 31, 2024, 11:59 PM EST
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140 7th Avenue South,
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
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