In the past we have seen how drones can be a nuisance in which they sometimes prevent emergency services from reaching their target. However now it looks like all those drone owners will have their drones put to good use and for the greater good, thanks to call from The Nature Conservatory.
Scientists are asking that drone owners put their drones to good use by capturing photos and videos of the flooding and coastal erosion that will be caused by El Nino. The idea behind this call is that by crowdsourcing the information and through geotagging, it gives scientists a brief window into the future with regards to rising sea levels.
According to Matt Merrifield, the organization’s chief technology officer, “We use these projected models and they don’t quite look right, but we’re lacking any empirical evidence. This is essentially a way of ‘ground truthing’ those models.” His sentiments were echoed by William Patzert, a climatologist for Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Patzert said, “When you get big winter storm surge like they want to document, you tend to lose a lot of beach. In a way, it’s like doing a documentary on the future. It’ll show you what your beaches will look like in 100 years.” Right now there aren’t any specific missions that organizers are handing out, but they might make requests as the winter rolls on.