This pending position is to be located at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (Coastal and Marine Geology Program) in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Within the Coastal and Marine Geology Program, research is conducted to meet the nation's information needs concerning coastal and marine hazards, pollution, and environmental issues.  The Center houses a diverse research staff with projects throughout the nation. The Center maintains expertise applicable to studies of coastal change, wetland loss, coastal pollution, coastal ecosystems and coastal hazards.  Regional projects, often in cooperation with local researchers, are directed at investigation of particular issues within a well-defined area.  Increasing focus is given to the development of capabilities for assessing coastal environments, change, and hazards on a national scale.

MAJOR DUTIES:

--  The incumbent participates as a member of interdisciplinary project teams within the Coastal and Marine Program investigating the structure and dynamics of coastal systems.  Studies include the documentation and modeling of changing landforms (erosion, storm impacts), ecosystems and habitats (coral reefs, barrier islands, estuaries, and wetlands) and coastal waters (turbidity, sediment dynamics, and hydrodynamics).

--  The incumbent has the primary responsibility for applying advanced remote sensing from aircraft and satellites to investigate the physical processes and factors which define coastal landscapes and contribute to coastal change and hazard impacts.  Examples of such investigations include 1) the role played by subsidence in wetland loss, 2) processes by which severe storm landfalls impact large scale coastal geomorphic change, 3) the significance of habitat complexity spatial patterns on the ecological functions of coastal ecosystems, and 4) the role of dunes and dune vegetation in the stabilization of barrier beaches and in determining vulnerability to storm impacts.  Research includes field and office investigations.  The incumbent will work closely with engineers, software developers, GIS analysts, and scientists to 1) undertake methods research and development to advance remote sensing capabilities, especially those that involve lidar (light detection and ranging) methods, and 2) apply remote established and novel remote sensing capabilities to problems in coastal science and natural resource management.

-- While closely coordinating with other team members, the incumbent independently plans and conducts field and natural science research that has well-defined goals leading to an improved understanding of coastal systems.

--  The incumbent is responsible for developing applications of remote sensing techniques to the research objectives of the program.  In particular, the incumbent will be responsible for development of a research program that utilizes the EAARL B lidar system and the related ALPS processing software and successor lidar instrument data, and/or development of a research and development program to enhance value and capability of EAARL B lidar and successor instrument data.  More generally, the incumbent is responsible for developing applications and procedures for the use of various sources of lidar observations that are consistent with the research objectives and technical/fiscal resources of the Coastal and Marine Geology Program.

-- The incumbent is responsible for the on-site supervision of lidar processing group staff, scheduling of processing and publication activities, and coordination with contractor staff.  In particular, the incumbent will work in close coordination and liaison with the EAARL B System Engineer stationed in Salisbury, MD and with the Coastal and Marine Geology Program’s Staff Lidar Scientist stationed at the USGS National Center in Reston, VA to plan, schedule, and conduct LIDAR surveys and related research in collaboration with Coastal and Marine Geology Program projects, other USGS Programs, and external collaborators and clients.

--  For many of the remote sensing data collection efforts the incumbent designs, there are no standard techniques or protocols.  This research will require a high level of innovation, and an ability to work with new technologies applied to new environments.  Algorithm construction and data interpretation will require both a high degree of technical skill, and a comprehensive understanding of remote sensing and how these observational techniques and associated computational methods might be applied to coastal systems.

-- The incumbent will prepare reports of investigations for publication in peer reviewed literature, critically review reports and manuscripts of investigations pertaining to the incumbent's area of expertise for technical accuracy and appropriateness of conclusion, and design and produce interpretive products which satisfy the needs of a variety of cooperators.