GNSS elevation data collected in 2024 on beaches and areas relevant to flood hazard studies in Alaska communities

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
GNSS elevation data collected in 2024 on beaches and areas relevant to flood hazard studies in Alaska communities
Abstract:
Elevation point data were collected in Deering, Golovin, Koyuk, Kotzebue, and Unalakleet, Alaska between June and September 2024. Coastal elevation profiles were measured at previously established locations. Other data points are categorized as base station, bathymetry, benchmark, camera calibration data, community-based monitoring profile, drainage observation, flood staff, ground control point, miscellaneous, and water level. The elevation data were collected with real-time kinematic global navigation satellite system (RTK-GNSS) equipment. Data are available in a single CSV file per community. For easting and northing coordinates, Deering, Golovin, and Kotzebue use UTM 3. Unalakleet and Koyuk use UTM 4.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activity or activities from which these data were derived is available online at:
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2024-634-FA https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2024-635-FA https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2024-637-FA
Work was funded by Title VII of Division N in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328) to support direct recovery and rebuilding decisions in the wake of declared disasters related to hurricanes and typhoons in 2022. For more information on these efforts, see https://www.usgs.gov/supplemental-appropriations-for-disaster-recovery-activities/typhoon-merbok-coastal-community.
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Buzard, Richard M., Erikson, Li H., Gibbs, Ann E., Snyder, Alexander G., Engelstad, Anita C., Johnson, Cordell, Nereson, Alexander L., Nowacki, Daniel J., and Over, Jin-Si R., 20250708, GNSS elevation data collected in 2024 on beaches and areas relevant to flood hazard studies in Alaska communities: data release DOI:10.5066/P13YIWKC, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Erikson, Li H., Gibbs, Ann E., Buzard, Richard M., Nowacki, Daniel J., Snyder, Alexander G., Engelstad, Anita C., Johnson, Cordell, Nereson, Alexander L., Over, Jin-Si R., Russel, Paul, and Lyons, Colin, 2025, In situ field data, Coastal Alaska, 2023 to 2025: data release DOI:10.5066/P13YIWKC, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested Citation: Erikson L.H., Gibbs A.E., Buzard R.M., Nowacki D.J., Snyder A.G., Engelstad A.C., Johnson C., Nereson A.L., Over J.R., Russel, P., Lyons, C., 2025, In situ field data, Coastal Alaska, 2023 to 2025: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P13YIWKC.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -163.045634
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -160.784959
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 66.904291
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 63.870529
  3. What does it look like?
    GNSS_ElevationData_locations.png (PNG)
    Satellite image showing the locations where elevation data were collected.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 07-Jun-2024
    Ending_Date: 11-Sep-2024
    Currentness_Reference:
    Ground condition at time data were collected
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: comma-delimited text
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      Post-processed in the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zones referenced to North American Datum of 1983 with National Adjustment of 2011 (NAD83 [2011]). Eastings and northings are relative to the local UTM zone. Latitude and longitude are in WGS 1984. Elevations reference the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 using corrections from GEOID12B for Alaska (NAVD 88 [GEOID12B]).
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (4574)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.001
      Altitude_Distance_Units: Meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    GNSS_ElevationData_metadata_CommunityName_YYYYMM.csv
    Coastal elevation measurements (Source: Producer defined)
    Point_ID
    Unique identifying name (Source: Producer defined) Automatically generated sequential numbers
    Easting_m_UTM
    Easting coordinate (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:397530.834
    Maximum:607283.332
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.001
    Northing_m_UTM
    Northing coordinate (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:7083816.221
    Maximum:7422775.023
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.001
    UTM_Zone
    UTM zone in which location is located (Source: Producer defined) Descriptive text.
    Elevation_m_NAVD88
    Elevation relative to NAVD88 (GEOID12B) (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.358
    Maximum:51.886
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.001
    Latitude
    Latitude coordinate (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:63.870529
    Maximum:66.904291
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.000001
    Longitude
    Longitude coordinate (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-163.045634
    Maximum:-160.784959
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.000001
    Horizontal_Precision_m
    Horizontal error (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.006
    Maximum:0.075
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.001
    Vertical_Precision_m
    Vertical error (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.003
    Maximum:0.060
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.001
    Datetime_UTC
    Start date and time in UTC (month/day/year hour:minutes) (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:06-07-2024 19:23
    Maximum:09-12-2024 3:36
    Units:MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM
    Notes
    Description of point (Source: Producer defined) Descriptive text. Missing information is marked by NAN (not a number)
    Profile_Line
    Coastal elevation profile number. Where not applicable, a fill value of -9999 is used (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:102
    Units:dimensionless
    Point_Category
    Descriptive text of the point category (Source: Producer defined)
    ValueDefinition
    Base stationthe location of the GNSS-RTK survey base station
    Benchmarklocation of recovered benchmark
    Camera calibration dataGNSS point taken to support calibration of camera system
    Community based monitoring profilean elevation profile used by the community for erosion monitoring that is not a designated profile in the Alaska Coastal Profile Tool
    Drainage observationGNSS point taken to support understanding of drainage, such as culverts, ditches, and bare earth elevation in dense vegetation.
    Flood stafflocation of a USGS installed flood staff.
    Ground control point (GCP)GNSS point taken as a control to support georeferencing
    MiscellaneousGNSS point taken that does not fit into any of these categories or may not be needed.
    ProfileGNSS point taken along a profile as numbered in the Alaska Coastal Profile Tool.
    Water levelGNSS point taken at a still water elevation at a specified time.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: The first line of the csv file is a header line.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Richard M. Buzard
    • Li H. Erikson
    • Ann E. Gibbs
    • Alexander G. Snyder
    • Anita C. Engelstad
    • Cordell Johnson
    • Alexander L. Nereson
    • Daniel J. Nowacki
    • Jin-Si R. Over
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This product was created to help advance coastal storm response and recovery in Alaskan coastal communities in the wake of the September 2022 extratropical Typhoon Merbok disaster. It is being used by the USGS to document existing conditions and support the development of dynamic flood models for more than 20 communities along the northwest coasts of Alaska. This product is intended for reuse by scientists, managers, and the general public.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 27-Sep-2024 (process 1 of 1)
    Elevation data were collected with two GNSS receivers using a RTK system of base and rover. The base position was post-processed, and this correction was processed across baselines to all rover positions.
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    No formal accuracy assessment was performed.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Horizontal accuracies of the base stations are computed using the National Geodetic Survey Online Positioning User Service. Horizontal errors of remaining points are computed during post-processing. Horizontal errors of all points are listed in the CSV and do not exceed 0.075 m.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Vertical accuracies of the base stations are computed using the National Geodetic Survey Online Positioning User Service. Vertical errors of remaining points are computed during post-processing. Vertical errors of all points are listed in the CSV and do not exceed 0.060 m.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    All data fall within expected ranges.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints No access constraints
Use_Constraints USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain from the U.S. Government and are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize and acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator(s) of the dataset and in products derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - CMGDS
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov Resource_Description: These data are available in csv format
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
    • Availability in digital form:
      Data format: CSV contains location and elevation data in format comma-delimited text Size: 0.6152
      Network links: https://doi.org/10.5066/P13YIWKC
    • Cost to order the data: None.

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The CSV data can be viewed with any text reading software.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 08-Jul-2025
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA

831-427-4747 (voice)
pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/pcmsc/DataReleases/CMGDS_DR_tool/DR_P13YIWKC/GNSS_ElevationData_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Fri Jul 18 11:07:49 2025