Bathymetric grid representing single beam data during field activity 2020-015-FA offshore Head of the Meadow Beach, Truro MA on March 10, 2020
The data in this release map the beach and nearshore environment at Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro, MA and provide environmental context for the camera calibration information for the 2019 CoastCam installation that looks out at the coast shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. This is related to the field activity 2020-015-FA and a collaboration with the National Park Service at Cape Cod National Seashore to monitor the region that falls within the field of view of the CoastCam, which are two video cameras aimed at the beach. On March 4, 6, and 10, 2020, U.S Geological Survey and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists conducted field surveys to collect position and orientation information for the CoastCam cameras and map the field of view. Elevation data were collected using a real time kinematic – satellite navigation system (RTK-GNSS) receiver attached to a pole and walked on the beach. Point data of the beach face were collected along transects and at periodic locations of plywood targets moved throughout the day within the CoastCam view. Grain-size analysis was performed on sediment samples collected with a spade along multiple profiles from the bluff base to the intertidal zone. Images of the beach were taken with a camera (Ricoh GRII) and a post-processed kinematic (PPK) system attached to a kitesurfing kite, and high-precision targets (AeroPoints) were used as ground control points. Bathymetry was collected in the nearshore using a single-beam echosounder mounted on a surf capable self-righting electric autonomous survey vehicle. Agisoft Metashape (v. 1.6.1) was used to create a digital elevation model with the collected imagery and this was merged with the bathymetry in MatLab (v. 2020) to create a continuous topobathy product.