UAVs help study Zebra Mussel population in Offutt’s base lake

  • Published
  • By Delanie Stafford
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  If you happen to see a small aircraft hovering above Offutt's base lake, don't be alarmed. It is more than likely part of a study being conducted by the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit on the lake's Zebra Mussel population.

The mussels, which are not native to the U.S., were first detected in Offutt's lake around 2006. Once introduced to a fresh-water source, the mussels can quickly propagate, disrupting ecosystems and causing industrial damage by clogging pipes and equipment.

Attempts to completely eradicate the species at Offutt's lake were unsuccessful, so a cooperative agreement was made between federal, state and base agencies to study the invasive species.

"It feeds into research the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is doing out here," said Zack Rigg, a natural resources manager from the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center. "Zebra Mussels degrade the fishery by consuming the lower levels of food in the food chain. The wildlife service will look at the adult Zebra Mussels as a food source for certain types of fish that we could promote here."

The research team has also been conducting tests to determine whether or not unmanned aerial vehicles can be used to replace traditional water sampling methods. They believe UAV's will be able to provide more accurate and efficient testing through GPS technology and their ability to reach hard-to-access areas.

They tested their theory August 12 where they took multiple samples using both the UAV and traditional methods.

"The goal is to get an exact map of the density of Zebra Mussels in this lake or other lakes," said Carrick Detweiler, an assistant professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Computer Science and Engineering department.

The specially designed UAV systems use small water pumps to draw water samples containing the mussel's larvae, called veligers, from pre-determined locations and depths within the lake. They are collected into a small filter and sent away for analysis. Until now, the samples were taken manually using net systems.

Researchers believe the UAV's will provide more accurate results. However, they also admit that there are some unique challenges in using UAV's to collect water samples.

"We are working on a water-application, which is particularly thrilling to us because you're flying a 'not-waterproof' vehicle over water," said John-Paul Ore, a research assistant and graduate student at UNL. "You have about three feet of margin for error."

Detweiler hopes to expand on the use of UAV's for interactive water sampling.

"If it works well, we'd like to be able to use it at multiple lakes throughout [Nebraska] for other water quality issues," Detweiler said. "You could also collect samples from potentially dangerous locations like a superfund site where there's water you don't want to touch, or after a nuclear disaster like Japan; they sent robots in before they sent people in - they didn't work well and there was nothing to collect water samples."