EAARL Coastal Topography–Northern Gulf of Mexicoremote-sensing image20081027U.S. Geological Survey Data Series384Saint Petersburg, FLU.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological Survey0900firstASCII xyz point cloud data were produced from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Elevation measurements were collected over the area using the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), a pulsed laser ranging system mounted onboard an aircraft to measure ground elevation, vegetation canopy, and coastal topography. The system uses high-frequency laser beams directed at the Earth's surface through an opening in the bottom of the aircraft's fuselage. The laser system records the time difference between emission of the laser beam and the reception of the reflected laser signal in the aircraft. The plane travels over the target area at approximately 50 meters per second at an elevation of approximately 300 meters. The EAARL, developed by NASA at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, measures ground elevation with a vertical resolution of 15 centimeters. A sampling rate of 3 kilohertz or higher results in an extremely dense spatial elevation dataset. Over 100 kilometers of coastline can be easily surveyed within a 3- to 4-hour mission time period. When subsequent elevation maps for an area are analyzed, they provide a useful tool to make management decisions regarding land development.The ASCII elevation data can be used to create raster Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The purpose of this project is to produce highly detailed and accurate digital elevation maps of the post-Hurricane Ivan data for use as a management tool and to make these data available to natural resource managers and research scientists.Raw Lidar data are not in a format that is generally usable by resource managers and scientists. Converting dense Lidar elevation data into a readily usable format without loss of essential information requires specialized processing. The U.S. Geological Survey's Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG) Program has developed custom software to convert raw Lidar data into a GIS-compatible map product to be provided to GIS specialists, managers, and scientists. The primary tool used in the conversion process is Advanced Lidar Processing System (ALPS), a multi-tiered processing system developed by a USGS-NASA collaborative project. Specialized processing algorithms are used to convert raw waveform Lidar data acquired by the EAARL to georeferenced spot (x,y,z) returns for "first surface" and "bare earth" topography. These data are then converted to the North American Datum of 1983 and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (using the Geoid 03 model). The files are in the Quarter-Quad tiling format and the exact tile location is contained in the filename at n88_########_mf_fs, where ####### is the Quarter-Quad tile ID.
The development of custom software for creating these data products has been supported by the USGS CMG Program's Decision Support for Coastal Parks, Sanctuaries, and Preserves project. Processed data products are used by the USGS CMG Program's National Assessments of Coastal Change Hazards project to quantify the vulnerability of shorelines to coastal change hazards such as severe storms, sea-level rise, and shoreline erosion and retreat.en20040919ground conditionNone planned3.61698081449819 E+53.5559299404396 E+53.34043521561394 E+63.34743971574422 E+6LidarExperimental Advanced Airborne Research LidarEAARLDigital Elevation Modelelevation changelaser altimetryderived surfaceresource managementALPSAdvanced Lidar Processing SystemHurricanesIvanhttp://remotesensing.usgs.govFloridaMississippiAlabamahttp://nationalmap.govFirst surfacehttp://lidar.cr.usgs.gov/2004http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/1104/temporal.htmlNoneThe U.S. Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration request to be acknowledged as originators of the data in future products or derivative research.Computer Scientistmailing and physical address600 4th Street SouthSaint PetersburgFL33701USA727-803-8747 (x3026)anayegandhi@usgs.govM-F, 8:00-5:00 ESTjbrock@usgs.govAmar Nayegandhi or John Brock at USGSJacobs Technology, contracted to USGSAcknowledgement of the U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Integrated Science Center, as a data source would be appreciated in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgement as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of this data. Sharing new data layers developed directly from these data would also be appreciated by the U.S. Geological Survey staff. Users should be aware that comparisons with other datasets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in photointerpretation, mapping conventions, and digital processes over time. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such.Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcMap 9.2.2.135020081029Small footprint, waveform-resolving Lidar estimation of submerged and subcanopy topography in coastal environmentsInternational Journal of Remote SensingNayegandhi, A., Brock, J.C., Wright, C.W2002Basis and methods of NASA Airborne Topographic Mapper lidar surveys for coastal studies18(1), p. 1-13Journal of Coastal Research18(1), p. 1-13Brock, J.C., Wright, C.W., Sallenger, A.H., Krabill, W.B., and Swift, R.N.Sallenger, A.H., Wright, C.W., and Lillycrop, J.2005Coastal impacts of the 2004 hurricanes measured with airborne lidar; initial results73(2-3), p. 10-14Shore and Beach73(2-3), p. 10-14Point DataUnclassifiedUnclassifiedNoneThe expected accuracy of the measured variables is as follows: attitude within 0.07 degree, 3 cm nominal laser ranging accuracy, and vertical elevation accuracy of +/-15 cm for the topographic surface. Quality checks are built into the data-processing software.Raw elevation measurements have been determined to be within 1 meter horizontal accuracy.Elevations of the DEM are vertically consistent with the point elevation data, +/-15 cm.20040919ground conditionPoint elevation measurements collected by the EAARL sensor.variesThe data are collected using a Cessna 310 aircraft. The NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) laser scanner collects the data using a green (532-nm) raster scanning laser, while a digital camera acquires a visual record of the flight. The data are stored on hard drives and archived at the U.S. Geological Survey, FISC, St. Petersburg, Florida office and the NASA office at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The navigational data are processed at Wallops Flight Facility. The navigational and raw data are then downloaded into the Advanced Lidar Processing System (ALPS). Data are converted from units of time to x,y,z points for elevation. The derived surface data can then be converted into raster data (GeoTIFFs).20060505-20071201mailing and physical address600 4th Street SouthSaint PetersburgFL33701USA727-803-8747 (x3026)M-F, 8:00-5:00 ESTanayegandhi@usgs.govComputer ScientistAmar NayegandhiJacobs Technology, U.S. Geological Survey, FISC, St. Petersburg, FLMetadata imported into ArcCatalog from XML file.mailing and physical address600 4th Street SouthSaint PetersburgFL33701USA727-803-8747U. S. Geological SurveyMetadata SpecialistMetadata SpecialistESRI ArcCatalog 9.2.2.135020080310variescomputer program20040919Several regions of the dataset are labeled as "No Data". These "No Data" areas are a result of the survey not covering a particular region, optical water depth of greater than 1.5 Secchi disc depths, or the manual removal of lidar processing artifacts.The files are in the Quarter-Quad tiling format and the exact tile location is contained in the filename at n88_########_mf_fs, where ####### is the Quarter-Quad tile ID.
See QQ_naming_convention.doc in the 'extras' directory.Pointrow and column2.0000002.000000metersUniversal Transverse Mercator160.999600-87.0000000.000000500000.0000000.000000North American Datum of 1983Geodetic Reference System 806378137.000000298.257222GCS_North_American_1983NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_16NNorth American Vertical Datum of 19880.15mmetersExplicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinatesThe variables measured by EAARL are distance between aircraft and GPS satellites (m), attitude information (roll, pitch, heading in degrees), scan angle (degrees), second of the epoch (sec), and 1ns time-resolved return intensity waveform (digital counts). Z value is referenced to orthometric elevations derived from National Geodetic Survey Geoid Model, Geoid03.These are point elevation data obtained using the EAARL sensor on 20040919 following Hurricane Ivan's landfall on 20040916.Binary lidar data file for xyz data points.Project Managermailing address600 4th Street SouthSaint PetersburgFL33701USA727-803-8747M-F, 8:00-5:00 ESTU.S. Geological SurveyProject ManagerDS_384This DVD 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 herin 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.VaryContact U.S. Geological SurveyVaryBINARYASPRS LAS1.2DVDDVDContact U.S. Geological Survey for details.2004091920080728mailing address600 4th Street SouthSaint PetersburgFL33701USA727-803-8747Metadata SpecialistMetadata SpecialistU.S. Geological SurveyM-F, 8:00-5:00 ESTFGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial MetadataFGDC-STD-001-1998local timeenhttp://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.htmlESRI Metadata Profile20100127093749002008052114441900FALSE2008043013465800{49A46F20-1C30-46CB-9EC6-0907FB8B1A7E}20100127Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.2.2.1350n88_30088b4c_mf_fs.las3.61698081449819 E+53.5559299404396 E+53.34743971574422 E+63.34043521561394 E+61-8.850 E+1-8.843750 E+13.025 E+13.01875 E+11ISO 19115 Geographic Information - MetadataDIS_ESRI1.0dataset0.000Raster DatasetNAD_1983_UTM_Zone_16211732Meter1 Meter = 1 Meter(s)1062Meter1 Meter = 1 Meter(s)