Underwater imagery of the substrate and coral reef habitat on the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from 2003, 2004, and 2022

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Underwater imagery of the substrate and coral reef habitat on the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from 2003, 2004, and 2022
Abstract:
Images of the seafloor off the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi were collected by the United States Geological Survey in 2003, 2004, and 2022, during field activities A803HW, A204HW, A604HW, and 2022-615-FA. The images were collected in cooperation with the National Park Service, primarily in the waters off Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. The 2003 and 2004 images were acquired using a SeaViewer underwater video camera, either towed behind a research vessel or lowered over the side while drifting. GPS positions from a boat-mounted receiver were encoded into the video. Still frames were extracted from the video and geotagged by writing the geographic positions into each image’s EXIF metadata. The 2022 images were acquired using a Teledyne FLIR camera in an underwater housing. The camera was lowered over the side of the vessel and set to capture one image every two seconds while drifting. GPS positions were recorded using a boat-mounted, differentially processed GPS receiver. The images were geotagged by writing the geographic positions into each image’s EXIF metadata. The time stamps for all images in this data release are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The images provided in this data release were used to evaluate coral cover and were manually classified by a specialist. Only the images used in this project are included in the release.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activities from which these data were derived is available online at: https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2022-615-FA https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/services/activity.php?fan=A803HW https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/services/activity.php?fan=A204HW https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/services/activity.php?fan=A604HW 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?
    Logan, Joshua B., McPherson, Meredith L., Alkins, Kristen A., Hatcher, Gerald A., Gibbs, Ann E., and Storlazzi, Curt D., 20250924, Underwater imagery of the substrate and coral reef habitat on the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from 2003, 2004, and 2022: data release DOI:10.5066/P13ZPWNS, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Logan, Joshua B., McPherson, Meredith L., Alkins, Kristen A., Hatcher, Gerald A., Gibbs, Ann E., Storlazzi, Curt D., and Groff, Sarah, 2025, Underwater imagery and classifications of the substrate and coral reef habitat on the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from 2003, 2004, and 2022: data release DOI:10.5066/P13ZPWNS, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested Citation: Logan, J.B., McPherson, M.L., Alkins, K.A., Hatcher, G.A., Gibbs, A.E., Storlazzi, C.D., and Groff, S., 2025, Underwater imagery and classifications of the substrate and coral reef habitat on the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, from 2003, 2004, and 2022: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P13ZPWNS.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -156.04800
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -155.82737
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 20.03964
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 19.40682
  3. What does it look like?
    DROPCAM_KAHO14-2_20220419184105_200-50.jpg (JPEG)
    Example image of coral on seafloor near Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 2003
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition at time data were collected
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: JPEG
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      The location information for the images is available in the EXIF headers of the images.
    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 D_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 1/298.257224.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    There are no additional attributes besides the tags described in data quality section associated with these images.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: USGS Field Activities A803HW, A204HW, A604HW, and 2022-615-FA

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Joshua B. Logan
    • Meredith L. McPherson
    • Kristen A. Alkins
    • Gerald A. Hatcher
    • Ann E. Gibbs
    • Curt D. Storlazzi
  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?

These images were used to evaluate the coral cover on the seafloor off of the National Parks on the Kona coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi. These data are intended for researchers, students, policy makers, 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: 2024 (process 1 of 1)
    Images from field activities A803HW, A204HW, and A604HW were acquired using a SeaViewer underwater video camera, either towed behind a research vessel or lowered over the side while drifting. GPS positions from a boat-mounted receiver were encoded into the video. Still frames were extracted from the video and geotagged by writing GPS positions into each image’s EXIF metadata. The images from field activity 2022-615-FA were acquired using a Teledyne FLIR camera in an underwater housing. The camera was lowered over the side of the vessel and set to capture one image every two seconds while drifting. The GPS positions were acquired using a continuously operating dual-frequency GPS receiver, with positions post-processed using a nearby base station. The precise time of each image acquisition was recorded in a text file, and GPS positions for each image were interpolated from the continuous GPS trajectory. The images were geotagged by writing GPS positions into each image’s EXIF metadata using the exiftool software package. Person who carried out this activity:
    Joshua Logan
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Scientist
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA
    US

    831-460-7519 (voice)
    831-427-4748 (FAX)
    jlogan@usgs.gov
  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?
    Information about the acquisition times and positions is recorded to the image metadata (EXIF) header for each image. The positions of the images were determined using boat-mounted GPS receivers. Because the images were acquired using cameras towed behind the boat, or lowered beneath the boat while drifting, the offset between the GPS receivers and the actual position of the camera is unknown. Thus, the positions recorded in the image metadata reflect the position of the boat during acquisition and not the actual position of the camera. For the images acquired during field activities A803HW, A204HW, and A604HW the GPS positions were acquired using an autonomous single-frequency GPS receiver, with positions embedded into video format, and exported during still-frame export. Some images from these field activities have the geographic positions and acquisition date and time (UTC) stamped onto the image. The geographic positions for these images are referenced to the WGS84 reference frame (EPSG:4326). For images acquired during field activity 2022-615-FA, the geographic positions were acquired using a dual-frequency GPS receiver, with positions post-processed using a nearby base station. The precise time of each image acquisition was recorded in a text file, and geographic positions for each image were interpolated from the continuous GPS trajectory. The geographic positions for these images are referenced to the NAD83(PA11) reference frame (EPSG:6322).
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The horizontal positions for the images acquired during field activities A803HW, A204HW, and A604HW were measured using a boat-mounted autonomous single-frequency GPS receiver, with positions embedded into video format, and exported during still-frame export. These positions have an estimated horizontal accuracy of 5 meters. The horizontal positions for the images acquired during field activity 2022-615-FA were measured using a boat-mounted dual-frequency GPS receiver, with positions post-processed using a nearby base station. The precise times of each image acquisition were recorded in a text file, and GPS positions for each image were interpolated from the continuous GPS trajectory. These positions have an estimated horizontal accuracy of around 2.5 centimeters. All images were acquired either by towing a camera behind a boat, or by lowering a camera below a boat while drifting. The offset between the underwater camera and the position of the boat-mounted GPS unit is unknown and has not been accounted for in the GPS position of the images. Thus, the true accuracy of the horizontal positions is unknown.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Vertical positions are not reported for this data product.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Although many images were acquired during each field activity, only the subset of images which were classified for this project are included in this data release.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted.

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. This information is not intended for navigation purposes.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - CMGDS
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA
    United States

    1-831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Digital images of the seafloor off the Kona coast of Island of Hawaiʻi, HI, collected in 2003, 2004, and 2022 are available on the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program’s (CMHRP) Imagery Data System (IDS)
  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?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 24-Sep-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_P13ZPWNS/KonaHawaiiClassifiedUnderwaterImages_metadata.faq.html>
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