Diver-Based Structure-from-Motion imagery from coral reef restoration surveys in the Lower Florida Keys: July 2022 and July 2023

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Diver-Based Structure-from-Motion imagery from coral reef restoration surveys in the Lower Florida Keys: July 2022 and July 2023
Abstract:
During the summers of 2022 and 2023, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers conducted underwater surveys aimed at quantifying the impact that past coral restoration by Mote Marine Laboratory had on the reef-accretion process. The surveys were conducted along paired transects representing restored and non-restored areas of eight offshore reefs and three patch-reef sites in the Lower Florida Keys. At each location on each reef, USGS researchers collected images (39,480 images in total) that were used to generate structure-from-motion (SfM) products (point clouds, orthomosaics, and digital surface models), which were used to quantify percent cover of corals and other benthos and topographic complexity.
Supplemental_Information:
Following USGS data management protocols, these data were assigned the following field activity numbers (FANs), 2022-324-FA, 2022-353-DD, and 2023-311-FA. Additional survey and data details are available on the Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System (CMGDS) at https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Johnson, Selena A., Toth, Lauren T., Jenkins, Connor M., and Lyons, Erin O., 20250604, Diver-Based Structure-from-Motion imagery from coral reef restoration surveys in the Lower Florida Keys: July 2022 and July 2023:.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Johnson, Selena A., Toth, Lauren T., Jenkins, Connor M., and Lyons, Erin O., 20250604, Diver-Based Structure-from-Motion Imagery From Coral Reef Restoration Surveys in the Lower Florida Keys: July 2022 and July 2023: U.S. Geological Survey data release doi:10.5066/P1WHKTRD, U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, Florida.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -81.8783
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -81.3626
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 24.6216
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 24.4517
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 11-Jul-2022
    Ending_Date: 18-Jul-2023
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
    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 0.0197864699. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0228595953. 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 1/298.257223563.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The complete set of images (39,840 TIFs) are available for view and download on the Imagery Data System (IDS), https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/idsviewer/data_release/10.5066-P1WHKTRD. Users are advised to read the EXIF and other imagery headers for more information about the dataset.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    The entity and attribute information were generated by the individual and/or agency identified as the originator of the dataset. Please review the rest of the metadata record for additional details and information.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Selena A. Johnson
    • Lauren T. Toth
    • Connor M. Jenkins
    • Erin O. Lyons
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    The collection of these data were funded by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program and a Mote Marine Laboratory Protect Our Reefs Grant.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Selena A. Johnson
    USGS - SOUTHEAST REGION
    Research Physical Scientist
    St Petersburg Science Center,Studebaker Building
    St. Petersburg, FL

    727-502-8053 (voice)
    selenajohnson@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

Image data were collected to produce SfM data products that were used to quantify percent cover and topographic complexity. These data are published in an accompanying data release by Toth and others (2025a). The percent cover and census-survey data were used in an associated study (Toth and others, 2025b) to quantify differences in carbonate budgets (gross carbonate production, bioerosion, and reef-accretion potential) between restored and non-restored areas of each reef. The structure-from-motion models were also used to quantify the impact of restoration on topographic complexity at the offshore sites by measuring the impact of digitally removing outplanted coral colonies.

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: 18-Jul-2023 (process 1 of 3)
    IMAGE ACQUISITION At each site, except for Summerland Ledges, 10-12 approximately 10 x 2 m photographic transects were surveyed by Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) divers using a downward facing Canon® PowerShot S120 camera in an underwater housing set to collect RAW image format in continuous shoot mode. Summerland Ledges was designated as an experimental restoration site consisting of two 10 x 10 m restored plots and one 10 x 10 m control plot. The two restored plots at Summerland Ledges were surveyed 2m from the reef base using a dual Nikon® D7000 digital single-lens (DSLR) camera system, and the control plot was surveyed using a Canon® EOS R at the surface. The number of transects varied per site depending on the availability of restored or control reef. All images were collected 1-2m from the reef base using a double-lawnmower swim pattern ensuring 70-80% forward and lateral overlap between images. Prior to image acquisition, a diver used a metric field tape to delineate the sampling area and then placed 3-4 coded 25-centimeter (cm) scalebar targets evenly throughout the transect areas to provide accurate scale for models. Person who carried out this activity:
    Erin Lyons
    Formerly Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    Date: 2023 (process 2 of 3)
    IMAGE CONVERSION After acquisition, the RAW images were converted to Tagged Image File Format (.tif) files using Adobe Photoshop's (version 25) Image Processor tool which can be accessed by navigating to File>Scripts>Image Processor>Select Location>Save as TIFF with LZW compression. Person who carried out this activity:
    Selena Johnson
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Research Scientist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8053 (voice)
    selenajohnson@usgs.gov
    Date: 2024 (process 3 of 3)
    IMAGE HEADERS Exchangeable image file format (EXIF) image headers were added to each image using Phil Harvey’s ExifTool (version 12.5.10). All information in the headers are the same among all images, aside from the EXIF:ImageDescription, EXIF:GPSLatitude and EXIF:GPSLongtitude, EXIF:Make, EXIF:Model, and EXIF:DateTimeOriginal, as that information varies per site. An example script used to populate the images is as follows: exiftool -IPTC:Credit="U.S. Geological Survey, Mote Marine Laboratory" -IPTC:Contact="gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov" -EXIF:Copyright="Public Domain" -XMP:AttributionURL="https://doi.org/10.5066/P1WHKTRD" -XMP:ExternalMetadataLink="https://www1.usgs.gov/pir/api/identifiers/USGS:0cb09b6b-7c38-4c6f-a1dc-afc4033ab4be" -EXIF:GPSAreaInformation="station coordinates obtained from handheld GPS; individual images are not georeferenced" -EXIF:GPSMapDatum="EPSG:4326 (WGS 84)" -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="https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2022-324-FA; Diver-based Structure-from-Motion image data from USGS field activity 2022-324-FA" EXIF:Artist="USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center"-EXIF:GPSLatitude=24.53055 -EXIF:GPSLatitudeRef="N" -EXIF:GPSLongitude=-81.48781 -EXIF:GPSLongitudeRef="W" -XMP:PreservedFileName<Filename -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 -m -P -progress -overwrite_original *.tif Additional headers were added to preserve image filenames and duplicate tags: exiftool "-XMP:PreservedFilename<Filename" -overwrite_original -P *.TIF exiftool "-XMP-photoshop:Credit<IPTC:Credit" "-XMP-iptcCore:CreatorWorkEmail<IPTC:Contact" "-XMP-dc:Rights<EXIF:Copyright" "-XMP-dc:Description<EXIF:ImageDescription" -overwrite_original -P *.TIF To read out the imagery header information to a comma-delimited text file the command is: 'exiftool -csv *.tif > allheaders.csv'. Specific tags can also be specified with this command. Person who carried out this activity:
    Connor Jenkins
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Science Technician
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8099 (voice)
    connorjenkins@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Toth, Lauren T., Johnson, Selena A., Lyons, Erin O., Jenkins, Connor M., Stathakopoulos, Anastasios, Bloomer, Sierra K., Mallon, Jennifer, and Combs, Ian, 20250604, Carbonate budgets, structure-from-motion products, and topographic complexity measurements from restored and non-restored areas of coral reefs in the Lower Florida Keys: U.S. Geological Survey data release doi:10.5066/P13HMEON, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Toth and others (2025a)
    Toth, Lauren T., Johnson, Selena A., Lyons, Erin O., Spadaro, Jason, Stathakopoulos, Anastasios, Bloomer, Sierra K., Mallon, Jennifer, Jenkins, Connor M., Williams, Sara D., Combs, Ian, Craig, Zachary, and Muller, Erinn, 2025, Coral restoration can drive rapid increases in reef-accretion potential: Scientific Reports Unknown, Springer Nature, Online.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 2025b

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates written to the image headers were approximated per site to the center point of the surveyed reef transect (in the World Geodetic System 1984 [WGS84] coordinate system, decimal degrees). These coordinates were collected using a handheld GPS device with <5-meter (m) accuracy.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  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. Please see 'Distribution Information' for details.
Use_Constraints These data are marked with a Creative Common CC0 1.0 Universal License. These data are in the public domain and do not have any use constraints. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    United States

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? *.tif
  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 for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, 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: 04-Jun-2025
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
600 4th Street South
Saint Petersburg, FL
United States

727-502-8000 (voice)
gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/Coral_reef_restoration_imagery_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Tue Jun 24 14:57:10 2025