EAARL Coastal Topography and Imagery--Western Louisiana, Post-Hurricane Rita, 2005: First Surface U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 720 By Jamie M. Bonisteel-Cormier(1), C.W. Wright(1), Xan Fredericks(2), Emily S. Klipp(2), D.B. Nagle(1), A.H. Sallenger(1), and J.C. Brock(3) (1)U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL. (2)Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions, St. Petersburg, FL. (3)U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Reston, VA. README CONTENTS Disclaimer System Requirements Project Summary Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) Organization Getting Started Contact Selected References DISCLAIMER Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The USGS shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data describe and/or contained herein. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS This DVD can be successfully accessed on computer systems utilizing the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX. PROJECT SUMMARY These remotely sensed, geographically referenced color-infrared (CIR) imagery and elevation measurements of lidar-derived first-surface (FS) topography Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets were produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, Fla; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility, Va. Applications of high-resolution topography include (but are not limited to) habitat mapping, ecological monitoring, change detection, and event assessment. This project provides highly detailed and accurate datasets of a portion of the Louisiana coastline beachface, acquired post-Hurricane Rita on September 27-28 and October 2, 2005. The datasets are made available for use as a management tool to research scientists and natural-resource managers. An innovative airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) instrument originally developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility, and known as the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), was used during data acquisition. The EAARL system is a raster-scanning, waveform-resolving, green-wavelength (532-nanometer) lidar designed to map near-shore bathymetry, topography, and vegetation structure simultaneously. The EAARL sensor suite includes the raster-scanning, water-penetrating full-waveform adaptive lidar, a down-looking red-green-blue (RGB) digital camera, a high-resolution multispectral color-infrared (CIR) camera, two precision dual-frequency kinematic carrier-phase GPS receivers, and an integrated miniature digital inertial measurement unit, which provide for sub-meter georeferencing of each laser sample. The nominal EAARL platform is a twin-engine Cessna 310 aircraft, but the instrument may be deployed on a range of light aircraft. A single pilot, a lidar operator, and a data analyst constitute the crew for most survey operations. This sensor has the potential to make significant contributions in measuring sub-aerial and submarine coastal topography within cross-environmental surveys. DVD ORGANIZATION There are three top-level files and four top-level directories contained on this DVD. The top-level files are: 1. index.html - This file is intended to be the starting point for DVD access. It is written in the Hypertext Markup Language utilized by the World Wide Web (WWW) project and must be opened with a Web browser. Once opened, the user may browse the DVD's contents as one would browse pages from the WWW. 2. readme.txt - This file. 3. autorun.inf - This file is used by Windows systems and indicates which file to open and how to treat the contents of the DVD. The top-level directories are: 1. Directory html/ - This directory contains the HTML files and supporting graphics to allow the user access to the DVD via any Web browser. This directory includes the following subdirectories: tile_htmls/ - contains the HTML page used for each tile's image and links. styles/ - contains style sheets used in the formatting of the HTML pages. images/ - contains images used in the formatting of the HTML pages and contains one subdirectory: jpeg_tiles/ - contains the map tile images used on each tile's HTML page. 2. Directory data_files/ - This directory contains two subdirectories: cir/ - contains the imagery PNGs, as well as their corresponding projection and metadata files, for the CIR imagery organized into subdirectories listed by their easting and northing position, as well as UTM Zone as follows: cir_e123_n4567_15 fs/ - contains the data GeoTIFFs, .xyz, and .las files, as well as their corresponding metadata files, for the first-surface topography data organized into subdirectories listed by their easting and northing position, as well as UTM Zone as follows: fs_e123_n4567_15/ 3. Directory metadata/ - This directory contains a general metadata file in .xml and .txt formats to act as a general reference. 4. Directory extras/ - This directory contains one subdirectory: tile_extents/ - contains the shapefile of the tile extents, which is referenced on the 'index.html' page, as well as the corresponding projection and metadata files. GETTING STARTED If the HTML file does not open automatically, open the 'index.html' file, located at the top-level directory on this DVD, either by double-clicking on it or by opening it directly from your browser menu. CONTACT Xan Fredericks CNTS, U.S. Geological Survey 600 4th Street South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Ph: (727) 803-8747 (x3086) FAX: (727) 803-2032 afredericks@usgs.gov SELECTED REFERENCES Brock, J.C., Wright, C.W., Sallenger, A.H., Krabill, W.B., and Swift, R.N., 2002, Basis and methods of NASA airborne topographic mapper Lidar surveys for coastal studies: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 18, no. 1, p. 1-13. Crane, Michael, Clayton, Tonya, Raabe, Ellen, Stoker, Jason, Handley, Larry, Bawden, Gerald, Morgan, Karen, and Queija, Vivian, 2004, Report of the U.S. Geological Survey Lidar workshop sponsored by the Land Remote Sensing Program and held in St. Petersburg, FL, November 2002: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1456, 72 p. Nayegandhi, Amar, Brock, J.C., and Wright, C.W., 2009, Small-footprint, waveform-resolving Lidar estimation of submerged and sub-canopy topography in coastal environments: International Journal of Remote Sensing, v. 30, no. 4, p. 861-878. Sallenger, A.H., Wright, C.W., and Lillycrop, Jeff, 2005, Coastal impacts of the 2004 hurricanes measured with airborne Lidar; initial results: Shore and Beach, v. 73, nos. 2-3, p. 10-14.