Aerial imagery from UAS surveys of beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA, August 2017

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Aerial imagery from UAS surveys of beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA, August 2017
Abstract:
This portion of the data release presents the raw aerial imagery collected during the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) survey conducted on the ocean beaches adjacent to the Columbia River Mouth at the Oregon-Washington border in August 2017. The imagery was acquired using a Department of Interior-owned 3DR Solo quadcopter fitted with a Ricoh GR II digital camera featuring a global shutter. The camera was mounted using a fixed mount on the bottom of the UAS and oriented in an approximately nadir orientation. The Fort Stevens State Park survey was conducted under Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Scientific Research Permit #024-17. Five flights were conducted at Fort Stevens State Park on 7 August 2017, between 16:32 and 20:22 UTC (9:32 and 13:22 PDT). A total of 785 aerial images from these flights are presented in this data release. The Benson Beach survey at Cape Disappointment State Park was conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit #170603. Seven flights were conducted at Benson Beach on 8 August 2017, between 17:13 and 22:28 UTC (10:13 and 15:28 PDT). A total of 1492 aerial images from these flights are presented in this data release. All flights were conducted at an approximate altitude of 120 meters or less above ground level, depending on operational restrictions related to the cloud ceiling. Before each flight, the camera’s digital ISO, aperture, and shutter speed were adjusted for ambient light conditions. For all flights the camera was triggered using a built-in intervalometer. After acquisition, the images were renamed to include flight number and acquisition time in the file name. The coordinates of the approximate image acquisition locations were added ('geotagged') to the image metadata (EXIF) using the telemetry log from the UAS onboard single-frequency autonomous GPS. The image EXIF were also updated to include additional information related to the acquisition. The data release includes a total of 2,277 JPG images. Images from takeoff and landing sequences as well as other images not used for processing have been omitted from the data release. To facilitate bulk download, the images from each flight are provided in a zip file named with the flight number. In addition to the provided zip files, the images are also available for browsing and individual download on the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program Imagery Data System at the following URL: https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/idsviewer/data_release/10.5066-P9BVTVAW.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activity from which these data were derived is available online at:
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2017-666-FA
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., Stevens, Andrew W., and Harrison, Shawn R., 20230623, Aerial imagery from UAS surveys of beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA, August 2017: data release DOI:10.5066/P9BVTVAW, 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., Stevens, Andrew W., Harrison, Shawn R., and Johnson, Cordell D., 2023, Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS surveys of the beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA: data release DOI:10.5066/P9BVTVAW, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested Citation: Logan, J.B., Stevens, A.W., Harrison, S.R., and Johnson, C.D., 2023, Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS surveys of the beaches at Fort Stevens State Park, OR, and Cape Disappointment State Park, WA: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BVTVAW.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.08829
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.99237
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 46.29986
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 46.19996
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/6435bd4fd34ee8d4addaf826?name=F05_20170807T201533Z_RA009614.JPG&allowOpen=true (JPEG)
    Example aerial image from 2017-08-07 UAS survey
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 07-Aug-2017
    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?
      This is a Raster data set. It contains the following raster data types:
      • Dimensions 3264 x 4352, type Pixel
    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.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: WGS84 Ellipsoid
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.01
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  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 Activity 2017-666-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
    • Andrew W. Stevens
    • Shawn R. Harrison
  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 data were obtained to evaluate changes in shoreline position and coastal morphology. These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. These data can be used with geographic information systems or other software to identify topographic features on the sub-aerially exposed portions of the beaches surveyed.

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: Aug-2017 (process 1 of 2)
    Aerial imagery was collected using a Department of Interior-owned 3DR Solo quadcopter fitted with a Ricoh GR II digital camera featuring a global shutter. The camera was mounted using a fixed mount on the bottom of the UAS and oriented in an approximately nadir orientation. During acquisition the UAS was flown on pre-programmed autonomous flight lines at an approximate altitude of 120 meters or less above ground level, depending on operational restrictions related to the cloud ceiling. The flight lines were spaced to provide at least 66 percent overlap between images from adjacent lines. The camera was triggered at 1 Hz using a built-in intervalometer. Before each flight, the camera’s digital ISO, aperture and shutter speed were manually set to adjust for ambient light conditions. Although these settings were changed between flights, they were not permitted to change during a flight; thus, the images from each flight were acquired with consistent camera settings.
    Date: 2017 (process 2 of 2)
    The image files were renamed using a custom python script. The file names were formed using the following pattern Fx-YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ_Ryz.*, where: - Fx = Flight number - YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ = date and time in the ISO 8601 standard, where 'T' separates the date from the time, and 'Z' denotes UTC ('Zulu') time. - Ry = RA or RB to distinguish camera 'RicohA' from 'RicohB' - z = original image name assigned by camera during acquisition - * = file extension (JPG)
    The approximate image acquisition coordinates were added to the image metadata (EXIF) ('geotagged') using the image timestamp and the telemetry logs from the UAS onboard single-frequency 1-Hz autonomous GPS. The geotagging process was done using the GeoSetter utility. To improve timestamp accuracy, the image acquisition times were adjusted to true ('corrected') UTC time by comparing the image timestamps with several images taken of a clock showing accurate time synchronized from Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. For the Fort Stevens survey on 2017-08-07 the image time stamps from camera "RA" were adjusted by +00:01:14 (+1 minute, and 14 seconds) to synchronize with corrected UTC time. For the Benson Beach survey on 2017-08-08 the image time stamps from camera "RA" were adjusted by +00:01:16 (+1 minute, and 16 seconds) to synchronize with corrected UTC time. The positions stored in the EXIF are in geographic coordinates referenced to the WGS84(G1150) coordinate reference system (EPSG:4979), with elevation in meters relative to the WGS84 ellipsoid.
    Additional information was added to the EXIF using the command-line 'exiftool' software. For the Fort Stevens imagery the following command was used: exiftool ^ -P ^ -IPTC:Credit="U.S. Geological Survey" ^ -IPTC:Contact="pcmsc_data@usgs.gov" ^ -EXIF:Copyright="Public Domain" ^ -XMP:UsageTerms="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 for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty." ^ -EXIF:ImageDescription="Aerial image of the beach at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, USA, from USGS Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) survey 2017-666-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2017-666-FA), conducted under Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Scientific Research Permit #024-17" ^ -XMP:Event="Unoccupied Aircraft System survey of the beach at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, USA, during USGS field activity 2017-666-FA, conducted under Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Scientific Research Permit #024-17" ^ -EXIF:GPSAreaInformation="Position from UAS onboard autonomous single-frequency GNSS." ^ -EXIF:GPSMapDatum="EPSG:4979 (WGS 84)" ^ -EXIF:Artist="U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center" ^ -IPTC:CopyrightNotice="Public Domain. Please credit U.S. Geological Survey." ^ -IPTC:Caption-Abstract="Aerial image of the beach at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, USA, from USGS Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) survey 2017-666-FA conducted under Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Scientific Research Permit #024-17" ^ -sep ", " ^ -keywords="Columbia River, Fort Stevens State Park, South Jetty, Oregon, 2017-666-FA, Unoccupied Aircraft System, UAS, drone, aerial imagery, U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center" ^ -comment="Low-altitude aerial image from USGS Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) survey 2017-666-FA conducted under Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Scientific Research Permit #024-17" ^ -Orientation= ^ -XMP:AttributionURL="https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BVTVAW" ^ -ext DNG ^ -ext JPG ^
    For the Benson Beach imagery the following command was used: exiftool ^ -P ^ -IPTC:Credit="U.S. Geological Survey" ^ -IPTC:Contact="pcmsc_data@usgs.gov" ^ -EXIF:Copyright="Public Domain" ^ -XMP:UsageTerms="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 for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty." ^ -EXIF:ImageDescription="Aerial image of Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington, USA, from USGS Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) survey 2017-666-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2017-666-FA), conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit 170603" ^ -XMP:Event="Unoccupied Aircraft System survey of Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington, USA, during USGS field activity 2017-666-FA, conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit 170603" ^ -EXIF:GPSAreaInformation="Position from UAS onboard autonomous single-frequency GNSS." ^ -EXIF:GPSMapDatum="EPSG:4979 (WGS 84)" ^ -EXIF:Artist="U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center" ^ -IPTC:CopyrightNotice="Public Domain. Please credit U.S. Geological Survey." ^ -IPTC:Caption-Abstract="Aerial image of Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington, USA, from USGS Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) survey 2017-666-FA conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit 170603" ^ -sep ", " ^ -keywords="Columbia River, Cape Disappointment State Park, North Jetty, Washington, 2017-666-FA, Unoccupied Aircraft System, UAS, drone, aerial imagery, U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center" ^ -comment="Low-altitude aerial image from USGS Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) survey 2017-666-FA conducted under Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Scientific Research Permit 170603" ^ -Orientation= ^ -XMP:AttributionURL="https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BVTVAW" ^ -ext DNG ^ -ext JPG ^
    Additional metadata tags were populated for all of the imagery metadata using the following command: exiftool ^ -P ^ "-XMP-photoshop:Credit<IPTC:Credit" ^ "-XMP-iptcCore:CreatorWorkEmail<IPTC:Contact" ^ "-XMP-dc:Rights<EXIF:Copyright" ^ "-XMP-dc:Description<EXIF:ImageDescription" ^ "-XMP-exif:all<GPS:all" ^ "-XMP-exif:GPSLatitude<Composite:GPSLatitude" ^ "-XMP-exif:GPSLongitude<Composite:GPSLongitude" ^ "-XMP-exif:GPSDateTime<Composite:GPSDateTime" ^ "-XMP-photoshop:DateCreated<EXIF:DateTimeOriginal" ^ "-XMP-xmp:ModifyDate<EXIF:ModifyDate" ^ "-XMP-dc:Creator<EXIF:Artist" ^ "-XMP-tiff:Make<EXIF:Make" ^ "-XMP-tiff:Model<EXIF:Model" ^ -overwrite_original ^ -ext JPG ^ -ext DNG Person who carried out this activity:
    Joshua Logan
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-460-7519 (voice)
    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?
    The Ricoh GR II cameras used to acquire these images produce a nominal image size of 16.2 megapixels in both JPG and camera raw (Adobe DNG) image formats. The image acquisition time stamp is recorded to the image metadata (EXIF) with a precision of 1 second. The UAS onboard GPS is a single-frequency autonomous receiver which records positions to the telemetry log at 1 second intervals, with an approximate accuracy of 3 meters horizontally and 10 meters vertically. The geotagging operation uses the image time stamp to derive the image acquisition location by finding the nearest location recorded at the time of acquisition. To reduce the potential for timing errors during the geotagging process, the image time stamps were adjusted to true ('corrected') UTC time by comparing the image time stamps with several images taken of a smartphone app ('Emerald Time') showing accurate time from Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. For the Fort Stevens survey on 2017-08-07 the image time stamps from camera "RA" were adjusted by +00:01:14 (+1 minute, and 14 seconds) to synchronize with corrected UTC time. For the Benson Beach survey on 2017-08-08 the image time stamps from camera "RA" were adjusted by +00:01:16 (+1 minute, and 16 seconds) to synchronize with corrected UTC time. The adjusted image time stamp was only used for geotagging; the original image time stamp was retained in the image EXIF and file name. The positions stored in the EXIF are in the WGS84 (G1150) coordinate reference system (EPSG:4979), with elevation in meters relative to the WGS84 ellipsoid.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The horizontal positions stored in the EXIF image metadata were derived with a 'geotagging' process using the image time stamps and the uncorrected positions recorded in the telemetry log of the UAS from the onboard single-frequency autonomous GPS (mRobotics GPS u-Blox Neo-M8N / 3DR SOLO Upgrade). To reduce the potential for timing errors during the geotagging process, the image time stamps were adjusted to true ('corrected') UTC time by comparing the image time stamps with several images taken of a smartphone app ('Emerald Time') showing accurate time from Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. The horizontal positions are estimated to be accurate to approximately 3 meters. However, it should be noted that for some images the error may exceed this estimate due to GPS errors or timing errors associated with the geotagging process.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    The vertical positions stored in the EXIF image metadata were derived with a 'geotagging' process using the image time stamps and the uncorrected positions recorded in the telemetry log of the UAS from the onboard single-frequency autonomous GPS (mRobotics GPS u-Blox Neo-M8N / 3DR SOLO Upgrade). To reduce the potential for timing errors during the geotagging process, the image time stamps were adjusted to true ('corrected') UTC time by comparing the image time stamps with several images taken of a smartphone app ('Emerald Time') showing accurate time from Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. The horizontal positions are estimated to be accurate to approximately 10 meters. However, it should be noted that for some images the error may exceed this estimate due to GPS errors or timing errors associated with the geotagging process.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Twelve flights were conducted during this survey (Fort Stevens F01 - F05, and Benson Beach F01 - F07). The camera shutter was triggered at 1 Hz by a built-in intervalometer which was started before takeoff and stopped after landing. The imagery was saved in both JPG and DNG format during acquisition, although only the JPG-formatted images are included in this data release. The images from each flight were stored separately and were renamed with the flight number and acquisition times in the file names for organizational purposes. Images from takeoff and landing sequences as well as other images not used for processing have been omitted from the data release.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Photographs were renamed using a custom python script to include flight number, image acquisition date and time in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), camera ID, and original image ID number. The image EXIF were also updated to include additional information related to the acquisition. Some photographs may be auto-rotated by certain viewing software, but the original image orientation is the same for all images.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints None
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 - ScienceBase
    Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
    Denver, CO
    United States

    1-888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? The aerial images from two flights conducted during the UAS survey are available in JPG format. The images from each flight are combined into zip files with the flight number in the file name.
  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?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The downloadable data files are available in zipped JPG file format. Image processing and viewing software can be used to open and view the files.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 23-Jun-2023
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/ScienceBase/DR_P9BVTVAW/FortStevens_BensonBeach_2017-08_aerial_imagery_metadata.faq.html>
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