CMGL students participate in ECSC project By: Michael Rittenhouse During the week of July 8th, graduate students Kevin Eager, Luz Lumb, and Michael Rittenhouse, along with Alistair Lord of the Coastal and Marine Geospatial Lab (CMGL) participated in a collaborative research project sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Environmental Cooperative Science Center (NOAA-ECSC).   Figure 1: ECSC students estimate canopy height with a protractor. Photo by: Luz Lumb The NOAA-ECSC is comprised of member institutions whose research supports the study and understanding of human interactions with coastal environments. Much of the organization’s work concentrates on ecological and coastal management issues specific to National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR).  The goals of the NOAA-ECSC are to enhance community awareness relating to the importance of coastal ecosystems while providing the next generation of scientists with the appropriate tools to support environmental decision making and broaden scientific bases  for resource management through various environmental assessments.  Figure 2:  Students from Delaware State University and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi record RTK measurements through a residential section of St. George Island, Florida. Photo by: Alan Hunter Kneidel The most recent project, which took place near Apalachicola Bay, Florida, focused on sharpening field techniques.  Students identified vegetation and estimated canopy height, provided ground truth verification for WorldView-2 satellite imagery, and recorded real-time kinematic (RTK) survey measurements for area wetlands. This particular project brought together students from Florida A&M University, Creighton University, Delaware State University, University of Texas-Brownsville, and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Figure 3: Alistair Lord and Kevin Eager provide ground truth verification for satellite imagery.  Photo by: Luz Lumb