Ground control points used in UAS operations and positions of installed permanent ground control points on North Core Banks, NC in October 2022

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Ground control points used in UAS operations and positions of installed permanent ground control points on North Core Banks, NC in October 2022
Abstract:
These data map in high detail surficial cross-sections of North Core Banks, a barrier island in Cape Lookout National Seashore, NC, in October 2022. U.S. Geological Survey field efforts are part of an interagency agreement with the National Park Service to monitor the recovery of the island from Hurricanes Florence (2018) and Dorian (2019). Three sites of outwash and overwash were targeted for extensive vegetation ground-truthing, sediment samples, bathymetric mapping with a remote-controlled surface vehicle, and uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) flights to collect multispectral imagery. Five permanent ground control points were also installed and surveyed to act as control for additional aerial imagery collects via plane. UAS imagery were processed in Agisoft Metashape (v. 1.8.1) to produce calibrated multispectral (red, blue, green, red-edge, near-infrared, and panchromatic) orthoimages and digital surface models.
Supplemental_Information:
For more information about the WHCMSC Field Activity, see https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2022-034-FA. Bounding coordinates represent the maximum extent of all the GCPs, not the individual sites.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Over, Jin-Si R., Sherwood, Christopher R., and Evans, Alexandra D., 20230328, Ground control points used in UAS operations and positions of installed permanent ground control points on North Core Banks, NC in October 2022: data release DOI:10.5066/P99IV3FC, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Over, Jin-Si R., Sherwood, Christopher R., Cramer, Jennifer M., Evans, Alexandra D., and Zeigler, Sara L., 2023, Topographic, bathymetric, multispectral, vegetation, sediment, and supporting GPS data collected on North Core Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina in October 2022, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2022-034-FA: data release DOI:10.5066/P99IV3FC, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested citation: Over, J.R., Sherwood, C.R., Cramer, J.M., Evans, A.D., and Zeigler, S.L, 2023, Topographic, bathymetric, multispectral, vegetation, sediment, and supporting GPS data collected on North Core Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore, NC in October 2022, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2022-034-FA: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P99IV3FC.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -76.27081576
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -76.19335619
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 34.95058758
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 34.88897676
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/63ae090fd34e92aad3ca5bac?name=2022034FA_NCB_GCPs_browse.JPG&allowOpen=true (JPEG)
    Graphic of the two types of ground control points (GCPs) used and installed on North Core Banks, NC; left is a vinyl target and USGS personnel and on the right is a permanent GCP being surveyed with a base station by USGS personnel.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 17-Oct-2022
    Currentness_Reference:
    Ground condition; multiple survey days. Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) reports from the National Spatial Reference System were produced at least 24 hours after data collection on the permanent GCPs for rapid orbit solutions.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: digital 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. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (20)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 18
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -75.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000
      False_Easting: 500000.000000
      False_Northing: 0.000000
      Planar coordinates are encoded using row and column
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.001
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.001
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983 (National Spatial Reference System 2011).
      The ellipsoid used is GRS_1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 using Geoid 18
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.001
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    2022034FA_NCB_PermGCP_OPUS_Solutions.zip
    Folder of permanent ground control points (CALO 1-5) OPUS solutions as separate text files that include position and elevation information. (Source: USGS)
    2022034FA_NCB_GCPs.csv
    Ground control point positions, elevations, and attributes (Source: USGS)
    INFO
    USGS Field Activity Number (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    2022034FAUSGS year, ID, and Field Activity
    GPS
    Type of GPS processing; RTK is data from the SP80 rover using the NC CORS Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) network. (Source: producer defined) Character string.
    Date
    Feature date in format MM/DD/YYYY where YYYY is the year, MM is the month, and DD is the day. (Source: USGS) Character string.
    Attributes
    Unique identifier for ground control points. Prefix V# refers to the vinyl target and the digit of its identifying code, N refers to no number. The suffix NP# refers to the site New Pond (NP) 0, 1, and 3. CALO-# refers to the permanent targets and the identifying number. (Source: producer defined) Character string.
    Northing_UTM18N
    Feature location Y-Coordinate (NAD83(2011)/UTM Zone 18N) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3861466.467
    Maximum:3868214.256
    Units:meters
    Easting_UTM18N
    Feature location X-Coordinate (NAD83(2011)/UTM Zone 18N) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:383878.414
    Maximum:391035.208
    Units:meters
    Orthometric_height_NAVD88
    Feature orthometric Z-Coordinate (NAVD88) using GEOID 18 (Source: producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.067
    Maximum:5.246
    Units:meters
    Latitude_NAD83[2011]
    Feature location latitude (NAD83[2011]) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:34.88897678
    Maximum:34.95058758
    Units:decimal degrees
    Longitude_NAD83[2011]
    Feature location longitude (NAD83[2011]) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-76.27081576
    Maximum:-76.19335619
    Units:decimal degrees
    Ellipsoid_height_NAD83[2011]
    Feature height above the (NAD83[2011] GRS80) ellipsoid. (Source: producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-37.767
    Maximum:-32.699
    Units:meters
    HSDV
    Horizontal Standard Deviation value produced by the SP80 GPS (Source: SP80)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.008
    Maximum:0.013
    Units:meters
    VSDV
    Vertical Standard Deviation value produced by the SP80 GPS (Source: SP80)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.013
    Maximum:0.020
    Units:meters
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    These attribute definitions describe each column of information in the CSV file. GCPs can be used in photogrammetry processing using the coordinate reference systems provided.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: USGS Field Activity 2022-034-FA

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Jin-Si R. Over
    • Christopher R. Sherwood
    • Alexandra D. Evans
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Jin-Si R. Over
    U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2297 (voice)
    jover@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

Vinyl ground control points (GCPs) were used for georeferencing the UAS imagery and the permanent GCPs are for georeferencing future aerial surveys.

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: 20-Oct-2022 (process 1 of 2)
    The vinyl ground control points (GCPs) were processed with the following steps:
    1. Five vinyl GCPs with black and white squares were deployed within each survey area and surveyed at the center with the SP80 using the NC CORs RTK network.
    2. The data were exported from the SP80 rover with xyz variances in the horizontal datum NAD83(2011) to produce latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid heights, and then UTM18N and NAVD88 using GEOID 18 were used to produce UTM coordinates and orthometric heights. From each site GCP locations were put into the CSV file named 2022034FA_NCB_GCPs.csv.
    Date: 24-Oct-2022 (process 2 of 2)
    Each of the five permanent GCPs (CALO1-5) were placed with the following steps:
    1. Three five-foot steel rebar ½” posts were driven into the ground. Three ½” silicon-bronze grounding wire clamps and stainless-steel washers were placed near the top at a level surface.
    2. The 2x2 foot rigid aluminum coated foam laminate ¼” thick target (four-square black and white) with three holes drilled into it was placed onto the posts and on top of the clamps and washer, and then an additional clamp and washer was placed on top of the target to fasten the target in place on the posts. A level was used to make sure the target lay flat and slightly above the sand and vegetation.
    3. An RTK point at the target center was taken and provided in the 2022034FA_NCB_GCPs.csv. The target centers of CALO2-5 were occupied with the SP80 station as a base for roughly one hour. Target CALO1 was occupied for four hours. The SP80 G-File for each target was converted into a RINEX file using a converter (v.5.0.8 available here https://spectrageospatial.com/survey-office/). The RINEX .0 file was manually cleaned and decimated to 10 seconds using teqc (latest and end-of-life version here https://www.unavco.org/software/data-processing/teqc/teqc.html). The decimated file was uploaded to the rapid-static OPUS option using the SPP91564_2 NONE antenna option with an antenna height of 1.54 meters. The resulting OPUS solution is provided in its entirety as a plain text file. Person who carried out this activity:
    Jin-Si R. Over
    U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Geographer
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2297 (voice)
    jover@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?
    Positions and elevations were produced with Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Spectra Precision (SP)80 Rovers connected to the NC CORs system. Elevations were QA/QC’d with permanent GCP CALO1 and National Geodetic Survey Marker EA0078, the latter of which upon further inspection of values may no longer be stable or at the published position. Permanent GCPs were occupied for a minimum of 40 minutes and Online Positioning User Services (OPUS) rapid-static solutions were generated (https://geodesy.noaa.gov/OPUS/).
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The Horizontal Standard Deviation (HSDV) of each GPS RTK point is provided, which estimates the uncertainty at each point, in meters. Real time kinematic positions of the equipment have a 0.1-2 cm (0.7 cm Root Mean Square Error (RMSE)) horizontal accuracy based on a comparison of measurements taken of permanent GCPs and their OPUS solutions. All points had a fixed position, which have HSDV values less than 1.5 cm.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    The Vertical Standard Deviation (VSDV) of each GPS RTK point is provided, which estimates the uncertainty at each point, in meters. Real time kinematic positions of the equipment have a 1-5 cm (2.9 cm RMSE) vertical accuracy based on a comparison of measurements taken of permanent GCPs and their OPUS solutions. All points had a fixed position, which have VSDV values less than 2.5 cm.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Points are a subset of all of the GPS points taken during the field activity. See the larger work citation for the entire dataset, including points taken at the beginning and end of each day on a reference mark or permanent GCP 1 for quality control.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    The file contains USGS field activity 2022-034-FA navigation data: GCPs for UAS surveys and OPUS reports for the five permanent GCPs. The points for the permanent GCPs in 2022034FA_NCB_GCPs.csv are not the same as the final OPUS reports, but act as a quality check of the RTK accuracies. Vinyl targets were re-used at sites and are distinguished by the suffix denoting which pond they were placed at.

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. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the source of this information. These data are not intended for navigational use.
  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

    1-888- 275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? 2022034FA_NCB_GCPs.csv contains the ground control point data to be used with the aerial imagery provided in the larger work citation and the 2022034FA_NCB_PermGCP_OPUS_Solutions.zip file contains the OPUS Solutions for the five installed permanent GCPs.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm 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?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    none

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 28-Mar-2023
Metadata author:
Jin-Si R. Over
U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Geographer
U.S. Geological Survey
Woods Hole, MA

508-548-8700 x2297 (voice)
whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov
Contact_Instructions:
The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the person is no longer with USGS.
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/SB_data_release/DR_P99IV3FC/2022034FA_NCB_GCPs_meta.faq.html>
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