Post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs collected along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana Barrier Islands, September 2-3, 2012

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text] - [XML]

Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs collected along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana Barrier Islands, September 2-3, 2012
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts baseline and storm-response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms. On September 2-3, 2012, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey (during Field Activity Number [FAN] 12CCH03) along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana barrier islands aboard a Cessna 172 aircraft at an altitude of 500 feet (ft) and approximately 1,000 ft offshore (Figure 2, http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/html/ds988_fig2.html). This mission was flown to collect data for assessing incremental changes since the last survey, which was flown in September 2008 (central Louisiana barrier islands, http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=08ACH06) and June 2011 (Dauphin Island, Alabama to Breton Island, Louisiana, http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=11CCH02) and can be used for assessing future coastal change. The photographs provided here are Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) images. The photograph locations are an estimate of the position of the aircraft and do not indicate the location of the feature in the images (see the Navigation Data page, http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/html/ds988_nav.html). These photographs document the configuration of the barrier islands and other coastal features at the time of the survey. ExifTool was used to add the following to the header of each photo: time of collection, Global Positioning System (GPS) latitude, GPS longitude, keywords, credit, artist (photographer), caption, copyright, and contact information. Photographs can be opened directly with any JPEG-compatible image viewer by clicking on a thumbnail on the contact sheet. All image times are recorded in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Table 1 (http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/html/ds988_table.html) provides detailed information about the assigned location, name, date, and time the photograph was taken along with links to the photograph. In addition to the photographs, a Google Earth Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file is provided and can be used to view the images by clicking on the marker and then clicking on either the thumbnail or the link above the thumbnail. The KML files were created using the photographic navigation files. Note: A KML number was assigned to each photograph to aid navigation of the Google Earth file. These numbers correspond to the site labels in Google Earth.
Supplemental_Information:
For a summary of field activity 12CCH03 please see http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=12CCH03. Bounding coordinates and start and end times included in the Data Series were derived from the overall flight path included in the raw GPS data. Ancillary files included in this publication are ds988_12CCH03_0902_gpsmap60c.txt, ds988_12CCH03.csv, and ds988_12cch03.kml, in addition to the digitized oblique aerial image files.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Morgan, Karen L.M., and Westphal, Karen A., 2016, Post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs collected along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana Barrier Islands, September 2-3, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Data Series 988, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, Fla..

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: None
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -90.9785333333333
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.0536833333333
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.4491333333333
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.0352666666667
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/index.jpg (JPG)
    Index map of survey area flight path during USGS field activity 12CCH03. Red line shows the storm track (provided by Unisys Weather).
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/html/html_images/fig2.jpg (JPG)
    Graphic of acquisition geometry (Figure 2) for USGS field activity 12CCH03. Graphic shows basic flight distance from the shore and elevation during the survey for the aircraft used.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/html/html_images/contents.jpg (JPG)
    Graphic used on Contents page of USGS field activity 12CCH03 oblique aerial photographs Data Series. Graphic shows the directory structure of the publication.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/12CCH03_1.jpg (JPG)
    Map showing the extent of Area 1 for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs from Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, through Breton Island, Louisiana. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/12CCH03_2.jpg (JPG)
    Map showing the extent of Area 2 for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs from Dauphin Island, Alabama, westward to Cat Island, Mississippi. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/12CCH03_3.jpg (JPG)
    Map showing the extent of Area 3 for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs from Pelican Island, Louisiana, to Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments. The red line shows the storm track (provided by Unisys Weather).
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/12CCH03_4.jpg (JPG)
    Map showing the extent of Area 4 for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs from Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to Isle Dernieres, Louisiana. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments. The red line shows the storm track (provided by Unisys Weather).
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/inset04_northbenchmark.jpg (JPG)
    Inset map showing the extent of inset04_northbenchmark.jpg for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs of the northern benchmark, Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/inset05_dauphin.jpg (JPG)
    Inset map showing the extent of inset05_dauphin.jpg for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs ofDauphin Island, Alabama. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/inset06_catisland.jpg (JPG)
    Inset map showing the extent of inset06_catisland.jpg for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs of Cat Island, Mississippi. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988/downloads/maps/inset07_pelican.jpg (JPG)
    Inset map showing the extent of inset07_pelican.jpg for the post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographs of Pelican Island, Louisiana. The flight path, divided into 5-minute segments, is represented by the alternating purple and yellow lines. Pages containing thumbnail images of photographs, referred to as contact sheets, were created based on these segments.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 02-Sep-2012
    Beginning_Time: 160532
    Ending_Date: 03-Sep-2012
    Ending_Time: 181257
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:
    Multimedia presentation of JPEG images and point data in ASCII and CSV files
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference: none
    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 North American 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 1/298.257222.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    KML file: The Google Earth project is available as a KML file. The post-Hurricane Isaac storm track KML was provided by Unisys Weather (http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/index.php). The KML includes photo numbers, photo locations, and the storm track. KML file(s): The KML file is ds988_12CCH03.kml.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Unisys Weather, Hurricane Isaac storm track, available at http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/index.php.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Graphic Image Files: The index map is a JPEG image. The index map shows the coastal oblique aerial photography flight path along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana barrier islands, September 2-3, 2012. The index map also shows four areas, which link to more detailed maps and indicate how the full-size photographs were divided into each area. The survey area maps are JPEG images. The survey maps contain links to the 5-minute segment contact sheet pages.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Navigation file(s): The processed files (*.csv) and the raw navigation files (*.txt) are comma-delimited and tab-delimited ASCII text files, respectively.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    Storm track for post-Hurricane Isaac is available from Unisys Weather. Navigation, maps and KML files were derived from GPS data collected in flight.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Karen L.M. Morgan
    • Karen A. Westphal
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Funding and (or) support for this study was provided by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP). The authors wish to thank pilots, Ned Downie and Brandon Campbell, for their assistance in data collection.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To provide access to digital photographs taken as part of the September 2-3, 2012, post-Hurricane Isaac oblique aerial survey collected along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana barrier islands, and to provide access to attribute data that documents the time and location of where each photograph was taken.

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: 02-Sep-2012 (process 1 of 11)
    Image Acquisition: Photographs were taken using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i with an EFS 18-135mm lens using image stabilization, automatic focus and a haze filter. Images were written to internal camera cards. Image size is approximately 18 megapixels. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 15-Sep-2012 (process 2 of 11)
    Navigation Files: Navigation files were extracted in multiple file formats (text, *.gdb, *gpx, *mps, *.dxf) from the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. The GPS recorded latitude, longitude, date/time, altitude, depth, leg length, leg time, leg speed, and leg course. Navigation files can be found on the Navigation Page of the USGS Data Series (DS988) associated with this metadata. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 15-Sep-2012 (process 3 of 11)
    Image Aquisition: Images were taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and written to internal camera cards. Image size is approximately 18 megapixels. Images in JPG format were saved using the filename format yyyy_mmdd_hhmmssd.jpg (where the "d" signifies digital acquisition using the Canon EOS Rebel). The names provide information about the photograph's year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. For example, image 2012_0902_133636d.jpg was taken September 2, 2012, at 13:36:36 UTC. Best effort was made to set the Canon EOS Rebel's internal clock to within 1 second of UTC at the beginning of the flight. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 15-Sep-2012 (process 4 of 11)
    Navigation processing: Using a custom Perl script written by K. Morgan - USGS, GPS data and image files were used to generate comma-separated value (CSV) files containing latitude, longitude, and time for each image. Each processed navigation file was saved as a CSV file, ds988_12cch03.csv, using Microsoft Excel 2011. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 15-Sep-2012 (process 5 of 11)
    HTML Creation: The digital images were organized into 5-minute (time) segments. These 5-minute segments were used to create HTML pages, called contact sheets. A contact sheet was created for every 5-minute segment of the survey. The contact sheets contain thumbnails of each of the photographs. Each thumbnail links to the corresponding full-size area map or photograph. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 15-Sep-2012 (process 6 of 11)
    Geospatial Processing: The spreadsheets containing navigation data were edited using Microsoft Excel 2011 and saved as CSV file to make the data compatible with ArcGIS software. The latitude/longitude data from the CSV navigation file, called XSTORMS.h20120902_photographs, were used to produce Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) shapefiles using ArcGIS 10.1. These shapefiles were used to produce the JPEG maps included in the Data Series; however, the shapefiles were not included in the report. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 28-Aug-2015 (process 7 of 11)
    Survey map creation: The survey maps provided in this archive were created with Esri ArcGIS 10.1 software and saved as Adobe Illustrator (*.ai) files. Survey maps were edited using Adobe Illustrator CS6 and exported in JPEG format. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 28-Aug-2015 (process 8 of 11)
    Google Earth file creation: The KML file were created using the photographic navigation file ds988_12cch03.csv. The storm track (in KML format) was provided by Unisys Weather. The USGS is the originator of all other layers. To aid navigation through the KML file, each image was assigned a sequential KML number. Table 1 of this report shows the KML number given to each image, the corresponding image name, and associated attributes. Each point on the Google Earth file contains the KML number, storm name, latitude, longitude, image name, geographic area, date, time, a thumbnail of the full-size photograph, and links to the full-size photographs and contact sheets. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 15-Sep-2012 (process 9 of 11)
    EXIF headers: Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) and International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) headers were populated from the command prompt using ExifTool (http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool, 2012) as part of the post-flight processing using a Perl script written by Karen Morgan, USGS - St. Petersburg, Fla. ExifTool added the following data to the EXIF header: time of collection, GPS latitude, GPS longitude, keywords, credit, artist (photographer), caption, copyright, and contact information. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 28-Aug-2015 (process 10 of 11)
    FACS Logs: In addition to the process steps described above, the following steps were taken to produce this Data Series: digital Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs were created at the beginning of each flight and saved as PDF and TXT files. In addition, an HTML-based format was used to present the various parts of this archive. Person who carried out this activity:
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 11 of 11)
    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?

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Best attempts were made to set the camera to UTC on the GPS receivers at the beginning of each flight. Latitude, longitude, and time were collected at an interval of approximately once every 2 seconds. NOTE: Latitude and longitude positions in this report refer to the position of the aircraft, not the position of the landmarks photographed. Refer to the Process Steps below for more detail.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Best attempts were made to maintain the same relative distance between the aircraft and the beach in order to keep a constant field of view.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    No known issues
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Data presented here include the digitally collected photographs in JPEG format with the Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) headers embedded with the individual photograph's location along the flight path of a post-Hurricane Isaac coastal oblique aerial photographic survey of the coast, taken along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana barrier islands. This mission was flown on September 2-3, 2012, aboard a Cessna 172 aircraft, tail number N737FK. Crew members, contracted by the USGS in St. Petersburg, Fla., include Karen Westphal (independant photography contractor, work done under contrat to USGS) and pilots Ned Downie and Brandon Campbell, of Air Reldan, Inc. Still photography was collected along the coast during this survey. GPS Data Collection --- Instrument: Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. Data Collection Interval: 2 Seconds. Data File Format: text, *.gdb, *gpx, *mps, *.dxf. Number of files created: 5 (Note: Only the text file is included in this report). Computer: none. Software: none. The GPS unit was used to record navigation fixes of the aircraft, not the position of the features imaged.

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:
The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of the data in future products or derivative research.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    K. Morgan
    USGS
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8037 (voice)
    kmorgan@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 988
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and (or) contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
    • Availability in digital form:
      Data format: CSV: CSV files representing table information collected during the flight. JPEG: Images can be opened directly with any JPEG-compatible image viewer. The survey's full-size photographs are divided into areas. ds988_12CCH03.kml has 1932 photographs. TXT: Text files representing the navigation files, FACS log, metadata and read-me files collected during and after the survey. KML: The KML provided may be viewed with Google Earth (http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html). in format CSV, JPEG, TXT, KML
      Network links: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0988
    • Cost to order the data: Prices vary. None, if obtained online.

    • Special instructions:
      Publications are available from USGS Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, CO, 80225-0046 (telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS, e-mail: infoservices@usgs.gov).

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2020
Metadata author:
K. Morgan
USGS
Geologist
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
USA

(727) 502-8037 (voice)
kmorgan@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/ds988_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Sep 21 18:18:54 2021