Fieldwork in the Pajaro Lagoon, Monterey, CA

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At the end of September, lab members Lauren Kim and Alex Simpson assisted in some instrument deployment and data collection at the Pajaro Lagoon in Monterey, CA, with Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) collaborators, Dr. Mara Orescanin and her students, Kierstin Pastrana and John Plant. The team installed a water logger with real-time monitoring in the nearby slough system, and CTD casts and bathymetry surveys were conducted via kayak. To collect the bathymetry, an ADCP was towed behind the kayak and the paddler zig-zagged across the estuary. The CTD casts were collected using a hand-deployed Castaway. During the second day of fieldwork, the team collected drone imagery to observe wave runup at the lagoon mouth and intended to test a LiDAR drone. However, a thick marine layer rolled through the testing site and the LiDAR drone had to remain grounded. Overall the trip was a success, and the data collected will bolster Lauren Kim’s thesis work and provide preliminary data for Dr. Orescanin’s students at NPS.