Coastal Instrumentation
The RAPID Facility has deployed a variety of equipment in support of disaster reconnaissance and in support of other engineering and monitoring activities in the coastal zone.
Following Hurricane Ida landfall in Louisiana in 2021, the RAPID Facility supported a joint GEER and NEER deployment to Grand Isle, LA. The hurricane caused significant damage to the built and natural environment due to the combined impacts of storm surge, strong winds, and heavy rainfall. The storm claimed 87 lives and resulted in $75 billion in direct economic damage. The joint NEER/GEER team was led by Associate Professor Navid Jafari of Louisiana State University and Associate Professor Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos of University of California, Berkeley. The team measured nearshore bathymetric changes, damage to the coastal levee and post-hurricane waste management. The RAPID Facility deployed a suite of equipment, including multiple drones, the Leica RTC360 scanner and the Z-boat.
The U.S. Army Corps of engineers piloted the cost-savings application of drone-based lidar to monitor elevation change following dredging activities to maintain navigable waterways and restore natural habitats—a billion dollar a year endeavor. In 2021, the RAPID Facility deployed its DJI Mavic Pro drone and the miniRanger UAS LIDAR system to map elevation changes in a restored marsh in Gull Island, NJ.
Learn more about our coastal deployments →
