Skidaway Institute of Oceanography to assess impact of Ian to Tybee Island

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - With Ian out of our area, it’s time for a research institution to track any impact to Tybee Island.

They start by going out to get drone footage of the shoreline.

Dr. Clark Alexander with the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography has been studying shoreline changes for 30 years documenting changes over time. They’ve been studying Tybee specifically for about two years now.

“Before and after storms, we also do this kind of research where we will go out before a storm is due to arrive to map the shoreline and shortly thereafter to map the shoreline again to see what a single storm can do to the coast.”

This is something they’ve done every few months. When conditions are completely clear to safely fly a drone, they’ll go out collect footage and compare the shoreline to what it looked like before the storm.

The data they collect will help the City of Tybee prepare their beaches so they are resilient for the next storm like where the dunes could start eroding so they can put more sand there.

They’re working with the City of Tybee and they’ll present their findings from the past year at city council next month.

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