WingtraOne helps Project Seagrass map larger and faster

Project Seagrass was created with the intention of reversing the loss of seagrass by turning research into effective conservation action. Seagrasses are a crucial component of the marine ecosystem, known for their high productivity levels. They serve as a source of food, provide habitat, and act as nursery areas for a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Seagrass is a valuable climate change mitigator. Acting as a dense sediment trap, Seagrass effectively captures carbon and stores it, gradually depositing the carbon into the seafloor.

Unfortunately, according to research focused on the UK, it has been estimated that 92% of its seagrass has disappeared within the last century. To turn this around,?Project Seagrass has been using quadcopters to collect images of seagrass meadows over the past decade.

However, to achieve greater coverage, they have now switched to using WingtraOne, and here’s why.

The excellence of the WingtraOne comes from its vast mapping capabilities.?

Eve Uncles, Project Support Officer at Project Seagrass explains that

"It’s really important for us to map where seagrass is, or where it should be. That’s why we went for the Wingtra—when you compare it with a quadcopter, suddenly something that took an entire week to map with [another drone], can be mapped in an hour.”

The Sony RX1R II payload is utilised by the project to gather data up to a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet) underwater. Next mapping season they are eager to test the MicaSense RedEdge which reveals multispectral data that indicates the health of the grasses.?

"So far it’s been working really well,” Uncles said. “Moving forward, we’ll see what else we can do with it.”

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