Carolina Michel

Using lidar to track Lake Michigan bluff retreat and inform local communities part of Geodesy:Activities
The coasts of the Great Lakes are highly dynamic environments. Bluff erosion provides sediment for beaches, but it also poses a hazard to life and infrastructure. Assessing bluff retreat is key to preventing or mitigating financial and infrastructure losses. This activity provides students with a valuable opportunity to utilize remote sensing (lidar) to explore dynamic coastal erosion. Students will analyze lidar topographic data and lake water levels to investigate how the morphology of a portion of Lake Michigan coastline changes over a decade time scale. Students will examine the interplay between the hydrosphere and the Earth's surface in the Great Lakes Region, as well as the impact of bluff erosion on local communities.