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Data Series 525
EAARL Coastal       Topography�Gateway National Recreation Area, New Jersey and New York,       2009
Project             Description

These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation             measurements of lidar-derived bare-earth             (BE) and first-surface (FS) topography datasets were produced             collaboratively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center,             St. Petersburg, FL; the National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Coastal and             Barrier Network, Kingston, RI; and             the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),             Wallops Flight Facility, VA.

This project provides highly detailed and accurate datasets of a             portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey and             New York, acquired July 8-9, 2009. The datasets are made available             for use as a management tool to research scientists and             natural-resource managers. An innovative airborne lidar instrument             originally developed at the 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. 

Elevation measurements were collected over the survey area using             the EAARL             system, and the resulting data were then processed using the             Airborne Lidar             Processing System (ALPS), a             custom-built processing system developed in a NASA-USGS collaboration. ALPS supports the             exploration and processing of lidar data in an             interactive or batch mode. Modules for presurvey flight-line             definition, flight-path plotting, lidar raster and waveform             investigation, and digital camera image playback have been             developed. Processing algorithms have been developed to extract the             range to the first and last significant return within each waveform.             ALPS is used             routinely to create maps that represent submerged or sub-aerial             topography. Specialized filtering algorithms have been implemented             to determine the "bare earth" under vegetation from a point cloud of             last return elevations.

For more information about similar projects, please visit the Decision Support for             Coastal Science and Management website.

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.             (Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1456/.) 

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.

Resources Included

Readme.txt   File

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