Out of This World

Video by Marisa Gaona

Field Research Facility Capabilities

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

Oct. 3, 2020 | 4:29

Researchers at ERDC’s Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, have kept watch on the coast for more than 40 years, creating a vibrant research hub that remains at the forefront of coastal science and engineering today.

Located on the Atlantic Ocean, the internationally renowned coastal observatory serves as a natural lab and test bed for field instrumentation and numerical models. Its ever-expanding and evolving array of sensors continuously measures waves, currents and morphology, providing foundational datasets that have been used in more than 1,000 scientific publications to date.

The FRF supports ERDC’s civil and military missions by advancing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ knowledge of the coastal environment through field observation, data analysis, numerical exploration, and technology development. If it is coastal research, the FRF is one of the first places people are going for the data, tools and expertise needed to solve their complex challenges.