Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
Publication_Date: 2011
Title:
EAARL Coastal Topography--Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina, Post-Nor'Ida, 2009: Bare Earth
Edition: first
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image
Series_Information:
Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series
Issue_Identification: 578
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/578/
Description:
Abstract:
A digital elevation model (DEM) of a portion of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, post-Nor'Ida (November 2009 nor'easter), was produced from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS). Elevation measurements were collected over the area 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 50 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 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, measures ground elevation with a vertical resolution of +/-15 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.
For more information on Lidar science and the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) system and surveys, see
http://ngom.usgs.gov/dsp/overview/index.php and
http://ngom.usgs.gov/dsp/tech/eaarl/index.php .
Purpose:
The purpose of this project was to produce highly detailed and accurate digital elevation maps of a portion of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, post-Nor'Ida (November 2009 nor'easter), for use as a management tool and to make these data available to natural-resource managers and research scientists.
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 U.S. Geological Survey'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 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 terms first surface and bare earth refer to the digital elevation data of the terrain, but while the first-surface data include vegetation, buildings, and other manmade structures, the 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 return 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 and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (using the GEOID09 model). Each file contains data located in a 10-kilometer by 10-kilometer tile, where the upper-left bound can be assessed quickly through the filename. The first 3 numbers in the filename represent the left-most UTM easting coordinate (e###000) in meters, the next 4 numbers represent the top-most UTM northing coordinate (n####000) in meters, and the last 2 numbers (##) represent the UTM zone in which the tile is located (for example, be_e123_n4567_18).The development of custom software for creating these data products has been supported by the U.S. Geological Survey CMGP's Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management project. Processed data products are used by the U.S. Geological Survey CMGP's National Assessments 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.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Multiple_Dates/Times:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 20091127
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 20091129
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 20091201
Currentness_Reference: ground condition
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -76.10894
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.43867
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 35.95927
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 35.06194
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier
Theme_Keyword: USGS:6f064e80-ff88-4122-ae79-1d5c1106f7ca
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: elevation
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
Theme_Keyword: Airborne Lidar Processing System
Theme_Keyword: ALPS
Theme_Keyword: Digital Elevation Model
Theme_Keyword: DEM
Theme_Keyword: EAARL
Theme_Keyword: Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar
Theme_Keyword: laser altimetry
Theme_Keyword: lidar
Theme_Keyword: Pilatus PC-6
Theme_Keyword: remote sensing
Theme_Keyword: topography
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Data Categories for Marine Planning
Theme_Keyword: distributions
Theme_Keyword: bathymetry and elevation
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Marine Realms Information Bank (MRIB) Keywords
Theme_Keyword: altimetry
Theme_Keyword: topographic mapping
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
Theme_Keyword: LIDAR
Theme_Keyword: topography
Theme_Keyword: digital elevation models
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
Place_Keyword: Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Place_Keyword: North Carolina
Place_Keyword: United States
Place_Keyword: North America
Stratum:
Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
Stratum_Keyword: Bare Earth
Temporal:
Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
Temporal_Keyword: 2009
Temporal_Keyword: Post-Nor'Ida
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
The U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service request to be acknowledged as originators of these data in future products or derivative research.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Amar Nayegandhi
Contact_Organization:
Jacobs Technology, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Contact_Position: Remote Sensing Specialist/Project Manager
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 (x3026)
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2031
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: anayegandhi@usgs.gov
Hours_of_Service: M-F, 9:00-5:00 EST
Browse_Graphic:
Browse_Graphic_File_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/578/html/images/CAHA_be_mosaic.jpg
Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
EAARL Coastal Topography–Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina, Post-Nor'Ida, 2009: Bare Earth Bare-Earth Mosaic: 5-meter resolution
Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPG
Data_Set_Credit:
Acknowledgment of the U.S. Geological Survey, 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 U.S. Geological Survey 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.
Security_Information:
Security_Classification_System: Unclassified
Security_Classification: Unclassified
Security_Handling_Description: None
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.2.2.1350
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Nayegandhi, A., Brock, J.C., and Wright, C.W.
Publication_Date: 2009
Title:
Small footprint, waveform-resolving lidar estimation of submerged and subcanopy topography in coastal environments
Series_Information:
Series_Name: International Journal of Remote Sensing
Issue_Identification: 30(4), p. 861-878