Plenary Speaker II

Speaker II: Mark Borrelli

Title: Seafloor Mapping in Extreme Shallow Waters: Platforms, Instruments, Data Needs and Utility

Abstract: Coastal environments are among the most dynamic ecosystems on earth. Collecting data in shallow waters is hazardous, costly, and time-consuming. Yet these data are critical to our understanding of the physical processes at work and implications for ecosystem evolution at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Here we present an overview of the seafloor mapping program within the Coastal Processes and Ecosystem Lab at the UMass Boston. Recent and ongoing projects and data regarding coastal sediment transport, submerged aquatic vegetation, benthic ecology, marine debris and other anthropogenic alterations will be discussed.