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Terrestrial Lidar Data of New Orleans, Louisiana Levee Failures From Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Terrestrial Lidar Data of New Orleans, Louisiana Levee Failures From Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005
Abstract:
Provides topographic point data of levees and surrounding terrain
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activities from which this data set was derived are available online from the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology InfoBank at <http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/n/no105la/html/n-o1-05-la.meta.html> and at <http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/n/no106la/html/n-o1-06-la.meta.html>.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    USGS, 2009, Terrestrial Lidar Data of New Orleans, Louisiana Levee Failures From Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005: Data Series 470, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Earth Surface Processes Team, Menlo Park, CA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Collins, Brian D. , Kayen, Robert, Minasian, Diane, and Reiss, Thomas, 2009, Terrestrial Lidar Data of New Orleans, Louisiana Levee Failures From Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005: Data Series 470, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Earth Surface Processes Team, Menlo Park, CA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -90.124093
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -89.932038
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.037132
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.968044

  3. What does it look like?

    <https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/470/> (JPEG)
    Figure 2 shows the lidar data locations. Figures 7 through 14 show the data coverage available at each site.

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 09-Oct-2005
    Ending_Date: 13-Oct-2005
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  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):

      • Entity point (134275229 points describe the full set of points. )

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 15
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -123.00000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.00000
      False_Easting: 0.00000
      False_Northing: 0.00000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83).
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88)
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.000001
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Points
    points are provided for each scan location at each site in an individual file. (Source: USGS)

    X-Coord
    UTM X coordinate of data points (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:777339.460000 in UTM Zone 15 and 212739.727000 in UTM Zone 16
    Maximum:787837.789000 in UTM Zone 15 and 217239.095000 in UTM Zone 16
    Units:meters
    Resolution:0.000001

    Y-Coord
    UTM Y coordinate of data points (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:3318891.593000 in UTM Zone 15 and 3322662.927000 in UTM Zone 16
    Maximum:3326583.748000 in UTM Zone 15 and 3323708.316000 in UTM Zone 16
    Units:meters
    Resolution:0.000001

    Z-Coord
    Elevation Z coordinate of data points (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:approx. -8.000000
    Maximum:99.527000
    Units:meters
    Resolution:0.000001

    Red
    Red color value of each point from color sensor (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:255
    Units:8-bit integer color value
    Resolution:1

    Green
    Green color value of each point from color sensor (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:255
    Units:8-bit integer color value
    Resolution:1

    Blue
    Blue color value of each point from color sensor (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:255
    Units:8-bit integer color value
    Resolution:1

    Intensity
    Intensity value of each point from color sensor (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:2999
    Units:arbitrary scale factor
    Resolution:1

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Brian D. Collins
    USGS, Mail Stop 973, 345 Middlefield Road
    Menlo Park, CA 94025
    USA

    (650) 329-5466 (voice)
    bcollins@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This data set was developed to present topographic point data of the post-failure condition of levee failures in New Orleans, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. The data sets can be used by engineers, scientists, and GIS specialists to inform public officials, policy makers, and the general public.

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: 2006 (process 1 of 1)
    The terrestrial lidar data was collected from between 7 and 28 scan locations at each site. Each scan location within a single site was registered to a neighboring scan location within the same site with overlapping data. All scan locations were georeferenced to GPS- surveyed coordinates from each location that formed visible features within the point cloud data. The data was filtered only for stray returns from atmospheric dust, moisture, birds, etc. and anomolouos reflections from water.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Brian D. Collins
    USGS, Mail Stop 973, 345 Middlefield Road
    Menlo Park, CA 94025
    USA

    (650) 329-5466 (voice)
    bcollins@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?

    Lidar-derived points are accurate to between 11 and 164 centimeters depending on the particular data set.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Lidar-derived points are accurate to between 11 and 164 centimeters, measured as three-dimensional error. This includes 2.5 cm laser error, between 7.2 and 16.3 cm registration error, and between 3.1 and 163.5 cm georeferencing error.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Lidar-derived points are accurate to between 11 and 164 centimeters, measured as three-dimensional error. This includes 2.5 cm laser error, between 7.2 and 16.3 cm registration error, and between 3.1 and 163.5 cm georeferencing error.

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    Ommissions and gaps in data reflect data out of view or range of the laser scanner at time of data acquisition.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Point data has been visually examined and compared to other data sets of the area to assure logical consistency.

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 atttribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the source of this information.

Some USGS information accessed through this means may be preliminary in nature and presented without the approval of the Director of the USGS. This information is provided with the understanding that it is not guaranteed to be correct or complete and conclusions drawn from such information are the responsibility of the user.

This information is not intended for navigational purposes.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Brian D. Collins
    USGS, Mail Stop 973, 345 Middlefield Road
    Menlo Park, CA 94025
    USA

    (650) 329-5466 (voice)
    bcollins@usgs.gov

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this dataset has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. 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. Reference made to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 23-Jun-2009
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Brian D. Collins
USGS, Mail Stop 973, 345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
USA

(650) 329-5466 (voice)
bcollins@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

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URL: https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/470/
Maintained by: Mike Diggles
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