Drone Support for NIOZ Research on Sabellaria Reefs in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel, FR

At the beginning of this month, the fieldwork company supported researchers from the NIOZ – Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research during fieldwork on the intertidal Sabellaria alveolata reefs in the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel, France. One of our drone specialists assisted the project by conducting aerial surveys and sample flights using a high-capacity drone. This enabled the collection of detailed spatial data in a challenging intertidal environment.

The fieldwork forms part of the larger Vici project led by NIOZ, which among other things investigates how the spatial structure of Sabellaria reefs changes following winter storms. To examine whether smaller reef fragments move across sandy flats under high-energy conditions, the research team tagged more than 100 reef fragments with metal screws and accelerometers and recorded their precise locations using RTK GNSS. The drone-based mapping provided high-resolution imagery to complement these ground-based measurements.

Later this winter, the researchers will return to assess which reef fragments remained in place and which may have shifted across the bay. The results will contribute to a better understanding of how Sabellaria reefs disperse, persist, and adapt within this highly dynamic coastal system.

We are happy to contribute drone-based support to this important research effort.