The 2017 Duck Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Pilot Experiment was designed to evaluate existing and new UAS-based survey and monitoring techniques beneficial to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Flood Risk Management (FRM). The diverse array of UAS sensors (lidar, multispectral packages, and high-resolution cameras) can collect data to estimate topography, bathymetry, terrain, land cover, vegetation, and structures at high temporal and spatial resolution. The experiment took place on 5-24 June 2017 at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, Field Research Facility. Nine UAS flight teams from the federal government, academia, and the private sector conducted 180 UAS flights with 10 different UAS platforms as well as 2 traditional fixed-wing plane overhead surveys. The UAS flights combined for over 2,782 minutes of air time across estuarine, dune, beach, and nearshore environments, including various types of natural features and man-made infrastructure. Such datasets provide the foundation for quantitatively comparing the pros and cons of different platforms, sensor packages, and processing techniques against each other as well as traditional survey methods. This special report summarizes the cooperative June 2017 UAS for FRM pilot field experiment; sections detail participating groups, airframes, field preparation/field operations, and data dissemination. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents.

Coastal Lidar and Radar Imaging System between 2011 and 2017 along the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina near the CHL Field Research Facility. The report briefly describes the system and study site as well as the survey data extents, collection dates, and environmental context and data access information for the point cloud and digital elevation model products. Initial morphology data products and initial analyses are presented including calculations of shoreline change, dune volume, beach volume, beach slope, and cumulative elevation change over the 6-year study period. Follow-on reports will update the description of the available data repository moving forward. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents.

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This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Tech Note (CHETN) provides a brief, preliminary assessment of utilizing small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to collect topographic data of the sub-aerial beach prior to and following extreme coastal storms to provide quantitative storm impact assessments. BACKGROUND: Under the authority of Public Law (PL) 84-99, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Office of Homeland Security/ Emergency Management can use Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) funds to rehabilitate Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) projects following major storms (33 USC §701n; 33 CFR Part 203). One criterion used to determine if rehabilitation is warranted under the PL 84-99 authority is the amount of fill volume lost, calculated by comparing pre-and post-storm topographic surfaces. Unfortunately, the prestorm surveys are often out of date (anywhere from months to years prior to the storm), and therefore the true impact of the storm cannot be separated from either natural variations in beach evolution, and/or the portion of the project designed to be sacrificial in nature. For example, the 2013 USACE Sandy Coastal Project Performance Evaluation Study (USACE 2013) highlights that many districts lack detailed, quantitative data before the storm to document and evaluate the performance of federal beach projects following extreme events 1. As a consequence of outdated pre-storm data, the FCCE account may either be funding extra replenishment of beach projects, which should instead be covered by Construction General funds (under terms of the project's Project Partnership Agreement), or may be funding rehabilitation projects that, with accurate data, would not be deemed warranted. In Fiscal Year 13, the FCCE account funded 33 CSRM rehabilitation projects in response to Hurricane Sandy, with 25 rehabilitation projects in the North Atlantic District alone costing over $500M. Each rehabilitation project using a dredge costs at minimum $2M in dredge mobilization/demobilization costs before any sand is pumped onto the beach, meaning the avoidance of just one rehabilitation project could result in the savings of over $2M to the FCCE program. Twelve districts in four divisions have CSRM projects that would directly benefit from improved mapping capabilities, more timely data, and therefore more accurate volume change calculations. In some cases, when storm damage is widespread, the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of eXpertise (JALBTCX) is funded to collect post-storm assessment imagery and elevation data of impacted coastal regions, which supplements the National Coastal Mapping Program