True color aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights and image locations: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
True color aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights and image locations: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018
Abstract:
Low-altitude (80 and 100 meters above ground level) digital images were taken over an area of the Plum Island Estuary and Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Massachusetts using 3DR Solo unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) on February 27, 2018. These images were collected as part of an effort to document marsh stability over time and quantify sediment movement using UAS technology. Each UAS was equipped with either a Ricoh GRII digital camera for natural color photos, used to produce digital elevation models and ortho images, or a MicaSense RedEdge multi-spectral camera that captures five specific bands of the visible spectrum (blue, green, red, red edge, and near-infrared), which can be used to classify vegetation. The MicaSense camera covered a smaller subsection of the same polygonal area of the marsh that the Ricoh imaged. Some photographs contain black and white targets used as ground control points (GCPs), which were surveyed by a field crew with a high-precision Real Time Kinematic Global Position System. This data release includes the original images from both cameras, as well as a csv file containing the latitude and longitude coordinates, in Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19N referenced to the North American Datum of 1983, of the ground control points needed to complete any photogrammetry projects using the original photographs, and GPS transect points used to evaluate the photogrammetry products created.
Supplemental_Information:
These data were collected by the USGS Coastal/Marine Hazards and Resources Program under USGS field activity number 2018-015-FA. The field activity webpage (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2018-015-FA) contains additional information regarding the field activity.
The images associated with these data are available for download from the EROS EarthExplorer interface.
The configurable URL to select the images from the Ricoh camera: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/criteria?dataset_name=UAS_RAW&ordered=USGS_WHCMSC_PIEPR_2018_015_20180227_R01&field=COLLECT_NAME
The configurable URL to select the images from the Micasense multispectral camera: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/criteria?dataset_name=UAS_RAW&ordered=USGS_WHCMSC_PIEPR_2018_015_20180227_M01&field=COLLECT_NAME
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2019, True color aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights and image locations: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018: data release DOI:10.5066/P9O9NSRK, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal/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.

    Ganju, Neil K., Brosnahan, Sandra M., Sturdivant, Emily J., Pendleton, Elizabeth A., and Ackerman, Seth D., 2019, Aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights and ground control points: Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018: data release DOI:10.5066/P9O9NSRK, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Ganju, N.K., Brosnahan, S.B., Sturdivant, E.J., Pendleton, E.A., and Ackerman, S.D., 2019, Aerial imagery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights and ground control points-Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR), February 27th, 2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9O9NSRK .
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.824
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.8047334
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.7789
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.768997
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5c75a7b4e4b0fe48cb4a55ad?name=2018015FA_ricoh_PlumIsland_browse.jpg (JPEG)
    Browse graphic showing the image locations.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 27-Feb-2018
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Raster data set. It contains the following raster data types:
      • Dimensions, type Pixel
    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_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 1/298.257224.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: IGS08 (EPOCH:2017.8707)
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.01
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    UASricoh_2018015FA_nav.csv
    CSV file containing navigation information for every Ricoh image from the USGS field activity 2018-015-FA. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    SourceFile
    Source file of Exif header extraction in the format of xx/zzzz where xx is the flight number as a folder name and zzzz is the image name. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Text field
    FileName
    Image name in the USGS format. An example filename and the convention is: 2018015FA_f03r01_20180227T180757Z_P0026113.JPG, where 2018015FA is the internal survey ID, f03 is the flight number and r01 is the internal camera ID, 20180227 is the UTC date in format YYYYMMDD, A 'T' is used to separate UTC date from UTC time in format HHMMSS (180757) followed by a Z, and P0026113.JPG is the original raw photo name appended to the end of the new filename. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Text field
    GPSDateStamp
    UTC date of the photo acquisition in the format YYYY:MM:DD where YYYY is the year, MM is the month, and DD is the day of the month. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Text field
    GPSTimeStamp
    UTC time of the photo acquisition in the format HH:MM:SS where HH is hour, MM is minute, and SS is seconds. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Text field
    GPSLongitude
    Longitude of the camera location at time of photo acquisition with the negative value indicating western hemisphere. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-70.8235289
    Maximum:-70.8058404
    Units:decimal degrees
    GPSLatitude
    Latitude of the camera location at time of photo acquisition with the positive value indicating northern hemisphere. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:42.7690404
    Maximum:42.7788509
    Units:decimal degrees
    GPSAltitude
    Vertical position in terms of ellipsoidal height of the camera at time of photo acquisition. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.24
    Maximum:127.07
    Units:meters
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The image Exif header information is described in the data quality section of the metadata. These detailed attributes are for a subset of Exif header information extracted from the images and provided as a separate file.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: USGS Field Activity 2018-015-FA

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?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Sandra Brosnahan
    Physical Scientist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, Massachusetts

    508-548-8700 x2265 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    sbrosnahan@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

These images were collected in the Plum Island Estuary and Parker River NWR (PIEPR) with the appropriate resolution and overlap to permit high quality photogrammetry and generation of orthomosaics and digital surface models. These overlapping aerial images are used within photogrammetric processing software to create point clouds, regional orthomosaics, and digital elevation models.

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: Nov-2018 (process 1 of 4)
    The Ricoh GRII HD camera used on the UAS acquires photos at 16.2 Megapixels, with file sizes generally between 4 and 6 MB on disc, depending on image complexity. Photos were collected with an ISO between 200 and 640, shutter speeds between 1/500 and 1/2500, and an aperture between 3.5 and 5. The camera was mounted on a 3DR Solo quadcopter unmanned aerial system (UAS) for each flight. Flights were flown along pre-planned lines and lasted the duration of the UAS battery life (maximum 15 minutes) or until the flight was completed or aborted. 3DR Solo includes an onboard mRo GPS (u-Blox Neo-M8N / 3DR SOLO Upgrade), which receives signals from GPS and GLONASS satellites in WGS84 (G1150) and records telemetry information including position in latitude, longitude, altitude, GPS time, pitch, roll, yaw, course, and flight mode in a telemetry log file (extension tlog), which was downloaded between each flight using file transfer protocol (FTP). The camera was set to record images at 2-second intervals, activated before takeoff, and deactivated after landing. Preflight photos of UTC time displayed on a smartphone accurate timepiece were captured with the camera and used to monitor camera clock drift. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Sandra Brosnahan
    Physical Scientist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, Massachusetts
    U.S.A.

    508-548-8700 x2265 (voice)
    508 457 2310 (FAX)
    Sbrosnahan@usgs.gov
    Date: 2019 (process 2 of 4)
    After a flight, the SD card is removed from the camera, and all files related to the flight are downloaded and organized by flight number. A customized python program written by Seth Ackerman and Emily Sturdivant, using ExifTool by Phil Harvey (version 10.99) was used to rename image files and to update metadata in image headers. All JPEG images were renamed to ensure unique filenames and compliance with USGS Coastal/Marine Hazards and Resources Program best practices for image naming convention. Resulting filenames indicate the survey ID, flight number and camera ID, image acquisition date, and time in ISO8601 format, and the original image name (in order as listed here and separated by underscore characters). An example filename for this dataset is 2018015FA_f03r01_20180227T180757Z_P0026113.JPG, where 2018015FA is the internal survey ID, f03 is the flight number and r01 is the internal camera ID, 20180227 is the UTC date in format YYYYMMDD, A 'T' is used to separate UTC date from UTC time in format HHMMSS (180757) followed by a Z, and P0026113.JPG is the original raw photo name appended to the end of the new filename.
    The following tags were updated with standardized values in the image headers to enhance the metadata available:
    Artist-WHCMSC AIM Group
    Credit- U.S. Geological Survey
    Contact- WHSC_data_contact@usgs.gov
    comment- Low-altitude aerial photograph of Plum Island, MA from survey 2018-015-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2018-015-FA).
    keywords- Plum Island, MA, 2018-015-FA, UAS, nadir, USGS, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9O9NSRK
    Caption- Low-altitude aerial photograph of Plum Island, MA from survey 2018-015-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2018-015-FA).
    Copyright- Public Domain. Please credit U.S. Geological Survey
    CopyrightNotice- Public Domain. Please credit U.S. Geological Survey
    Caption-Abstract- Low-altitude aerial photograph of Plum Island, MA from survey 2018-015-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2018-015-FA).
    ImageDescription- Low-altitude aerial photograph of Plum Island, MA from survey 2018-015-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2018-015-FA).
    In the same customized Python program, image headers were updated with positional data from the UAS telemetry log.
    First, a time consistency check was conducted between the photos and the telemetry logs. Telemetry logs recorded in Mission Planner software (version 1.3.49) and saved as GPX files were used. Photos were geotagged by adding positions from the GPX file to the images using ExifTool by Phil Harvey (version 10.99). ExifTool uses linear interpolation to determine the position of the device at the time recorded in the image. This creates values for tags GPSLatitude, GPS LatitudeRef, GPSLongitude, GPSLongitudeRef, GPSAltitude, GPSTimeStamp, GPSDateStamp. Person who carried out this activity:
    Sandra Brosnahan
    U.S. Geological Survey
    physical scientist
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2259 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    sbrosnahan@usgs.gov
    Date: 2019 (process 3 of 4)
    Exiftools version 11.28 was used to extract a subset of the Exif header information to provide image location information in a separate file. The command used to extract the information is as follows:
    exiftool.exe -csv -filename -GPSDateStamp -GPSTimeStamp -GPSLongitude -GPSLatitude -GPSAltitude -n fX\*.JPG > UASricoh_nav_fX.csv
    where fX is the folder name which is the same as the flight number in the format fX where X is the flight number.
    Once a separate file was extracted for each flight, the individual files were concatenated together (UASricoh_2018015FA_nav.csv) using the cat command in Cygwin. The VI editor was then used to remove all but the first occurrence of the header line. 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
    Date: 06-Aug-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?

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The GPS used on the UAS has theoretical accuracies of 3 meters horizontally and 10 m vertically. The location values are stored in the Exif header of the images.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Horizontal positions recorded in the UAS flight logs and later applied to the Exif portion of the images were derived from a mRo GPS (u-Blox Neo-M8N / 3DR SOLO Upgrade), which receives signals from GPS and GLONASS satellites in WGS84 (G1150) EPSG::7660, but is otherwise uncorrected. Horizontal locations are considered accurate to approximately 3 meters, but may be off by as much as 10 meters due to UAS flight path and uncertainty associated with the geotagging process.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Vertical positions recorded in the UAS flight logs and later applied to the Exif portion of the images are ellipsoidal heights and were derived from a mRo GPS (u-Blox Neo-M8N / 3DR SOLO Upgrade), which receives signals from GPS and GLONASS satellites, but is otherwise uncorrected. Vertical locations are less accurate than horizontal positions and may be off by more than 10 meters.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Ten flights were conducted with the Ricoh GRII camera, and 3,338 photos were collected. Photographs were captured every 2 seconds. Gaps in sequential 2-second photo intervals exist where photos were removed from the collection. Photos may have been deleted, for reasons including poor photo quality, overexposure, or redundancy, such as photos taken near to the ground during takeoff and landing. Photographs from flights 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11 and 12 are included in this report. Flight 2 was discarded due to the camera not triggering, and flight 10 had malfunctioning GPS, so the flight was aborted.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Photographs were renamed to include survey ID, Camera ID and flight ID, date and time (UTC), and original filename. Metadata contained in image file headers were modified for all photos to include standard USGS tags.

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.
  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? This data release describes raw data in the form of geotagged Ricoh camera aerial images in JPEG format. The aerial images themselves are distributed through EROS EarthExplorer with instructions on how to access the images (Data_access_readme.docx) available on ScienceBase. In addition to the images, the image locations in a CSV file (UASricoh_2018015FA.csv), a browse graphic (2018015FA_ricoh_PlumIsland_browse.jpg) and the FGDC CSDGM metadata in XML format (2018015FA_ricoh_PlumIsland.xml) are available from ScienceBase.
  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?
    These files require software capable of opening JPEG images and, if desired, capable or reading the associated Exif information. In order to download the images from EarthExplorer in bulk mode, the user will need to install additional software on their computer.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 06-Aug-2020
Metadata author:
Sandra Brosnahan
U.S. Geological Survey
Physical Scientist
U.S. Geological Survey
Woods Hole, MA

508-548-8700 x2265 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
sbrosnahan@usgs.gov
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_P9O9NSRK/2018015FA_ricoh_PlumIsland.faq.html>
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