Photo Credit: @MarineUAS

Meet Dr. Dave Johnston of the Duke University Marine Lab.  Currently on a research trip to Antarctica, Dave and his team lead the way in incorporating drones, otherwise referred to as UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), in marine research and monitoring.  Recently, Duke Environment Magazine featured Dave and his team’s work along with the details of a new facility (unofficially dubbed the Drone Center) devoted entirely to drone research at the Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC (https://nicholas.duke.edu/about/news/keeping-eye-sky-their-feet-ground).   Exec Ed has been working with the Drone Center to develop a Summer 2017 open enrollment course for other environmental researchers or professionals looking to see how they might incorporate the technology into data collection efforts. Keep a lookout for more updates coming from Exec Ed (@DEL_Duke) and the Drone Center (@MarineUAS).

 

A thermal map of penguins at Avian Island in Antarctica. Little white dots = penguin chicks. Photo Credit: @MarineUAS

Dr. Johnston launching the eBee, a fixed-wing drone used by his group during their trip to Antarctica. Photo Credit: @MarineUAS

Snow shovels & Ziploc baggies for scat collection to find out what species of krill the Antarctic crabeater seals eat. Photo Credit: @MarineUAS