RESPONDING TO HURRICANE SANDY WITH THE TOPOBATHYMETRIC EXPERIMENTAL ADVANCED AIRBORNE RESEARCH LIDAR – B

The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program’s Lidar Project conducted topobathymetric lidar surveys of the entire ocean coast of New Jersey immediately before and just after the landfall of Hurricane Sandy. The pre-landfall survey occurred on October 26, 2012, and the post landfall survey occurred on November 1, 2012. These pre/post Hurricane Sandy landfall surveys of the New Jersey ocean Coast were conducted using the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar – B (EAARL-B). The EAARL-B is a green laser cross – shoreline mapper designed for elevation surveys of complex coastal zone. Elevation difference maps for the NJ ocean coast that reveal the storm’s impacts on beaches, dunes, communities and protected natural areas have been constructed based on the pre/post Hurricane Sandy landfall EAARL-B airborne lidar collections.

The EAARL-B supports the construction of seamless coastal topobathymetric models that are required to provide the scientific knowledge needed for decisions about coastal zone land management and resource use and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds. Moreover, such seamless coastal topobathymetric models are needed to respond to national issues associated with coastal change, including shoreline erosion and the increasing susceptibility of coastal communities to natural hazards and sea level rise and sustaining the environmental health of coastal communities and resources.