Week 2: Taking Off

Hi guys, welcome back to my blog for the second week of my project. This week should be pretty jam packed with activities and actual field work for me to conduct. I will be actually going onto the site at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco later this week in order to retrieve footage and take measurements with my drone’s camera. The drone footage will contain an aerial view of the entire park but also have separate viewings of this small part of the Pacific Ocean. I plan to use these images and recordings as 3D renders in Meshroom to create a sort of terrain or map from the software to import into Unreal Engine, but these will all be done next week with the aid and supervision of my external advisor. 

This week will focus more so on creating the paper aspect, but I have begun by watching a few tutorials and videos on how to safely assemble, use, and record with my Sky Viper Scout Video drone. By carefully observing the online tutorials and following along, I was able to get my drone to be fully operational and ready for field use. I first tested the drone in my own backyard, so I could acquire a feel for it and be more comfortable with the controls. Using this drone was exceptionally enjoyable, as it features smooth movement and a relatively speedy takeoff and flight. A slight problem did occur when I almost lost control, and it just barely missed hitting the wall outside. (That would’ve been really unfortunate). The drone’s camera is also fully functional with a recording quality or imaging of 720p HD; it also contains an SD card, which I can use to transfer the images and videos directly into my computer. The reason I chose this specific drone was that it is relatively cheaper than most, lightweight, easy to use, and portable.

I have been working on transferring my notes into a feasible outline documenting my paper. So far, I have outlined around three articles, but I should be done by the end of the week with the basic information on global warming and correlation with rising ocean levels. I will also provide you followers with some brief summaries of the information I have acquired so far that you may find essential to my project:

As mentioned in my previous blog CA SB272 was introduced by the Senate in order to prepare for any environmental effects for coastal cities like San Francisco. It would require local governments in any specific coastal areas, which are defined as the coastal zone or under the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, to develop a plan for sea level rise with existing programs. The deadline for this plan aims to be completed by January 1, 2034 with funding from local governments to be approved by January 1, 2029. Guidelines for this plan will be established by the California Coastal Commission and collaborating, relevant agencies by December 31, 2024. 

Expanding upon the many times I may be mentioning global warming and rising ocean levels, I will also quickly delve upon what this really entails. Our global average sea level has risen 8-9 inches since 1880 because of melting glaciers and ice sheets with thermal expansion of seawater also accelerating. Now why is this important? This is because by 2100, sea levels are projected to rise at least one foot if greenhouse gas emissions are low and up to 3.7 meters if they are high. This would obviously be detrimental to many coastal communities, such as ours, and around the world. 

As I conduct this project and paper, I have begun to really feel the impact and importance of what I intend to accomplish but also study upon. Though we hear these a lot, I am feeling quite anxious at the perplexities that may arise if we do not ever deal with this situation. I have stated before that I want to create a short survey or gain a few answers at what our local government or agencies are doing, such as PG&E. By the end of this week or next, I intend to get in touch with an employee to gain some insight and ask questions on how they may intend to pursue future endeavors with the risk of rising ocean levels. Stay tuned for any updates and once again, thanks for reading my blog.