Location of bottom photographs along with images collected in 2012 by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Connecticut River during field activity 2012-024-FA (point shapefile and JPEG images)

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Location of bottom photographs along with images collected in 2012 by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Connecticut River during field activity 2012-024-FA (point shapefile and JPEG images)
Abstract:
A geophysical and geological survey was conducted at the mouth of the Connecticut River from Old Saybrook to Essex, Connecticut, in September 2012. Approximately 230 linear kilometers of digital Chirp subbottom (seismic-reflection) and 234-kilohertz interferometric sonar (bathymetric and backscatter) data were collected along with sediment samples, riverbed photographs, and (or) video at 88 sites within the geophysical survey area. Sediment grab samples were collected at 72 of the 88 sampling sites, video was acquired at 68 sites, and photographs of the river bottom were taken at 38 sites. These survey data are used to characterize the riverbed by identifying sediment-texture and riverbed morphology. More information can be found on the web page for the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center field activity: https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2012-024-FA. Data collected during the 2012 survey can be obtained here: https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PG1Q7V.
Supplemental_Information:
This dataset contains 38 riverbed images from a sampling survey that also acquired 68 video files and 72 sediment samples at 88 sampling sites. See logical consistency report for a note about using these photos in conjunction with the video and sediment sample data. More information about this survey can be found on the WHCMSC Field Activity webpage: https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2012-024-FA. Data collected during the 2012 survey can be obtained here: https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PG1Q7V.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2017, Location of bottom photographs along with images collected in 2012 by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Connecticut River during field activity 2012-024-FA (point shapefile and JPEG images): data release DOI:10.5066/F7PG1Q7V, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Ackerman, Seth D., Foster, David S., Moore, Eric M., Irwin, Barry J., Blackwood, Dann S., and Sherwood, Christopher R., 2017, High-Resolution Geophysical and Sampling Data Collected at the Mouth of the Connecticut River, Old Saybrook to Essex, Connecticut, 2012: data release DOI:10.5066/F7PG1Q7V, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested citation: Ackerman S.D., Foster D.S., Moore E.M., Irwin B.J., Blackwood D.S., and Sherwood, C.R., 2017, High-resolution geophysical and sampling data collected at the mouth of the Connecticut River, Old Saybrook to Essex, Connecticut, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PG1Q7V.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -72.413500
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -72.337200
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.388900
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.269800
  3. What does it look like?
    https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2012-024-FA/data/imagery/2012-024-FA_SEABOSSphotos_browse.jpg (JPEG)
    Thumbnail image showing the location of river bed photographs collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Connecticut River, 2012.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 21-Sep-2012
    Ending_Date: 23-Sep-2012
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition of survey dates: 20120921-20120923
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector data, raster digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (38)
    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 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257224.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    2012-024-FA_photos
    Bottom photographs and locations (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: Esri) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: Esri) Coordinates defining the features.
    PICNAME
    Name of bottom photograph used to uniquely identify between stations, cameras, and photographs: i.e. 2012-024-FA_20120922T150843Z_GOPR5517.JPG, where 2012-024-FA refers to the field activity identifier, 20120922T150843Z refers to the date and time in the ISO8601 standard (YYYYMMDD T= time separator HHMMSS Z= Zulu/UTC time) and GOPR5517.JPG refers to the sequential image number assigned to the image by the camera. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish photographs.
    CAMERA
    GoPro camera used to collect bottom photograph. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish between different camera models mounted on the SEABOSS.
    GPSTIME
    UTC time of bottom photograph from GPS navigation file in format HH:MM:SS. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) UTC time of bottom photograph determined by the GPS.
    CAMR_TIME
    Camera time of bottom photograph from the camera in format HH:MM:SS. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Camera time of bottom photograph determined from the camera's internal clock.
    TIMEOFFSET
    Offset applied, if any, to match the photograph up to the correct time determined by the GPS navigation. This field is the time difference between the camera time and the GPS time in UTC in the format HH:MM:SS. A value of "-00:00:23" indicates a 23 second offset was applied in processing. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Offset time of bottom photograph.
    LONG
    Longitude in Geographic Coordinates, WGS 84. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-72.413455
    Maximum:-72.33719
    Units:decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.000001
    LAT
    Latitude in Geographic Coordinates, WGS 84. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:41.269838
    Maximum:41.388882
    Units:decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.000001
    JD
    Julian day; Julian day is the integer number representing the interval of time in days since January 1 of the year (265-267 for these data). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:265
    Maximum:267
    Units:days
    Resolution:1
    DATE
    Date that the bottom photograph was collected in the format: YYYYMMDD (20120921-20120923 for these data). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:20120921
    Maximum:20120923
    Units:date
    Resolution:1
    YEAR
    Year that the bottom photograph was collected (2012 for these data). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2012
    Maximum:2012
    Units:years
    Resolution:1
    SURVEYID
    WHCMSC field activity identifier (e.g. "2012-024-FA" where 2012 is the survey year, 024 is survey number of that year, and FA is Field Activity). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish cruises by year and ID number.
    DEVICEID
    Device used to collect the sample and bottom photograph. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to identify the SEABOSS configuration used during the survey.
    VEHICLEID
    Vehicle (ship) used to collect data during survey 2012-024-FA. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to identify the survey vessel.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The JPEG images can be hyperlinked to their shapefile location in ArcGIS. The CSV file and shapefile have the same attribute fields.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey

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?
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This dataset is used to display the images and locations of bottom photographs acquired with a GoPro HD Hero2 on a modified SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) collected during a 2012 USGS survey in the Connecticut River. The information contained within the bottom photographs is used to validate geophysical data collected in the same survey area. The photos also help provide the basis for determining sediment texture where a physical sediment sample was not collected.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    JPEG images and text data (source 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey, Unpublished Material, Bottom Photographs and Navigation.

    Type_of_Source_Media: disc
    Source_Contribution:
    The SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) was designed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for rapid and effective collection of seabed images and sediment samples in coastal regions. The observations from video and still cameras and the sediment data are used to explore the nature of the riverbed/seafloor and, in conjunction with high-resolution geophysical data, to make interpretive maps of sedimentary environments and validate the acoustic remote sensing data. This particular setup of the SEABOSS was ultra simplified using only a GoPro HD Hero2 camera, a black and white drop video camera with topside feed, lights and a depth sensor attached to a ultra-lightweight square frame. At station 1 and stations 22-30, this small, simplified SEABOSS frame with the GoPro and video was hand deployed from the starboard side of the R/V Rafael. At these sites, no sediment sample was collected, however visual observations made from the video and photos at sites 22-30 were made and are included in this sediment sample dataset. Due to the poor visibility, the imagery portion of the sampling was halted and at stations 2-21 only the modified Van Veen sampler was used to collect sediment samples (without imagery). Beginning with station 31, through the end of the end of the sampling survey, the imagery frame (with the GoPro and video cameras) was attached to the modified Van Veen grab sampler and deployed together from the starboard side of the R/V Rafael. This sampler with the combined capability of collecting imagery and a sediment sample, a modified version of the original USGS SEABOSS, is known as the mircoSEABOSS or the SEABOSSpro or the GoProSEABOSS. At a typical sampling site, the vessel occupied one of the target stations and deployed this modified SEABOSS. Usually at the end of a short photograph/video survey at each sampling site the winch operator lowered the Van Veen sampler until it rested on the riverbed. When the system was then raised a sample was taken from the riverbed and the sampler recovered to the deck of the survey vessel where a subsample was taken for analysis at the USGS Sediment Laboratory in Wood Hole, MA. The camera time during this survey was set to UTC; calibration photographs with the navigation system indicate that the camera time was 23 seconds ahead of GPS times, therefore a time offset was applied during photo processing. The GoPro camera was set to take a photo every 2 seconds while deployed. The best photos were acquired when the sampler was briefly set down on the riverbed. Likewise, the best video was typically acquired when the sampler was briefly set down on the riverbed prior to taking a sediment sample.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2012 (process 1 of 7)
    Eighty-eight stations were occupied during USGS survey 2012-024-FA with a modified SEABOSS (Blackwood and Parolski, 2001), equipped with a GoPro HD Hero2 and a black and white dropcam video camera collecting photographs and video, respectively. A Van Veen grab sampler was deployed at each station. JPEG photographs were acquired at stations 1 and stations 22-88 (the photo/video system was not used at stations 2-21 due to extremely poor visibility). The digital photographs were downloaded from the camera and backed-up to a laptop and hard-drive periodically during the sampling survey. The original JPEG photographs alone do not represent spatial data, however, post-processing the photographs with the navigation data and survey notes makes the link to spatially locate the imagery. The link is possible because the JPEG photographs EXIF header records acquisition time which can be matched with corresponding time in the navigation logs. However, camera time drift and the precision with which the camera time can be set often results in an offset. In this case, the offset was 23 seconds for the duration of the sampling survey. This offset was corrected for during the post-processing describe below. This process step and all subsequent process steps were performed by the same person - Seth Ackerman Person who carried out this activity:
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • JPEG photographs
    Date: Sep-2017 (process 2 of 7)
    The GoPro HD Hero2 photographs were culled to remove photos during deployment and recovery of the SEABOSS including images of the water column and those on the deck of the survey vessel. Blurry or otherwise not clear images of the riverbed were removed (unless no other clear image of the riverbed was available). The raw navigation feed from the Hemisphere Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receiver was logged at a one-second interval using Microsoft HyperTerminal on a Dell Latitude D820 laptop computer during the sampling survey. Log files were recorded for each survey day (by Gregorian day). The navigation files were processed using an AWK script (no version) called awkseth.gpgga.12024.awk by survey day and concatenated in to a single navigation file. Then a series of PYTHON scripts (SEABOSStools) were run to match up the quality photos with the navigation log.
    (1) JPEG_exifextract_gui_sort.py - PYTHON script that extracts the EXIF header information from each photograph including the JPEG filename, date and time.
    (2) photo_locs_gui_5_4exif.py - PYTHON script that matches up the corresponding date and times from the formatted output of the previous two PYTHON scripts. A time offset of -23 seconds was applied in this step so that the navigation fix extracted was 23 seconds earlier than the image time.
    The output of this is the location shapefile for the bottom photographs with the fields filename, UTC date, UTC time, latitude and longitude. Data sources used in this process:
    • Original JPEG photographs
    • RAW Navigation log files
    • survey notes
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Bottom Photograph Location Shapefile
    Date: Sep-2017 (process 3 of 7)
    XTools Pro (version 12.0) for ArcGIS (version 10.3.1) was used to reorganize add new fields (TABLE OPERATIONS - TABLE RESTRUCTURE) to the point shapefile including an attribute for the survey ID (CRUISE_ID), device used to collect the photos and samples (DEVICE_ID), the survey vessel (VEHICLE_ID), the date of photo collection (DATE) and the Camera used (CAMERA).
    Date: Sep-2017 (process 4 of 7)
    A PYTHON script (UpdatePhotoEXIFv3b.py) was then run that incorporated the matched up location data, along with additional survey information, into the appropriate locations in the EXIF header of each JPEG image. The PYTHON script uses exiftool (version 10.47) to write the information to the image headers. The following tags were populated in the JPEG image headers. Information is duplicated in some tags. This was done because different software packages access different tags.
    GPS tags: The values populated are unique for each image and based on the information from the process of pairing the photo with locations in the navigation logfiles.
    GPSLatitudeRef
    GPSLatitude
    GPSLongitudeRef
    GPSLongitude
    GPSTimeStamp
    GSPDateStamp
    
    JPEG tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it - which is the same for every image.
    Comment: Photo from a down-looking GoPro HD Hero2 on the USGS modified SEABOSS deployed from the R/V Rafael during survey 2012-024-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2012-024-FA)
    EXIF tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it - which is the same for every image.
    ImageDescription: Photograph of the river-bed in the Connecticut River from USGS survey 2012-024-FA
    Artist: Seth Ackerman
    Copyright: Public Domain - please credit U.S. Geological Survey
    IPTC tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it - which is the same for every image.
    Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
    Contact: WHSC_data_contact@usgs.gov
    Keywords: Connecticut River, Old Saybrook, Essex, Connecticut, 2012-024-FA, SEABOSS, river-bed, USGS
    CopyrightNotice: Public Domain - please credit U.S. Geological Survey
    Caption-Abstract: Photograph of the river-bed in the Connecticut River from USGS survey 2012-024-FA
    XMP tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it - which is the same for every image.
    Caption: Photograph of the river-bed in the Connecticut River from USGS survey 2012-024-FA
    To extract the information from the image headers using ExifTool, the following command can be used (tested with ExifTool version 10.47):
    exiftool -csv -f -filename -GPSTimeStamp -GPSDateStamp -GPSLongitude -GPSLatitude -n -Artist -Credit -comment -keywords -Caption -Copyright -CopyrightNotice -Caption-Abstract -ImageDescription imgtest/*.jpg out.csv
    The -csv flag writes the information out in a comma-delimited format. The -n option formats the latitude and longitude as signed decimal degrees. Data sources used in this process:
    • Original JPEG photographs
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • New (EXIF updated) JPEG photographs
    Date: Oct-2017 (process 5 of 7)
    Renamed the photos to include the ISO8601 standard for date and time in the filename and updated the shapefile field for PICNAME. Renaming the photos was done by creating a shell script with original photoname and the new photoname with date and time info parsed from the photo's EXIF metadata.
    exiftool -csv *.JPG -GPSTimeStamp -GPSDateStamp | awk -F, '{split($1,a,"_"); split($2,t,":"); split($3,d,":");print "mv -v "$1" "a[1]"_"d[1]d[2]d[3]"T"t[1]t[2]t[3]"Z_"a[2]}'
    Date: 22-Dec-2017 (process 6 of 7)
    Exported the shapefile attribute table as a comma-delimited text file (CSV) using QGIS (version 2.18.9). The exported CSV file had two additional columns (X and Y) that were duplicates of the LONG and LAT fields, so X and Y were deleted using MacVIM (version 8.0). The CSV and the shapefile included in the data release have identical data fields.
    Date: 12-Jul-2024 (process 7 of 7)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword (20200908). Fixed a USGS Thesaurus term (20240712). 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?
    Blackwood, D., and Parolski, K., 2001, Seabed observation and sampling system: Sea Technology v.42, no.2, p. 29-43, Compass Publications, Inc., Arlington, VA.


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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The GoPro HD Hero2 camera, deployed on a modified SEABOSS, acquired photos at 11 Megapixels in JPEG quality of 98 percent. Image file sizes are generally between 3 and 7 MB on disc, depending on the complexity of the riverbed image. Position offsets between the location of the sampler and the DGPS antenna were not corrected so the location of these images are probably 2-4 meter horizontal accuracy.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The original JPEG photographs alone do not represent spatial data, however the post-processing of the photographs with the navigation data and survey notes makes the link to spatially locate the imagery. Navigation for the sampling survey 2012-024-FA used the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) from the Hemisphere DGPS unit. The recorded position of each photo is actually the position of the GPS antenna on the survey vessel, located on the aft of the R/V Rafael's cabin just port of the centerline, not the location of the SEABOSS sampler. The SEABOSS was deployed approximately 2 meters to the starboard side of the DGPS antenna. No layback or offset was applied to the recorded position. In addition to the +/- 2 meters offset the SEABOSS may drift additionally away from the survey vessel when deployed to the riverbed. Based on the various sources for horizontal offsets, a conservative estimate the horizontal accuracy of the bottom photograph locations is 2-4 meters.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This dataset includes bottom photographs in JPEG format and a shapefile of the locations of photographs collected during USGS survey 2012-024-FA aboard the R/V Rafael in the Connecticut River. Eighty-eight sampling sites were occupied within the study area using a modified SEABOSS. Bottom photographs taken in water column and on deck or were otherwise not usable were deleted. Every attempt was taken to keep at least one photograph for each site however, the unsettled and turbulent nature of the river made this very difficult. Of 88 sampling sites, the Hero2 camera provided only 38 usable photos. For some sampling sites, only a blurry image or an image without a clear view of the sea floor but with significant suspended sediment was the only image available (in these cases it was kept and included in this dataset). Suspended sediment in a photograph may be used as a proxy to approximate surficial sediment size when used in conjunction with other data such as co-located video; especially in these cases when a physical sediment sample was not collected. For sampling sites 2-21 the visibility was so poor that the photograph and video portion of the survey was abandoned, and only sediment samples were collected. The photograph and video system was deployed again beginning with sampling station 22.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    All riverbed photographs were acquired with the same camera; a GoPro HD Hero2. The camera was mounted on a modified SEABOSS. Gaps in sequential photo numbers exist because only the best photo per station was selected for publication (See source contribution for more information on camera settings and photograph timing; see completeness report for other process and dataset completeness information).
    Sediment sample data can be used in conjunction with the riverbed photographs and videos to help classify sediment texture. Beginning with sampling site 31, where the sediment sampler and the imagery frame were teathered to each other, the location of sediment samples, photographs and videos are often coincident as they were collected during the same deployment of the modified SEABOSS. A notable exceptions to this are at sample sites 31 and 36, where the sampler did not collect a successful sample during the original deployment so a sample was taken approximately 100 meter south (sample 31) and 30 meters west (sample 36) of where video and photos were collected.

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 as the originator of the dataset.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    sackerman@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? USGS data release 2012-024-FA contains bottom photograph locations and images (38 total images) of the riverbed collected from the Connecticut River (2012-024-FA_SEABOSSphotos.zip). The zip file contains the shapefile 2012-024-FA_photos.shp, a CSV version of the shapefile's attribute table (2012-024-FA_photos.csv) and the riverbed photographs for the GoPro HD Hero2 camera. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) metadata files (2012-024-FA_photos.xml) in standard formats are also included in the zip file.
  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 USGS 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?
    This zip file contains data available in point shapefile and CSV format. The user must have software capable of reading shapefile or CSV format to use these data. An image viewer can be used to see the JPEG images.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 12-Jul-2024
Metadata author:
Seth Ackerman
U.S. Geological Survey
Geologist
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA
USA

508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
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. (updated on 20240318)
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/field_activities/2012_024_fa/2012-024-FA_SEABOSSphotos.faq.html>
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