R&M Hires Senior Hydrographer Marta Kumle
Marta Kumle recently joined R&M Consultants as a Senior Hydrographer. With her addition to the firm, R&M now offers hydrographic surveys in support of nearshore and freshwater projects. Kumle is collaborating to define this program at R&M and will lead hydrographic survey work.
“We have always teamed with other consultants when our clients require complex multi-beam hydrographic surveys. Marta’s experience and wealth of knowledge allows us to offer this in-house and will help R&M provide better, streamlined products for our clients,” said Bill Preston, R&M’s vice president of Geomatics. “I really hope she enjoys being a part of our team. I’m a big believer in making a work environment something where people want to be a part of. In the short time I’ve gotten to know Marta, she seems amazing. I’m looking forward to working with her for many years to come.”
Kumle has fifteen years of experience in GIS analysis and hydrographic survey. Her skills include project management; hydrographic and GIS data acquisition, processing, quality control and compilation; and GIS database design. Kumle has conducted hydrographic surveys for NOAA, US Army Corps of Engineers, and private contractors. She is well-versed in a variety of GIS, hydrographic, and survey software.
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April 2024
Kumle previously worked at the Alaska Ocean Observing System, where she conducted the Alaska Coastal Mapping Prioritization Survey and led development of the Alaska Coastal Mapping Strategy, a cohesive statewide strategy for prioritizing baseline geospatial data collection for public use in Alaska’s coastal areas. Over her career, she has managed hydrographic surveys and multibeam survey projects for challenging and high-profile projects throughout Alaska and overseen daily operations of vessels of many sizes, from 15-foot skiffs to 300-foot ships. Projects include bathymetric surveying in Cook Inlet for the Alaska LNG project; cable route surveys for Arctic Fibre; and NOAA hydrographic surveys in Unimak Pass, False Pass, the Kuskokwim and Nushagak Rivers, Cook Inlet, Red Dog Mine, Kodiak Island, and a variety of locations in Southeast Alaska. Kumle also has Antarctic experience, having spent time as a marine technician aboard the RV Laurence M. Gould and RV Nathaniel B. Palmer.
“R&M has a really warm and welcoming environment,” says Kumle. “My colleagues are educated and bright, with meaningful and insightful comments and questions. I’ve been very impressed with the caliber of people working at R&M and look forward to performing projects with them.”
Kumle has a bachelor’s in Oceanography and a masters of GIS and sustainability management, both from the University of Washington. She is a National Society of Professional Surveyors/The Hydrographic Society of America certified hydrographer, a board member of the Alaska Arc Users Group, and routinely presents at the Alaska Surveying and Mapping Conference. Kumle also volunteers as a National Ski Patrol certified patroller at Arctic Valley.
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