Emily J. Sturdivant
Erika E. Lentz
E. Robert Thieler
David P. Remsen
Simon Miner
2017
Low-altitude aerial imagery obtained with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights over Black Beach, Falmouth, Massachusetts on 18 March 2016 (JPEG images)
1.0
JPEG
data release
DOI:10.5066/F7KW5F04
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA
U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program
The first link is to the publication landing page. The second link is to the page containing the data.
https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KW5F04
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/59b00e05e4b020cdf7d4db3e
Emily J. Sturdivant
E. Robert Thieler
Erika E. Lentz
David P. Remsen
Simon Miner
2017
Topographic, imagery, and raw data associated with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights over Black Beach, Falmouth, Massachusetts on 18 March 2016
1.0
data release
DOI:10.5066/F7KW5F04
Reston, VA
U.S. Geological Survey
Suggested citation: Sturdivant, E.J., Thieler, E.R., Lentz, E.E., Remsen, D.P., and Miner, Simon, 2017, Topographic, imagery, and raw data associated with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flights over Black Beach, Falmouth, Massachusetts on 18 March 2016: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KW5F04.
https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KW5F04
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/59a05400e4b038630d030442
Imagery acquired with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and coupled with structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry can produce high-resolution topographic and visual reflectance datasets that rival or exceed lidar and orthoimagery. These new techniques are particularly useful for data collection of coastal systems, which requires high temporal and spatial resolution datasets. The U.S. Geological Survey worked in collaboration with members of the Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Analytics at Black Beach, in Falmouth, Massachusetts to explore scientific research demands on UAS technology for topographic and habitat mapping applications. This project explored the application of consumer-grade UAS platforms as a cost-effective alternative to lidar and aerial/satellite imagery to support coastal studies requiring high-resolution elevation or remote sensing data. A small UAS was used to capture low-altitude photographs and GPS devices were used to survey reference points. These data were processed in an SfM workflow to create an elevation point cloud, an orthomosaic image, and a digital elevation model.
These images were collected for use with photogrammetric techniques to derive topographic and visual reflectance products.
For more information regarding field activity 2016-010-FA, see https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2016-010-FA.
20160318
ground condition
None planned
-70.6452
-70.639
41.5871
41.5826
USGS Metadata Identifier
USGS:59b00e05e4b020cdf7d4db3e
None
U.S. Geological Survey
USGS
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
WHCMSC
Coastal and Marine Geology Program
CMGP
aerial images
unmanned aerial system
UAS
drone
ground control point
targets
field activity number 2016-010-FA
Airborne imagery
DJI Phantom 3
JPEG images
ISO 19115 Topic Category
imageryBaseMapsEarthCover
USGS Thesaurus
aerial photography
geospatial datasets
None
Atlantic Ocean
Cape Cod
Barnstable
Massachusetts
Falmouth
Black Beach
Great Sippewissett Marsh
Great Sippewissett Inlet
Buzzards Bay
none
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.
U.S. Geological Survey
Emily J. Sturdivant
mailing and physical address
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole
Massachusetts
02543-1598
USA
508-548-8700 x2230
508-457-2310
esturdivant@usgs.gov
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/59b00e05e4b020cdf7d4db3e/?name=bb20160318_UAS_images_browse.JPG
Example section of image acquired by DJI Phantom 3 on 18 March 2016 at Black Beach, Falmouth, MA. Section includes a target used for ground control.
JPEG
Consistency checks were performed by comparing the images with the information recorded in the EXIF header and by displaying camera positions over a map of the study area. The images and map aligned in a consistent manner. Geographic coordinates are referenced to WGS84 and altitudes are in feet above mean sea level. Image filenames take the form of nnnnnnnFA__fnncnn_yyyymmddThhmmssZ_DJI_nnnn.JPG, where nnnnnnnFA is the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center’s field activity number; fnncnn is the flight number and camera number specific to the survey; yyyymmddThhmmssZ is the date and time (UTC) in format year, month, day, T, hours, minutes, seconds; and DJI_nnnn is the original filename.
The dataset contains 250 images collected by the DJI Phantom. The first four images were removed because they were taken before the DJI had arrived at the survey starting point. The ground area captured is approximately 17.5 hectares over the outlet of Great Sippewissett Marsh. The UAS flew 15 transects spaced 30 m apart across the width of the survey site (east-west oriented) at an altitude of 35 m with photos automatically taken every 20 meters (~17 photos per transect). This design ensured an overlap of 80 percent between photos and an image resolution of 2.5 cm.
Camera position at the time of image capture were acquired through GPS and GLONASS positioning. Horizontal locations are nominally accurate within approximately 3 meters. Navigation is stored in the EXIF header of the image in geographic coordinates in the GPS reference frame (WGS84).
Camera position at the time of image capture was acquired through GPS and GLONASS positioning. Vertical locations are stored in the EXIF header of the image. These values are less accurate than horizontal positions and are nominally accurate within approximately 10 feet.
A DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter with onboard camera, which uses a Sony EXMOR 1/2.3" sensor, was operated through a tablet computer for flight programming and control. The flight was conducted by Simon Miner of Woods Hole Analytics using Maps Made Easy (MME; https://www.mapsmadeeasy.com; Automotive Data Research) for route design and automated flight programming, including camera shutter control and vehicle return for battery replacement. Photographs were collected in JPEG format by the built-in camera on the DJI and capture information was stored in the accompanying Exchangeable Image File (EXIF). The camera model is FC300X with a lens F-number of f/2.8. All images had dimensions of 4000 x 3000 pixels x 24 bits and were saved in JPEG format. The approximate camera position at the time of each photograph was measured by a GPS receiver onboard the UAS and recorded in the image EXIF data. All activities were conducted according to Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Images were collected between approximately 1101 EDT at the most southwestern point and 1129 EDT at the most northeastern point. The survey was timed to correspond to the time of local low tide. Weather conditions included sunny skies, with winds of about 10.3 m/s. The DJI captured an image approximately every 20 meters in 15 east-west transects spaced 30 m apart at an altitude of 35 m (115 feet). This design ensured an image resolution of 2.5 cm and an overlap of 80 percent between photos. The images were downloaded from the camera on the day of flight.
20160318
U.S. Geological Survey
Emily J. Sturdivant
Geographer
mailing and physical address
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole
Massachusetts
02543-1598
508-548-8700 x22630
508-457-2310
esturdivant@usgs.gov
ExifTool (version 10.43) was run to write standard distribution information to the headers of each full-resolution JPEG image. The following tags were populated in the JPEG image headers. Information is duplicated in some tags. Multiple, overlapping tags are employed to make the images work in a variety of software packages. Every image in this collection was populated with the same content for the following tags. The tag name and content is listed with the tag type below:
JPEG tags:
>Comment: Low-altitude aerial photograph of Black Beach, Falmouth, MA from survey 2016-010-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2016-010-FA).
EXIF tags:
>ImageDescription: Low-altitude aerial photograph of Black Beach, Falmouth, MA from survey 2016-010-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2016-010-FA).
>Artist: Woods Hole Analytics, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey
>Copyright: Public Domain. Please credit Woods Hole Analytics, in collaboration with Marine Biological Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey
IPTC tags:
>Credit: Woods Hole Analytics, in collaboration with Marine Biological Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey
>Contact: WHSC_data_contact@usgs.gov
>Keywords: Black Beach, Great Sippewissett Marsh, Falmouth, Massachusetts, 2016-010-FA, UAS, nadir, USGS
>CopyrightNotice: Public Domain. Please credit Woods Hole Analytics, in collaboration with Marine Biological Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey
>Caption-Abstract: Low-altitude aerial photograph of Black Beach, Falmouth, MA from survey 2016-010-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2016-010-FA).
2015 XMP tags:
>Caption: Low-altitude aerial photograph of Black Beach, Falmouth, MA from survey 2016-010-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2016-010-FA).
Also using ExifTool, the original filename (e.g. DJI_0001.jpg) was written to the EXIF tag OriginalFileName. Once the original filename was saved, the image files were renamed to the format of nnnnnnnFA__fnncnn_yyyymmddThhmmssZ_DJI_nnnn.JPG, where nnnnnnnFA is the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center’s field activity number; fnncnn is the flight number and camera number specific to the survey; yyyymmddThhmmssZ is the date and time (UTC) in format year, month, day, T, hours, minutes, seconds; and DJI_nnnn is the original filename.
To extract the information from the image headers using ExifTool, the following command can be used (tested with ExifTool version 9.4.6.0): exiftool.exe -csv -f -filename -DateTimeOriginal -GPSLongitude -GPSLatitude -n -Artist -Credit -comment –Contact -keywords -Caption -Copyright -CopyrightNotice -Caption-Abstract -ImageDescription *.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.
20170221
U.S. Geological Survey
Emily J. Sturdivant
Geographer
mailing and physical address
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole
Massachusetts
02543-1598
508-548-8700 x22630
508-457-2310
esturdivant@usgs.gov
Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword.
20200807
U.S. Geological Survey
VeeAnn A. Cross
Marine Geologist
Mailing and Physical
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole
MA
02543-1598
508-548-8700 x2251
508-457-2310
vatnipp@usgs.gov
0.000001
0.000001
Decimal degrees
World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84)
WGS 84
6378137
298.257223563
Mean sea level
0.01
feet
Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
Photograph capture information is stored in Exchangeable Image File Format version 2.3 (EXIF). The EXIF data logged by the UAS camera record parameters specific to each photo, including date, time, camera exposure, latitude, longitude, altitude, and pitch, roll, and yaw values. The dates and times were recorded in the tags DateTime, DateTimeDigitized, and DateTimeOriginal in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). GPS data were logged in WGS 1984 in the tags with the GPS prefix (e.g. GPSLatitude). UAS rotation was recorded in the XMP tags FlightPitchDegree, FlightRollDegree, and FlightYawDegree. All images had dimensions of 4000 x 3000 pixels x 24 bits and were saved as JPEG format.
To extract the information from the image headers using ExifTool, the following command can be used (tested with ExifTool version 9.4.6.0): exiftool.exe -csv -f -filename -DateTimeOriginal -GPSLatitude -GPSLongitude -n -GPSAltitude -FlightPitchDegree -FlightRollDegree -FlightYawDegree *.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.
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
mailing and physical address
Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
Denver
CO
80225
1-888-275-8747
sciencebase@usgs.gov
The zip file contains 250 images collected from the UAS and accompanying FGDC CSDGM metadata. Each JPEG image file includes EXIF header information.
Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, the USGS, the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole Analytics, 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.
JPEG
The zip file contains 250 images and the FGDC CSDGM metadata.
Use WinZip, 7zip, Peazip or pkUnzip
1340
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/59b00e05e4b020cdf7d4db3e/?name=bb20160318_UAS_images.zip
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/59b00e05e4b020cdf7d4db3e
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/59b00e05e4b020cdf7d4db3e
https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KW5F04
The first link is a direct link to download the zipped file of images and metadata. The second link is to the page containing the data. The third is a direct link to download all the contents of the page containing the data as a zipped file. And the final link is to the publication landing page. To download the data, it's recommended that you go to the website and take advantage of the large file handler. The individual zip files will download, but at a much slower rate.
none
These files require software capable of extracting compressed data and viewing JPEG files and, if desired, capable or reading the associated header information.
20211119
U.S. Geological Survey
Emily J. Sturdivant
mailing and physical address
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole
Massachusetts
02543-1598
508-548-8700 x2230
508-457-2310
whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov
The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the metadata contact is no longer with the USGS or the email is otherwise invalid.
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998