Galveston Bay Drone Surveys and Ocean Currents for Oil Spill Response Modeling

RESTORE Sponsored Research Project data includes UAS drone survey video and imagery of the ocean surface with corresponding near-surface ocean current measurements. Associated data includes UTM coordinates, ADCP current profiles, CTD temperature and salinity profiles, and GPS boat location data, collected at Galveston Bay and Freeport, Texas. This research is funded by NOAA's RESTORE Science Program under award NA23NOS4510309 to Texas A&M University from 2023 to 2028.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill trajectory based on drone-observed near-surface ocean currents.
• Calibrating hydrodynamic models using ADCP measurements of currents within the water column.
• Assessing environmental conditions for spill response using CTD profiles of temperature and salinity.
• Planning drone-based monitoring missions based on geospatial UTM coordinate and GPS data.

Strengths

• Data collection spans multiple modalities: video, imagery, and multiple types of tabular sensor data.
• Collection plan includes 3 initial field-testing periods followed by quarterly and event-based surveys.
• Geographic coverage is specified for Galveston Bay entrance channel, Houston ship channel, and Freeport, Texas.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Still image files will not be available for every survey, as noted in the description.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) RESTORE Science Program, Texas A&M University.

Collection Method

Field collection using UAS drones, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP), CTD sensors, and GPS.

Time Range

Project funded from 2023 to 2028; data collection includes initial, quarterly, and event-based surveys.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:39:15.006426; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Galveston Bay (entrance channel and Houston ship channel) and Freeport, Texas, USA.