EAARL Coastal Topography–Eastern Louisiana Barrier Islands, 09 March 2008: First Surface

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
EAARL Coastal Topography–Eastern Louisiana Barrier Islands, 09 March 2008: First Surface
Abstract:
ASCII XYZ point cloud data were produced from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Elevation measurements were collected over some of the eastern Louisiana barrier islands in cooperation with the National Park Service (NPS), using the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), a pulsed laser ranging system mounted onboard an aircraft to measure ground elevation, vegetation canopy, and coastal topography. The system uses high-frequency laser beams directed at the Earth's surface through an opening in the bottom of the aircraft's fuselage. The laser system records the time difference between emission of the laser beam and the reception of the reflected laser signal in the aircraft. The plane travels over the target area at approximately 60 meters per second at an elevation of approximately 300 meters, resulting in a laser swath of approximately 240 meters with an average point spacing of 2-3 meters. The EAARL, developed originally by NASA at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, measures ground elevation with a vertical resolution of 3 centimeters. A sampling rate of 3 kilohertz or higher results in an extremely dense spatial elevation dataset. Over 100 kilometers of coastline can be surveyed easily within a 3- to 4-hour mission. When resultant elevation maps for an area are analyzed, they provide a useful tool to make management decisions regarding land development.
Supplemental_Information:
Raw lidar data are not in a format that is generally usable by resource managers and scientists for scientific analysis. Converting dense lidar elevation data into a readily usable format without loss of essential information requires specialized processing. The USGS's Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) has developed custom software to convert raw lidar data into a GIS-compatible map product to be provided to GIS specialists, managers, and scientists. The primary tool used in the conversion process is Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS), a multi-tiered processing system developed originally by a USGS-NASA collaborative project. Specialized processing algorithms are used to convert raw waveform lidar data acquired by the EAARL to georeferenced spot (x,y,z) returns for "first surface" and "bare earth" topography. The "first returns" are indicative of vegetation-canopy height, or bare ground in the absence of vegetation, whereas "last returns" typically represent "bare-earth" elevations under vegetation. The terms first surface and bare earth refer to the digital elevation data of the terrain, but while first-surface data include vegetation, buildings, and other manmade structures, bare-earth data do not. The zero crossing of the second derivative (that is, detection of stationary points) is used to detect the first return, resulting in "first surface" topography, while the trailing edge algorithm (that is, the algorithm searches for the location prior to the last return where direction changes along the trailing edge) is used to detect the range to the last return, or "bare earth" (the first and last returns being the first and last significant measurable portion of the return pulse). Statistical filtering, known as the Random Consensus Filter (RCF), is used to remove false bottom returns and other outliers from the EAARL topography data. The filter uses a grid of non-overlapping square cells (buffer) of user-defined size overlaid onto the original point cloud. The user also defines the vertical tolerance (vertical width) based on the topographic complexity and point-sampling density of the data. The maximum allowable elevation range within a cell is established by this vertical tolerance. An iterative process searches for the maximum concentration of points within the vertical tolerance and removes those points outside of the tolerance (Nayegandhi and others, 2009). These data are then converted to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) using the GEOID03 model. The development of custom software for creating these data products has been supported by the USGS CMGP's Lidar for Science and Resource Management project. Processed data products are used by the USGS CMGP's National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project to quantify the vulnerability of shorelines to coastal change hazards such as severe storms, sea-level rise, and shoreline erosion and retreat.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 20170807, EAARL Coastal Topography–Eastern Louisiana Barrier Islands, 09 March 2008: First Surface: U.S. Geological Survey Data Release doi:10.5066/F7M61HRQ, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -90.95806993
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -89.44035272
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.32415763
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.04358342
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 09-Mar-2008
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: XYZ point cloud data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point 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 1e-07. Longitudes are given to the nearest 1e-07. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.25722210100002.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (GEOID03)
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.20
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    EasternLA2008_EAARLA_FS_n88g03.xyz
    The file is .xyz ASCII comma-delimited. (Source: Internally devised to maintain naming consistency.)
    X
    Longitude in decimal degrees (Source: NAD 83)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-90.95806993
    Maximum:-89.44035272
    Y
    Latitude in decimal degrees (Source: NAD 83)
    Range of values
    Minimum:29.04358342
    Maximum:29.32415763
    Z
    Elevation in meters (Source: NAVD 88 (GEOID03))
    Range of values
    Minimum:-2.17
    Maximum:17.37
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    This file consists of first surface elevation data available for this survey. Data have been processed via the ALPS processing software. Data have been quality controlled though the application of the RCF in ALPS but have not undergone manual editing. Data have been converted from the ITRF00 reference frame to NAD83, NAVD88 (GEOID03).
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1078/

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • U.S. Geological Survey
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Acknowledgment of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, as a data source would be appreciated in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected. Sharing of new data layers developed directly from these data would also be appreciated by the USGS staff. Users should be aware that comparisons with other datasets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in photointerpretation, mapping conventions, and digital processes over time. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Xan Fredericks
    U.S. Geological Survey
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    772 502-8086 (voice)
    727 502-8182 (FAX)
    afredericks@usgs.gov
    Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-4:00 ET

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this project was to provide highly detailed and accurate elevation data of coastal parks and barrier islands, post-Hurricane Katrina (August 2005 hurricane), for use as a management tool and to make these data available to natural-resource managers and research scientists. To ensure that St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) data management protocols were followed, this survey was assigned a USGS field activity number (FAN), 08LTS01. Additional survey and data details are available at https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=08LTS01.

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: 03-Jun-2008 (process 1 of 4)
    The data were collected using a Cessna 310 aircraft (20080309). The EAARL laser scanner collects the data using a green-wavelength (532-nanometer) raster scanning laser, while a digital camera acquires a visual record of the flight. The data are stored on hard drives and archived at the USGS office in St. Petersburg, Florida. Raw EAARL waveform, GPS, and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data were subsequently loaded into ALPS software. ALPS (20080602), interactively processed small sections of the data to obtain best estimates of aircraft pitch and roll biases. Pitch and roll biases are 0.3 and -1.64 respectively. Person who carried out this activity:
    Xan Fredericks
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    772 502-8086 (voice)
    afredericks@usgs.gov
    Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-4:00 ET
    Date: 04-Jun-2008 (process 2 of 4)
    ALPS (20080604) was used to batch process the raw data for last return and first return topography. Next, it batch filtered the first surface topography using the RCF. The input parameters of the random consensus filter were: grid cell size (buffer) = 500 cm x 500 cm; vertical tolerance (vertical width) = 600 cm. Person who carried out this activity:
    Xan Fredericks
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
    Cartographer/Lidar Coordinator
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8086 (voice)
    afredericks@usgs.gov
    Date: 02-Mar-2017 (process 3 of 4)
    ALPS (20170302) was used to convert first surface topography from the International Terrestrial Reference System of 2000 (ITRF00) to NAD83, NAVD88 using the GEOID03 model. Lastly, ALPS exported the NAD83, NAVD88 (GEOID03) first surface topography from .pbd format to an ASCII XYZ file. The final .xyz file consists of four columns: longitude, latitude, and elevation. Person who carried out this activity:
    Xan Fredericks
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
    Cartographer/Lidar Coordinator
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8086 (voice)
    afredericks@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 4 of 4)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Nayegandhi, A., Brock, J.C., and Wright, C.W., 2009, Small footprint, waveform-resolving lidar estimation of submerged and subcanopy topography in coastal environments: International Journal of Remote Sensing 30(4), p. 861-878.

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The expected accuracy of the measured variables is as follows: attitude within 0.07 degree and 3 centimeters nominal ranging accuracy. Quality checks are built into the data-processing software.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Raw elevation measurements have been determined to be within 1 meter in horizontal accuracy.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    A ground-control survey is not conducted simultaneously with every lidar survey and vertical accuracies may vary based on the type of terrain and the accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and aircraft-attitude measurements.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    These point-cloud data may appear sparse or nonexistent, which is a result of automated filtering or lack of survey coverage.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    These data were processed for topography ONLY; offshore elevations are invalid.

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:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of these data in future products or derivative research.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Xan Fredericks
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Cartographer/Lidar Coordinator
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8086 (voice)
    afredericks@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? EasternLA2008_EAARLA_FS_n88g03.xyz
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the 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. The USGS shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2020
Metadata author:
Xan Fredericks
U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Cartographer/Lidar Coordinator
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
USA

(727) 502-8086 (voice)
afredericks@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/EasternLA2008_EAARLA_FS_n88g03_metadata.faq.html>
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