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Depending on the size and scale of a marine survey, bathymetry data can come with a prohibitive price tag. Traditional data acquisition methods—such as multi-beam sonar and airborne lidar—are effective, but can lead to significant cost and logistical complexity.
In this episode, Amy Anfinrud from TCarta joined us to share the operational benefits of Satellite-Derived Bathymetry maps (SDB). We discussed the utility of their free Global Marine Basemap and the precision of their premium SDB data offerings integrated into Global Mapper®.
Tune in to learn why satellite-derived bathymetry maps are a great resource for geospatial, hydrographic, and coastal mapping professionals.
• Listen to the episode •
Chill with the visualizer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xh7lmjMIl0s?si=6KSeLc7VmJVWfw_F
• Resources •
Explore the Global Marine Basemap in Global Mapper: https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/global-mapper-pro/
• Timestamps •
[00:00] – Meet Amy Anfinrud from TCarta!
Common eelgrass is a type of aquatic plant that grows in shallow waters. It provides a range of invaluable benefits to the ecosystems it calls home. This is precisely why Tiffany Wu set out to predict where these meadows will grow using spatial data for her master’s thesis.
We were joined by Tiffany’s collaborators on this project—Cheyenne Adams from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Janelle Goeke from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP).
Watch the visualizer: https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/video-collection/geotalks-podcast-ep-11/
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mapping-aquatic-vegetation-in-maine/id1734675688?i=1000729339003
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5jkPhJoLYX94WoRMrNXKNQ?si=d92a22d13fcf47c5
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• Timestamps •
• Resources for Listeners •
More about mapping and ecology on GEOTalks:
Contact Tiffany: [email protected]
About Tiffany Wu: Tiffany joined Blue Marble Geographics as an R&D Intern in 2023 and continued as an Analyst with the R&D and Cloud teams after earning her M.S. in Environmental Planning from Tufts University. In her role, she contributes to workflows that integrate machine learning and spatial data science. Her current projects include containerizing ML pipelines for land cover classification and building extraction, and developing RESTful APIs for real-time inference. A lifelong nature enthusiast from coastal California, Tiffany holds a B.S. in Animal Science with a minor in Environmental Science & Sustainability from Cornell University.
About Cheyenne Adams: Cheyenne has managed the Marine Vegetation Mapping Program at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) since 2023, shortly after its creation by the State Legislature to map seagrass and salt marsh
About Janelle Goeke: Janelle Goeke is the Staff Scientist with the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership. With a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in Biology from SUNY Geneseo, Janelle brings scientific rigor and a passion for coastal ecosystems to her role. Janelle leads CBEP’s environmental monitoring efforts for the Casco Bay watershed, coordinating research on emerging threats, analyzing long-term ecological data, and developing tools for science-informed stewardship. Her focus on enhancing data accessibility helps support community partners, local organizations, and decision-makers to better understand and protect Casco Bay.
Forensic mapping specialists from the Windham, ME, Police Department use drones alongside GIS software to analyze vehicle crash sites and crime scenes. During this episode, we discussed Eugene Gallant and Jason Burke’s insights from the GEOTalks 2025 User Conference, as well as a few additional attendee questions, and the impact of their work with GIS technology.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/fWjK8ivwFM8?si=NLJr9za7PO3CrJmU
Read the blog: https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/blog/how-drone-mapping-assists-police-investigations/
Captain Burke: Drone mapping saves time [00:00]
• About this episode •
Storm surges and sea level rise pose greater risks to coasts each year. Maine felt the effects of climate change this past winter when powerful storms and flooding berated its coast. The Camp Ellis Jetty was particularly vulnerable to these storm surges and sea level rise, and the Saco Bay community lost nearly 40 homes as a result.
In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Will Kochtitzky who is leveraging GIS technology, lidar, and photogrammetry to study the effects of sea-level rise on the Camp Ellis Jetty in Maine.
The concepts in this episode align with what Florida, North Carolina, and other southern states are experiencing in the wake of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. This episode was recorded before the storms, which devastated communities in September and October. We hope that these coastal communities recover soon and heal from this disaster.
• Listen on-the-go •
• Read the Article •
• Timestamps •
• References from the episode •
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Lidar technology, in addition to other methods of remote sensing, can be integral to performing accessible research in a given area. This month on the GEOTalks Podcast, we spoke to Dr. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa about his team’s research in the Guanacaste Conservation Area at Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. His team is creating accurate methods for studying secondary tropical dry forests with lidar technology.
Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Sanchez-Azofeifa explore the history that established a need for this work and share his team’s ongoing research in this field.
Learn more about this episode in the blog: https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/blog/understanding-tropical-dry-forests-with-lidar-technology/
• Listen on the go •
YouTube: https://youtu.be/8g_CvpfR3CE
• Timestamps •
• Resources •
Register for upcoming webinars: https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/blue-marble-geographics-webinars/
You may know the Global Mapper software suite, but do you know how it was created? Mike Childs created Global Mapper — known then as dlgv32 — as an intern at the USGS in 1997. This version had a fraction of the power of the Global Mapper we know today, however, it boasted great GIS mapping functionality for the time.
Mike Childs joined the GEOTalks team to unpack Global Mapper’s origin story and discuss what’s made it such a fulfilling project to develop.
YouTube: https://ow.ly/Zi3i50SFgYK
Timestamps
Resources
Bathymetric surveys provide vital information that informs decisions about marine environments and communities. Tomer Ketter of Map the Gaps and SubMerge, and Sefano M Katz of the Pacific Blue Foundation’s Beqa Lagoon Initiative, joined us on this episode of GEOTalks to share insights from a collaborative bathymetric survey they performed in the Beqa Lagoon in Fiji. The livelihood of Fiji’s people is tied to its land, waters, and the diverse ecosystem that thrives there. In the episode, they explored the impact of accessible bathymetric data on marine conservation, social equity, and cultural integrity in Fiji.
YouTube: https://ow.ly/bSn550SCpLQ
Timestamps
Resources
Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemarblegeo/?hl=en
GeoTalks is a Blue Marble Geographics® podcast. Blue Marble Geographics is a leader in GIS software development, providing professional-grade tools to users at every level. Blue Marble’s expertise spans the geospatial technology sector, focusing on coordinate conversion and management, lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing, and user-driven product development.
Kelsi Schwind joined us on the GEOTalks Podcast to explore how GIS technology can enable progress in conservation. We discussed the budding efforts to preserve the Texas Hill Country’s Bigtooth maple population, which is imperiled in this region. In our discussion, Kelsi highlighted how her automated method for extracting canyons has enabled her team to perform thorough research on Bigtooth maple communities and establish an automation to research this species for years.
YouTube: https://ow.ly/J68B50SCpHJ
Tune in to hear about the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Landscape Ecology Program’s comprehensive approach to conservation using GIS technology.
Topics
Resources
Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemarblegeo/?hl=en
GeoTalks is a Blue Marble Geographics® podcast. Blue Marble Geographics is a leader in GIS software development, providing professional-grade tools to users at every level. Blue Marble’s expertise spans the geospatial technology sector, focusing on coordinate conversion and management, lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing, and user-driven product development.
Subscribe and tune in on the third Wednesday of the month for new episodes!
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of chemicals defined by carbon-fluorine bonds that make them resistant to fire, water, and oil. When PFAS were discovered in our farmlands and waterways, studies indicated that these chemicals have adverse, long-term effects on our environment and bioaccumulative effects in humans and other organisms.
A team from the University of Maine at Orono, led by Dr. Torsten Hahmann, is developing a solution to track nationwide PFAS contamination. Katrina Schweikert joins us on this month’s episode to share her work on the Safe Agricultural Products and Water Graph (SAWGraph). This geospatial knowledge graph will be used in efforts to understand and mitigate the PFAS contamination in our agricultural products and waterways.
YouTube: https://ow.ly/QK3y50SCpE8
Tune in to learn about what sets it apart as a state-of-the-art tool for tracking PFAS.
[00:00] – Introduction
Katrina’s profile on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katrina-schweikert-8139a616
Visit our website at https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/
GeoTalks is a Blue Marble Geographics® podcast. Blue Marble Geographics is a leader in GIS software development, providing professional-grade tools to users at every level. Blue Marble’s expertise spans the geospatial technology sector, focusing on coordinate conversion and management, lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing, and user-driven product development.
Subscribe and tune in on the third Wednesday of the month for new episodes!
The effects of climate change are present around the world, especially in coastal salt marshes. In this episode, we speak with Andrea Celeste Curcio, who has been evaluating the performance of remote sensing with drone/UAV technology (photogrammetry/lidar) and hyperspectral sensors for researching salt marshes over time. She explores the utility of using drones for monitoring coastal ecosystems and shares her insights on the process.
YouTube: https://ow.ly/7Zft50SCpy2
Learn from the world of GIS on this episode of GEOTalks.
Introduction [0:13]
Andrea’s profile on Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GtRFEB0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
GEOTalks is a Blue Marble Geographics® podcast. As a leader in GIS software development, Blue Marble Geographics provides professional-grade tools to users at every level. Blue Marble’s expertise spans the geospatial technology sector, focusing on coordinate conversion and management, lidar and photogrammetric point cloud processing, and user-driven product development.
Visit our website at https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/
Listen to this episode with our visualizer on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fHAMYjeToQg
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