HomeMy Public PortalAboutskidaway.pdfSPONSORED RESEARCH AGREEMENT
This Sponsored Research Agreement ("Agreement") is between the University of Georgia Research
Foundation, Inc., a Georgia non-profit corporation with principal offices in Athens, Georgia ("UGARF"),
and City of Tybee Island, a Georgia municipality organized under the laws of Georgia with a principal
place of business located at PO Box 2749, Tybee Island, GA 31328 ("Sponsor"). UGARF and Sponsor each
may be referred to individually as a "Party" and/or collectively as the "Parties."
UGARF and Sponsor desire to enter into an agreement whereby Sponsor will fund research to be
performed at the University of Georgia ("UGA"). UGA is governed by the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia ("Regents"), and Regents have authorized UGARF to contract for research
projects that will be subcontracted to, and performed by, UGA. In addition, UGARF is Regents' assignee
of certain intellectual property created by UGA employees in the course of their employment.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual obligations stated herein, and for other value
consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the Parties agree as follows:
1. Research Project. UGARF will complete, or have completed, the research project titled
"Development and Documentation of Best Practices for Drone Monitoring of Man-made Dunes on the
Georgia Coast: A Tybee Island Case Study" and further described in Appendix A ("Project") by
subcontracting performance of the Project to UGA. UGARF, through its subcontractor UGA, will use
reasonable efforts to perform the Project according to the standards customary among U.S. research
universities.
2. Principal Investigator. The "Principal Investigator" is responsible for directing performance of the
Project at UGA. Dr. Clark Alexander shall be the Principal Investigator. However, if for any reason Dr.
Alexander becomes unavailable to complete the Project, then with Sponsor's prior approval (which
approval Sponsor shall not unreasonably withhold) UGARF may replace Dr. Alexander with another
qualified researcher who will then serve as Principal Investigator and direct the Project at UGA.
3. Cost of Project. This is a FIXED PRICE agreement, and Sponsor shall deliver payments to UGARF
per the budget and payment schedule identified in Appendix B. UGARF may issue invoices to Sponsor
that coincide with the payment schedule, and in that case Sponsor shall deliver payment to UGARF in
the amount of each invoice within thirty (30) days of receipt of the invoice, or by the date identified as
the due date on the invoice, whichever is later. Overdue payments will bear interest at the rate of 12%
per annum from the date due until paid, and this interest provision survives termination.
4. Term. This Agreement will begin on June 1, 2020 ("Effective Date") and will end on the earlier of
May 31, 2021, or early termination of this Agreement by mutual agreement of the Parties or pursuant to
Section 17 herein ("Term").
5. Confidential Information. "Confidential Information" means all Project Intellectual Property and
descriptions thereof shared by one Party (the "Provider") to the other ("the Recipient"), and also means
all information embodied in written, electronic, biological, chemical, or any other tangible form, which is
disclosed or provided under this Agreement by one Party (the "Provider") to the other Party (the
"Recipient") and is marked confidential at time of disclosure. "Confidential Information" also includes all
orally disclosed information where Provider declares such information to be confidential at the time of
initial disclosure and confirms such declaration by written notice to the Recipient within thirty (30) days
of initial disclosure.
5.1. Applicability to Subcontractor. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties acknowledge and
agree that UGA, as UGARF's permitted subcontractor hereunder, may be the Provider of
Confidential Information to Sponsor and may also be the Recipient of Confidential Information
from Sponsor. In any subcontract for the performance of this Agreement from UGARF to UGA,
UGARF shall require UGA to adhere to the obligations imposed upon UGARF herein with respect
to Sponsor's Confidential Information. Sponsor agrees to protect Confidential Information
received from UGA under the terms provided herein for the protection of Confidential Information
disclosed to Sponsor by UGARF.
5.2. Limited Exchange. The Parties agree they will only exchange Confidential Information for
performance of the Project or otherwise as necessary to perform this Agreement.
5.3. Obligation of Confidentiality and Limited Use. Except to the extent required by law, during
the Term and for a period of three (3) years thereafter, the Recipient of Provider's Confidential
Information (a) shall not disclose such Confidential Information to any third party without prior
written consent of the Provider; and (b) shall only use Provider's Confidential Information as
necessary to perform the Project and/or this Agreement.
5.4. Exceptions. The Recipient shall have no obligations under Paragraph 5.3 with respect to any
portion of the Provider's Confidential Information that:
a. is or becomes available to the public by through no fault of the Recipient;
b. is obtained by the Recipient from a third party who had the legal right to disclose it to
the Recipient;
c. the Recipient already possesses, or independently develops without reference to the
Confidential Information provided by Provider, as evidenced by written records; and/or
d. is required to be disclosed by law.
6. Equipment. Except as may be expressly set out herein, Sponsor shall have no ownership, license,
or any other right, title, or interest in or to equipment, supplies, and/or other tangible or intangible
supplies and other materials purchased or developed under this Agreement with funding from Sponsor
under this Agreement.
7. Work Product. UGARF owns all data and results generated by UGARF and/or UGA in performance
of the Project ("Work Product"); however, Work Product specifically excludes Project intellectual
Property (as defined in Section 8 below). Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 17.4, UGARF hereby
grants to Sponsor, for Sponsor's internal use only, a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use and
reproduce, but not transfer to third parties or sell, that Work Product delivered to Sponsor under this
Agreement.
8. Ownership of Project Intellectual Property. "Project intellectual Property" means all forms of
intellectual property under the laws of any state or country, and all legal rights therein, in and to any
inventions, patentable discoveries, and/or software, that are first made or reduced to practice in
performance of the Project.
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8.1 "Sponsor Intellectual Property" means all Project Intellectual Property that is invented
and/or developed solely by one or more employees of Sponsor. All right and title in and to
Sponsor Intellectual Property shall be owned by Sponsor and is hereby assigned to Sponsor.
Sponsor may, in its sole discretion and at its sole expense, seek legal protection for any Sponsor
Intellectual Property.
8.2 "UGARF Intellectual Property" means all Project Intellectual Property that is invented and/or
developed solely by one or more employees or students of Regents at UGA. All right and title in
and to UGARF Intellectual Property shall by owned solely by UGARF is hereby assigned to UGARF.
8.3 "Joint Intellectual Property" means all Project Intellectual Property that is invented and/or
developed jointly by one or more employees or students of Regents at UGA and by one or more
employees of Sponsor. All right and title in and to Joint Intellectual Property shall be owned jointly
by UGARF and Sponsor. The Parties shall negotiate an intellectual property management
agreement to define their respective rights and obligations with respect to legal protection,
payment of expenses, licensing, and enforcement of Joint Intellectual Property.
9. Disclosure of Project intellectual Property. Each Party shall disclose all Project Intellectual
Property promptly to the other Party in writing, but no later than thirty (30) days after the end of the
Term. Each Party agrees that it shall not file any patent applications or other forms of intellectual
property protection on any Project Intellectual Property without prior notice to the other Party.
10. Option Rights in Project Intellectual Property. UGARF grants to Sponsor an exclusive option to
negotiate an exclusive license to UGARF Intellectual Property and/or UGARF's interest in Joint
Intellectual Property ("Option Intellectual Property"). Sponsor's option rights to particular Option
Intellectual Property shall begin upon UGARF's disclosure of such to Sponsor and shall expire ninety (90)
days after UGARF's disclosure of such Option Intellectual Property to Sponsor ("Option Period").
10.1 Exercise of Option. At any time during the Option Period associated with particular Option
Intellectual Property, Sponsor may either (i) terminate its option rights to such by written notice
to UGARF; or (ii) exercise the option to such Option Intellectual Property by written notice to
UGARF that identifies the particular Option Intellectual Property of interest to Sponsor. Upon
UGARF's timely receipt of any such written notice from Sponsor exercising the option, the Parties
shall enter a ninety (90) day period ("Negotiation Period") during which they shall in good faith
negotiate a commercially reasonable license to the Option Intellectual Property identified in the
notice.
10.2 Expiration of Option. UGARF shall have no further obligation to Sponsor with respect to, and
Sponsor shall have no further option rights in, Option Intellectual Property disclosed by UGARF to
Sponsor upon the earlier of: (i) termination of Sponsor's option rights by written notice from
Sponsor to UGARF; (ii) the expiration of the Option Period without Sponsor having provided timely
written notice to UGARF exercising the option as set out in Paragraph 10.1; or (iii) expiration of
the associated Negotiation Period with no executed license to such Option Intellectual Property.
10.3 Option Intellectual Property Filings. UGARF may in its sole discretion seek legal protection
for any UGARF Intellectual Property, and UGARF may file for and prosecute any patent or other
applications thereon in UGARF's sole discretion. Further, prior to the execution of a formal
intellectual property management agreement governing Joint Intellectual Property (Paragraph
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8.3), UGARF may in its sole discretion seek legal protection for such Joint Intellectual Property
with prior notice to Sponsor, and UGARF may file for and prosecute any patent or other
applications thereon in UGARF's sole discretion with prior notice to Sponsor.
10.4 Option Intellectual Property Expense Reimbursement. Sponsor shall reimburse UGARF for
any and all expenses incurred by UGARF related to the protection of Option Intellectual Property
during the associated Option Period. UGARF shall from time to time send invoices to Sponsor for
such reimbursement, and Sponsor shall deliver payment per each such invoice within thirty (30)
days of its receipt by Sponsor (or upon a later date if so indicated on the invoice). In addition to
and other rights and/or remedies UGARF may have, Sponsor's failure to make any such
reimbursement when due shall immediately terminate Sponsor's option rights to the associated
Option Intellectual Property.
11. U.S. Government Rights. In the event that UGARF is required to grant, and/or has granted, to
the U.S. federal government any rights in and to Project Intellectual Property, then the Parties agree
that their rights to such Project Intellectual Property is subject to the provisions of 37 CFR 401, et al.
12. No Implied or Background Rights. No rights or obligations other than those expressly recited
herein are granted or may be implied by this Agreement. Nothing herein constitutes a license or other
transfer of rights in or to any intellectual property that is not explicitly the subject of this Agreement.
13. Publication. Sponsor acknowledges and agrees that UGARF, UGA, and/or Principal Investigator
shall have the sole and unrestricted right to publish or otherwise disclose the Project protocol and
results of the Project, but only to the extent doing so does not impermissibly disclose Confidential
Information disclosed by Sponsor to UGARF and/or UGA hereunder. To avoid loss of patent rights from
premature public disclosure, UGARF shall require the Principal Investigator to deliver to Sponsor all
proposed articles, manuscripts, presentations, or any other publication of the Project prior to public
disclosure. Sponsor may review and provide comment, if any, for a period of thirty (30) days after
receipt of the proposed publication or other public disclosure. Upon Sponsor's notice to UGARF that
Sponsor desires to file an application to protect certain Project Intellectual Property related to the
proposed publication, UGARF shall require Principal Investigator to delay publication until the first of the
following has occurred: (i) a patent application has been filed on such Project Intellectual Property; or (ii)
the Parties agree not to pursue protection for such Project Intellectual Property; or (iii) sixty (60) days
have expired after Sponsor's notice to UGARF.
14. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. THE PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED IN UNIVERSITY FACILITIES AND
I5 EXPERIMENTAL IN NATURE. WORK PRODUCT AND PROJECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ARE PROVIDED
"AS IS." UGARF, REGENTS, AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE SAFETY, UTILITY, VALUE,
PERFORMANCE, MARKETABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT, WORK
PRODUCT, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, OR PROJECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR THAT SUCH DO
NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY PROPERTY RIGHTS.
15. INDEMNIFICATION. SPONSOR SHALL AT ALL TIMES INDEMNIFY, PAY FOR THE DEFENSE OF, AND
HOLD HARMLESS UGARF, REGENTS, AND UGA, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE REGENTS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS,
EMPLOYEES, STUDENTS, AND AGENTS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, PROCEEDINGS,
EXPENSES, LOSSES, DAMAGES, JUDGMENTS, AND/OR LIABILITIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER,
INCLUDING LEGAL EXPENSES AND ATTORNEYS' FEES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO SPONSOR'S USE
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OF WORK PRODUCT, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, AND/OR PROJECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY,
INCLUDING, BUT WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE DEATH OF, OR OTHER BODILY INJURY OR
OTHER PERSONAL INJURY TO, ANY ONE OR MORE PERSONS.
16. Insurance. Sponsor shall obtain and carry liability insurance in an amount commensurate with
similarly situated companies, with UGARF and Regents named as additional insureds with respect to
Sponsor's products, continuing operations, and completed operations coverage. This insurance shall be
primary and non-contributory to other insurance available to UGARF or Regents, and insurers shall
waive their rights of subrogated recovery against UGARF and Regents. During the Term, Sponsor shall
give UGARF thirty (30) days' prior written notice of cancellation of any policy relied upon by Sponsor to
meet its requirements hereunder.
17. Early Termination.
17.1. Termination for Convenience. This Agreement may be terminated for convenience by either
Party upon ninety (90) days' prior written notice ("Final Termination Notice"), in which case
termination shall be effective as of the ninetieth (90th) day after notice or upon a later date
identified in the notice ("Effective Date of Termination").
17.2. Termination for Breach. If a Party materially breaches ("Breaching Party") any material term
of this Agreement and fails to cure such breach within thirty (30) days after receipt of written
notice of such breach by the other Party ("Terminating Party"), then the Terminating Party may
thereafter deliver, at any time during the Term while the noticed breach remains uncured, notice
of termination ("Final Termination Notice") to the Breaching Party, in which case this Agreement
automatically shall terminate as of the date of the Breaching Party's receipt of such Final
Termination Notice or on a later late identified in such notice ("Effective Date of Termination").
17.3. Payment upon Early Termination. Upon termination of this Agreement by Sponsor under
Paragraph 17.1 or by UGARF under Paragraph 17.2, Sponsor shall deliver payment to UGARF
within thirty (30) days of Sponsor's receipt of UGARF's invoice for: (i) all amounts due and owing
up to and including the Effective Date of Termination per the payment schedule at Appendix B; (ii)
all work actually performed by UGARF and/or UGA but not otherwise paid under (i) above; and (iii)
all non -cancelable obligations incurred by UGARF and/or UGA prior to the Final Termination
Notice but not otherwise paid under (i) above (together, the "Termination Payment"). However, in
the event that, as of the Effective Date of Termination, UGARF has received payment from
Sponsor in an amount greater than the Termination Payment, then UGARF shall return the excess
amount to Sponsor.
17.4. Rights and Obligations Extinguished upon Early Termination. Upon termination of this
Agreement by Sponsor under Paragraph 17.1 or by UGARF under Paragraph 17.2, then as of the
Effective Date of Termination: (i) Sponsor's option rights to all Option Intellectual Property are
terminated; (ii) Sponsor's right and license to Work Product is terminated; and (iii) UGARF's
obligations to conduct the Project, deliver Work Product, and disclose Project Intellectual Property
are terminated.
18. Return or Destruction of Confidential Information. Upon termination of this Agreement for any
reason, each Recipient of Confidential Information shall destroy all of the Provider's Confidential
Information that the Recipient has in its possession or control; or upon timely notice from the Provider,
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the Recipient shall return such Confidential Information to the Provider at the Provider's expense.
However, each Recipient may keep one (1) copy of the Discloser's Confidential Information to the extent
required by the Recipient's records retention policies, but the Recipient may not use or access any such
retained Confidential Information of the other Party for any purpose whatsoever except to the extent
required by law.
19. Integration. This Agreement and its appendices and attachments embody the entire
understanding of the Parties with respect to the matters herein and supersede all previous
communications, either oral or written.
20. Amendment. This Agreement may be amended only by mutual written agreement. Without
limiting the foregoing, the terms and conditions of any purchase order that may be associated with the
Project or this Agreement do not apply, and the terms stated in this Agreement shall control regardless
of when the purchase order is issued or whether statements on the purchase order indicate otherwise.
21. No Assignment. A Party may not assign, or subcontract performance of, this Agreement to any
third party without the prior written consent of the other Party; except that UGARF may subcontract
performance of the Project and this Agreement to UGA under the terms set forth in herein.
22. independent Contractor. UGARF's relationship to Sponsor is that of independent contractor and
not employee, joint venturer, or partner.
23. Use of Names. Neither Party may use the names or marks of the other Party or its subcontractors
in publicity without prior written approval from the owner of the name or mark. Notwithstanding, a
Party may use the name of the other Party solely to accurately identify the source of funding or the
Project.
24. Governing law. This Agreement is to be governed by and construed under the laws of the state of
Georgia without regard to its conflict of law rules.
25. Export Controls. Work Product, Project Intellectual Property, and Confidential Information may be
subject to U.S. export control laws, sanctions, and/or embargo requirements. Sponsor shall be solely
responsible for complying with such laws and other requirements in its use of any rights, information,
and/or materials obtained under this Agreement. Sponsor understands and agrees that UGARF makes
no representations that an export license may not be required nor that, if required, such an export
license will issue with respect to any rights, information, and/or materials delivered by UGARF and/or
UGA to Sponsor under this Agreement. At the time of disclosure to UGARF and/or UGA, Sponsor shall
identify and mark with a legend any information and/or materials subject to U.S. export control laws,
sanctions, and/or embargo requirements before providing such to UGARF or UGA under this Agreement.
UGARF and/or UGA may decline to accept any such information or materials from Sponsor.
26. Severability. All rights and duties herein are binding only to the extent that they do not violate any
laws. If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal,
or unenforceable, it is the intent of the Parties that any such provision be replaced by a valid provision
that implements the purpose of the illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision. In the event that any
provision essential to the purpose of this Agreement is held to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable by a
court of competent jurisdiction, all right of appeal has been exhausted, and such essential provision
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cannot be replaced by a valid provision that will implement the purpose of this Agreement, then this
Agreement and the rights granted herein shall automatically terminate.
27. Force Majeure. Delays in, or failure of, performance by any Party will not constitute default, or
trigger any claim for damages, if and to the extent such damages are caused by acts of God, strikes,
work stoppages, civil disturbances, fires, floods, explosions, riots, war, rebellion, and/or sabotage.
28. Notices. All notices to a Party under this Agreement must be delivered in person, by email, or via
commercial carrier with tracking to the Administrative Contact identified in Appendix C for such Party,
or to such other persons and addresses as may be designated by such Party as its Administrative Contact
by written notice to the other. Notice shall be effective upon receipt.
29. Survival. All provisions of this Agreement that expressly survive termination do survive
termination, as well as Sections 5-15, 16-17, and 19-28 (except to the extent rights are extinguished by
Section 17.4).
IN WITNESS whereof, the Parties have executed this Agreement by their authorized representatives on
the dates indicated below.
University of Georgia City of Tybee Island
Research Foundation, Inc.
Name: Name:`5„s- iiim_LE`f s .ms,o"..3._
Title: Title: /7? icit .weictoe
Date: Date:c-c_ cr--r-esr-.
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APPENDIX A - PROJECT
A Proposal to the City of Tybee Island
Development and Documentation of Best Practices for
Drone Monitoring of Man-made Dunes on the Georgia
Coast: A Tybee Island Case Study
Proposed by: Dr. Clark Alexander
Director and Professor
UGA-Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
Savannah, GA 31411
clark.alexander@skio.uga.edu
Time Requested: 12 months
Period of Performance: June 1, 2020 — May 31, 2021
Budget Requested: $69,820
Background.
In natural systems, coastal sand dunes have always been the first line of defense
in protecting against shoreline erosion during periods of elevated sea level and wave
attack during storms. These features act as sacrificial stores of sand that are
preferentially eroded and redistributed within the coastal system. In addition, for
developed settings, dunes provide a bulwark against damage and loss of upland
infrastructure, both public and private. Dune creation as a way to protect upland
infrastructure is not a new idea, but one that has taken on new prominence with
increases in coastal development, rates of sea level rise, and storm intensity in the past
decades.
Many man-made dune projects have been built to specific engineering design
standards to address needs in specific locations, but typically lacked detailed plans to
monitor the performance and change of these features with time. Further, any
monitoring that was conducted typically involved a tradeoff between data coverage and
the cost/labor/time involved to collect the data. Typically this resulted in a low density
sampling at infrequent intervals, inadequate to monitor detailed change in response to
environmental conditions. Recently, the wide availability and ease of use of unmanned
aerial systems (UAS; i.e., drones) has provided a comprehensive, rapid, efficient way to
collect data for man-made dunes systems, at a frequency that is responsive to seasonal
changes of the beach. Although dune creation has been planned for coastal Georgia,
best practices for monitoring these construction projects has yet to be documented.
This proposal will monitor the new dunes on Tybee Island, scheduled to be completed
by April 2020, and will develop a work plan and monitoring framework that will be
developed into a best -practices guidance document that can be used by the City of
Tybee or other municipalities to monitor future dune creation and enhancement
projects. The City of Tybee has received funding through a coastal incentive grant from
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to support monitoring the success of
vegetative plantings on these new dunes. We will coordinate closely with those
researchers to develop an integrated, best practices guidance document.
An UAS is currently being used by my lab group to monitor the changes
occurring to an artificially created sand berm on the north shore of Cockspur Island (just
west of Tybee Island), the home of Fort Pulaski National Monument (FPNM). This sand
berm was created by the US Army Corps of Engineers from dredge material in
partnership with the GA—DNR and NPS-FPNM in 2015, to protect Ft. Pulaski cultural
resources from destruction by erosion, and as an experimental beneficial use of dredge
material. Using an UAS, we have been monitoring the sand berm and its dynamics
since summer 2017. Each flight collects a set of photographs that are combined to
create a photomosaic. This photomosaic is georeferenced to real-world coordinates,
and a digital surface model (DSM) is created from this photomosaic using
photogrammetric techniques. Time -sequential DSMs are subtracted in a GIS to
determine areas and volumes of sand change. In this current study, we have been able
to identify which areas are eroding and accreting most rapidly, highlight what directions
sediment is being transported, determine the lifespan of the deposit so that plans can
be made to replenish the feature at the appropriate time, and have determined that only
quarterly surveys are necessary to adequate capture seasonal shoreline change.
Study Area
Tybee Island is located at the mouth of the Savannah River on the Atlantic
Ocean. To the north, the island is bordered by the south channel of the Savannah River,
to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south and west by Tybee Creek and an
expansive tidal marsh system. Historically, sea walls, groins and revetments have been
built to replace the natural dune system on the island as it has eroded away. Before the
current dune restoration, the dune system was discontinuous and occurred mainly on
the central portion of the oceanfront beach and on the north end of the island, both as a
result of beach renourishment efforts on the island. The proposed surveys will cover
the entire constructed dune system, beginning from the north federal groin (Fort
Screven) to the southern tip of the island (end of Chatham Avenue) and stretches about
4.5 km (3 miles). The survey area will be divided into seven rectangular sections. Each
section will have a buffer around the edge of the dune to avoid distortion when creating
the Digital Surface Model (DSM). The seaward extent of the buffer will include as much
of the beach surface as possible, and will abut residential housing, parking lots and
streets on the landward side. This will not only help create a well-defined image, but
also provide insight into sediment movement within close proximity to the dune field.
The total area covered in this survey is approximately 0.5 km2 (0.18 mit; Fig. 1).
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Figure 1. Map of Tybee Island showing the proposed survey boxes for artificial dune
monitoring. Based on drone battery endurance from prior experience, seven separate
survey flights (red boxes) will be required to cover the complete dune system.
Methods & Equipment
Data Collection:
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For this study we will be using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro and a DJI Phantom 4 RTK
unmanned aerial system to survey and acquire images of the dunes and their
immediate surroundings. Both drones are equipped with high definition cameras and
are some of the most popular drones for mapping and photogrammetry. The DJI
Phantom 4 RTK is similar to the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, but is equipped with a real-time
kinematic (RTK) unit to produce highly accurate aerial maps with no or a very limited
number of Ground Control Points (GCP) needed.
Given the slightly curving shoreline and the expanse of the study area, the area
of survey will be divided into seven different sections, each averaging 0.65 km (0.41 mi)
in length, Each section overlaps with the neighboring section to assure a seamless
mosaic. Square targets with a black and white checkered pattern are placed throughout
the study area and serve as GCPs. To achieve greatest accuracy, 5 to 12 GCPs,
depending on which drone will be used, will be randomly placed in each section before
each flight and immediately removed after the flight is completed. The center of each
GCP target will be measured using a mobile real-time kinematic GPS unit (RTK-GPS).
The RTK system provides sub -decimeter accuracy in elevation and coordinate
measurements. In addition to GCPs, 20 to 25 accuracy points will be surveyed to aid in
the post processing of the acquired images, as needed. Double gridded flight patterns
(flying parallel and perpendicular to the dune line) will be set using Pix4D capture and
the DJ! GS RTK application before each flight. To achieve an optimal ground sampling
distance of approximately 1.50 cm/pixel, the drone will be flown at 50 to 53 m (approx.
160 to 175 ft.) flight altitude. Images taken during the flights will be stored on 128 GB
SD cards and processed at the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.
Each section will take approximately 60 minutes to fly, including the time it takes
to land and replace batteries mid -survey, given the flight altitude and area. Battery life is
estimated to be about 30 minutes, therefore two to three batteries per section will be
needed. The survey crew consists of at least two people: the remote pilot in command
(PIC) who manipulates the flight controls and the visual observer (VO) who scans the
airspace where the drone is operating for any possible hazard like birds or power lines.
A third person might be potentially added to the crew to survey the GCPs and accuracy
points while the drone is being flown and therefore expedite the survey process. RTK-
GPS equipment accuracy will be assessed on a survey -by -survey basis by taking two
180 second observation at a known National Geodetic Survey horizontal and vertical
survey benchmark on or close to Tybee Island.
Limitations on the data collection method include weather, temperature, beach
traffic and battery life. Only conditions with no precipitation, wind speeds below 18
knots, a temperature below 35 degrees Celsius, and with a cloud ceiling 500 feet above
planned flight altitude are within equipment operating limits. Batteries require a cool
down period after use and therefore can't be immediately recharged and cycled back
into use. Taking these limitations into account, we propose to fly in the mornings on
weekdays and complete each survey within five days.
Surveys will be completed on a quarterly basis. A similar study on nearby
Cockspur Island has shown that monthly surveys did not show significant changes in
beach morphology, but a quarterly survey schedule was appropriate to monitor change
and to follow sediment movement. The first survey was collected in mid-March 2020,
based on the completion time of the dune system, to establish a baseline and a first
draft monitoring protocol. This flight will begin the quarterly survey schedule. The dune
vegetative plantings will be completed in April 2020, but these activities will not impact
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our surveys. Consequent surveys will be scheduled for mid-June, September and
December 2020. In addition to regularly scheduled surveys, one additional survey will
be performed after a major event (i.e., a winter storm or hurricane). If a hurricane does
not occur within the year, as we all hope it does not, I am confident that Tybee will
endure one major winter storm within this period. In flight pre -planning, we will
coordinate with Alan Robertson and City of Tybee public safety officials to plan our
surveys when Tybee public events are not scheduled and will contact them again one
week in advance of the survey to assure that no events or other concerns have arisen.
During the study, the data collection protocols will begin to be developed and
documented for later use in a best -practices manual for monitoring beaches and dunes
with drone equipment. This manual will be formalized and subsequently updated with
insights gained through additional monitoring work in Phase II (years 2 and 3 of the
project), currently proposed to the USACE for support. As noted above, this proposal
will coordinate closely with the dune -vegetation monitoring project currently funded by
the DNR -CIG program. We will gather pre -project and as -built data available from the
USACE and Tybee dune contractor, to provide added insight into the sand redistribution
patterns on the beach.
Data Processing:
After each survey the acquired geotagged images will be processed in
Pix4Dmapper Pro. All photos and GCPs will be loaded into one project to create a point
cloud using Structure -from -Motion photogrammetric techniques within Pix4D. The
concept is based on acquiring the geometry of a feature or object from analyzing
multiple, overlapping images taken from different perspectives. The resulting point cloud
can then be interpolated into a digital surface model (DSM), a cell gridded, raster -based
representation of height values of the point cloud. This point cloud is tied to real-world
coordinates and elevations using the RTK-GPS surveyed points taken at the time of the
imagery collection. DSM's are imported into ArcGIS where volumetric and
morphological changes can be computed and presented as maps. The final product will
consist of maps, GeoTiffs (georeferenced [tit] format files) with a 1 m x 1 m resolution
and as tabular data in digital format.
Equipment & Software:
All equipment and software needed to perform the proposed activities are already in
the possession of the Alexander lab at the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.
1) DJI Phantom 4 Pro with an aerial -optimized f/2.8 wide-angle lens camera with a
24 mm equivalent focal length and mechanical shutter.
• Remote Control with !pad and sun shield
• DJI and Pix4D capture application software.
2) DJI Phantom 4 RTK with RTK receiver to provide cm -level mapping accuracy
• SDK Remote Controller, DJI GS RTK application
• 8 x intelligent flight batteries
• 2 x 128 GB SD card (1 card per complete survey)
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3) Trimble RTK-GPS (antenna, controller, mifi hotspot), tripod and survey pole
4) 15 custom-built GCPs
5) Beach cart to transport materials to study areas
6) Log books, chargers, backpacks, robust GIS computer, 24TB archival server
7) Pix4Dmapper Pro photogrammetric software
8) ESRI ArcGIS 10.5 desktop software
Project Deliverables
The proposed project is focused on the collection of aerial imagery, aerial
photogrammetry to produce geospatial products for analysis, and the production of a
best practices manual for monitoring created dune systems. The proposed surveys (see
Figure 1) will cover the entire constructed dune system, beginning from the north federal
groin (Fort Screven) to the southern tip of the island (end of Chatham Avenue), and
stretches about 4.5 km (3 miles). The survey area will be divided into seven rectangular
sections. The total area covered in this survey is approximately 0.5 km2 (0.18 mi2). Five
surveys will be conducted: four quarterly surveys; and one "event" survey after a
hurricane or major storm event.
The project deliverables are as follows:
Geospatial data products
1) Georeferenced individual images taken of the dunes and beach. There will be 7
survey boxes, each of which typically contain —2,000 images, for a total of
—14,000 images per quarterly survey. Over the 5 surveys, we will collect
—70,000 images.
2) Georeferenced photomosaics of each survey box. All images from each survey
will be mosaiced to create single images covering each survey box. There will
be 7 boxes * 5 surveys, for a total of 35 photomosaics. Printed copies of each
survey box photomosaic will be provided. Single, whole beach photomosaics of
each survey can be produced if desired, but the files are extremely large (100s of
GB), and not easily manipulated.
3) Georeferenced digital surface models (DSMs) of each survey box.
Georeferenced point clouds of elevation data will be produced from each survey
photomosaic using photogrammetric techniques to create single DSMs for each
survey box. There will be 7 boxes * 5 surveys for a total of 35 DSMs. DSMs will
be provided as GeoTiffs (georeferenced [.tif] format image files) with a 1 m x 1 m
resolution, and as XYZ text files. Printed copies of each survey box DSM will be
provided as well. Single, whole beach DSMs of each quarterly survey can be
produced if desired.
Technical report and components
1) A technical report containing the approach, methods, procedures, results and
interpretation of the data collected in this study. Major components will include
the following:
a) An analysis of dune creation volumes and locations on the beach using
USACE pre -project topographic data, contractor as -built topographic survey
data, and drone -derived March 2020 DSMs.
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b) A sequential volumetric analysis of dune volumes and changes over the 5
survey periods. These analyses will identify locations and volumes of sand
being redistributed within the new dune system, and will project future
changes in dune integrity.
c) An analysis of vegetation height change over the 5 surveys, and a
comparison of dune integrity in areas with no vegetation versus areas with
vegetation (working with CIG -funded Georgia Southern researchers).
d) A work plan and monitoring framework that will form the foundation for a best -
practices manual for dune and beach monitoring with drones. This manual will
be formalized and subsequently updated with insights gained through
additional monitoring work in Phase II (years 2 and 3 of the project), currently
proposed to the USACE for support.
Budget Justification
Funds requested in this budget directly support the activities described above.
Alexander requests 0.5 m of salary support ($9,125) to oversee the project. Each
beach survey flight is anticipated to take about a months' time, with about one week
each to prepare for and plan the flight, conduct the data collection, perform image
processing, integrate the data into the GIS and conduct GIS analyses, and write up
results from each survey. With 5 flights scheduled, and with analysis of pre-existing
data, this equals about eight months of technician time required for this one-year
project. This proposal requests eight months' salary support ($33,336) for Claudia
Venherm, Alexander's extremely experienced, FAA -certified drone technician who is
currently conducting the drone surveys at Fort Pulaski. Combined fringe benefits costs
of $16,762 are also requested for Alexander and Venherm.
Other costs requested include: $250 for travel to and from the study site, $4,000
in expendable supplies for fieldwork (new GCPs, drone batteries, needed drone repairs
and propellers, portable hard drives for data sharing, partial cost of the ESRI ArcGIS
and Pix4D photogrammetry software maintenance contracts). All direct costs total
$63,473 and Indirect costs are $6,347 (using the 10% indirect cost rate for state -to -state
entity contracting). The total requested to fund this research and best practices
development project is $69,820.
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APPENDIX B -- BUDGET
Sponsor shall deliver a series of payments to UGARF per the following payment schedule.
Due Date
September 30, 2020
December 31, 2020
March 31, 2021
June 30, 2021
UGARF may issue invoices to Sponsor that coincide with
shall deliver payment to UGARF in the amount of each in
invoice, or by the date identified as the due date on the
will bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the
survives termination.
Payment Amount
$17,455.00
$17,455.00
$17,455.00
$17,455.00
$69,820.00 Total Fixed Price Amount Due
under this Agreement
the payment schedule, and in that case Sponsor
voice within thirty (30) days of receipt of the
invoice, whichever is later. Overdue payments
date due until paid, and this interest provision
Sponsor shall make payment via check to the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. delivered
to the UGARF Financial Contact identified in Appendix C or to the individual, office, and address
identified on UGARF's invoice if different than Appendix C. Alternatively, Sponsor may deliver payment
to UGARF via wire transfer upon request.
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APPENDIX C— CONTACT INFORMATION
This Appendix C identifies each Party's "Administrative Contact," who is its notice agent. In addition, this
Appendix C identifies UGARF's "Financial Contact," to whom Sponsor may deliver payments due under
this Agreement. Further, for the convenience of the Parties, this Appendix C also identifies contact
information for the Principal Investigator and Sponsor's Project Director and Financial Contact.
r
UGARF SPONSOR
Administrative Contact Administrative Contact
Name: Jason Reisfeld, Grants Officer Name:
Address: 310 E. Campus. Rd., Tucker Hall 407
Athens, GA 30602-1589
Telephone: 706-542-5856
Email: inreis@uga.edu
Address:
Telephone:
Email:
Principal Investigator
Name: Clark Alexander, Ph.D.
Address:
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
University of Georgia
10 Ocean Science Circle
Savannah, GA 31411
Telephone: 678-572-3015
Email: clark.alexander@skio.uga.edu
Project Director
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Email:
Financial Contact
Name: Brad Langford, Director of Post Award
Address: Post Award Accounting
310 E. Campus Rd., Tucker Hall 411
Athens, GA 30602-1589
Telephone: 912-598-2329
Email: cgadmin@uga.edu
Financial Contact
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Email:
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