Metadata:
  Identification_Information:
    Citation:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
        Publication_Date: 2013
        Title: Coastal Topography--Northeast Atlantic Coast, Post-Hurricane Sandy, 2012: Lidar point-cloud data (LAS)
        Edition: first
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: binary point cloud
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series
          Issue_Identification: 765
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
          Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
        Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765
    Description:
      Abstract: Binary point-cloud data were produced for a portion of the New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina coastlines, post-Hurricane Sandy (Sandy was an October 2012 hurricane that made landfall as an extratropical cyclone on the 29th), from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements collected by Photo Science, Inc. (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina) and Woolpert, Inc. (Fire Island, New York) using airborne lidar sensors.
      Purpose: The purpose of this project was to derive mean-high-water shoreline, dune crest (DHIGH) and dune toe (DLOW) elevation for a portion of the Eastern United States coastline following Hurricane Sandy, for use as a management tool and to make these data available to natural-resource managers and research scientists.
      Supplemental_Information: Processed data products are used by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology 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.
    Time_Period_of_Content:
      Time_Period_Information:
        Multiple_Dates/Times:
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121105
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121108
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121109
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121110
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121111
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121112
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121116
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121126
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121128
          Single_Date/Time:
            Calendar_Date: 20121129
      Currentness_Reference: ground condition
    Status:
      Progress: Complete
      Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
    Spatial_Domain:
      Bounding_Coordinates:
        West_Bounding_Coordinate: -78.82552783
        East_Bounding_Coordinate: -72.69471375
        North_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.81276256
        South_Bounding_Coordinate: 34.55736585
    Keywords:
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
        Theme_Keyword: elevation
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
        Theme_Keyword: Cessna 206
        Theme_Keyword: Cessna 310
        Theme_Keyword: Dhigh
        Theme_Keyword: Dlow
        Theme_Keyword: Digital Elevation Model
        Theme_Keyword: DEM
        Theme_Keyword: dune crest
        Theme_Keyword: dune toe
        Theme_Keyword: extratropical cyclone
        Theme_Keyword: laser altimetry
        Theme_Keyword: lidar
        Theme_Keyword: remote sensing
        Theme_Keyword: shoreline
        Theme_Keyword: topography
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Global Change Master Science Directory (GCMD)
        Theme_Keyword: LAND SURFACE > TOPOGRAPHY > TERRAIN ELEVATION
        Theme_Keyword: OCEAN > COASTAL PROCESSES > BARRIER ISLANDS
        Theme_Keyword: OCEAN > COASTAL PROCESSES > BEACHES
        Theme_Keyword: OCEAN > COASTAL PROCESSES > SHORELINE DISPLACEMENT
        Theme_Keyword: DOI/USGS/CMG > COASTAL AND MARINE GEOLOGY, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
      Theme:
        Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD Instrument
        Theme_Keyword: LIDAR > LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING
      Place:
        Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System
        Place_Keyword: Delaware
        Place_Keyword: Maryland
        Place_Keyword: Fire Island
        Place_Keyword: Long Island
        Place_Keyword: New York
        Place_Keyword: North Carolina
        Place_Keyword: Virginia
        Place_Keyword: DelMarVa Peninsula
        Place_Keyword: United States
      Stratum:
        Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
        Stratum_Keyword: Bare Earth
      Temporal:
        Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
        Temporal_Keyword: 2012
        Temporal_Keyword: Post-Hurricane Sandy
    Access_Constraints: None
    Use_Constraints: The U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service request to be acknowledged as originators of these data in future products or derivative research.
    Point_of_Contact:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Person_Primary:
          Contact_Person: Hilary Stockdon
          Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
        Contact_Position: Research Oceanographer
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: mailing and physical address
          Address: 600 4th Street South
          City: St. Petersburg
          State_or_Province: FL
          Postal_Code: 33701
          Country: USA
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 (x3074)
        Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2031
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: hstockdon@usgs.gov
        Hours_of_Service: M-F, 9:00-5:00 ET
    Data_Set_Credit: Acknowledgment of the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, as a data source would be appreciated in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices. Sharing of 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.
    Security_Information:
      Security_Classification_System: Unclassified
      Security_Classification: Unclassified
      Security_Handling_Description: None
    Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3000
    Cross_Reference:
      Citation_Information:
        Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
        Publication_Date: 2013
        Title: Coastal Topography--Northeast Atlantic Coast, Post-Hurricane Sandy, 2012: Lidar and digital elevation model (DEM) tile index
        Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
        Series_Information:
          Series_Name: Data Series
          Issue_Identification: 765
        Publication_Information:
          Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
          Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
        Other_Citation_Details: This data represents the tile index for lidar data collected for the U.S. Geological Survey in November 2012 following Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall in the eastern United States on October 29th, 2012. The lidar LAS and derived-digital elevation model (DEM) data are divided into these tiles and filenames match the tile number. The index shows the extent of data collection (portions of the coastline of New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina) and provides tile names to aid in identifying files for data download.
        Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765/extras/tile_extents/Lidar_Tile_Index.zip
  Data_Quality_Information:
    Attribute_Accuracy:
      Attribute_Accuracy_Report: The project area required lidar to be collected on 1-meter ground sample distance (GSD) or better and processed to meet a bare earth vertical accuracy of 12.5-centimeters root mean square error (RMSEz) or better.
    Logical_Consistency_Report:
      Data for Fire Island was visually inspected by Woolpert, Inc. Data for Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina were tested by Photo Science, Inc. for both vertical and horizontal accuracy. Although collected on a tile-by-tile basis, breaklines are merged together to produce a single dataset deliverable.  Checks are done to ensure that the data is seamless from one tile to the next before being combined
      and that breaklines meeting the project requirements have been collected across the entire project area. Combining the breaklines with lidar data to create other deliverables is another check of the data. All data are seamless from one tile to the next, containing no gaps or "no data" areas.
    Completeness_Report: These data span from Long Island, New York to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The State of New Jersey data were collected using the EAARL-B sensor and those data will be published separately.
    Positional_Accuracy:
      Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
        Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Horizontal accuracy is +/- 0.194 meter at the 95% confidence level.
      Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:
        Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Lidar file format (LAS) data were compared to survey control points to determine the FVA of the LAS Swath and of the DEM. LAS Swath Fundamental Vertical Accuracy (FVA) Tested 0.147 m (14.7 cm) fundamental vertical accuracy at a 95 percent confidence level, derived according to NSSDA (National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy), in open terrain using 0.075 m (7.5 cm) (RMSEz x 1.96000), tested against the TIN.
    Lineage:
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: Using an Optech Gemini lidar sensor, 11 flight lines of high-density data, at a nominal pulse spacing (NPS) of 1 meter, were collected by Woolpert along the southern shore of Long Island, New York (approximately 15  square miles). Data Acquisition Height = 3,500 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) - Aircraft Speed = 125 Knots. Multiple returns were recorded for each laser pulse along with an intensity value for each return. A total of one mission was flown on November 5th. Two airborne global positioning system (GPS) base stations were used in support of the lidar data acquisition. Eight ground control points were surveyed through static methods. The GEOID used to reduce satellite-derived elevations to orthometric heights was GEOID96. Data for the task order is referenced to the UTM Zone 18N, North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83), and North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88), in meters. Airborne GPS data was differentially processed and integrated with the post-processed inertial measurement unit (IMU) data to derive a smoothed best estimate of trajectory (SBET). The SBET was used to reduce the lidar slant range measurements to a raw reflective surface for each flight line. The coverage was classified to extract a bare earth digital elevation model (DEM) and separate last returns. In addition to the LAS deliverables, one layer of coverage was delivered in the ERDAS Imagine (IMG) Format: bare earth.
        Process_Date: 20121105
        Process_Contact:
          Contact_Information:
            Contact_Organization_Primary:
              Contact_Organization: Woolpert, Inc.
            Contact_Position: Geospatial Services
            Contact_Address:
              Address_Type: mailing and physical address
              Address: 4454 Idea Center Blvd.
              City: Dayton
              State_or_Province: OH
              Postal_Code: 45430
              Country: USA
            Contact_Voice_Telephone: 937 461-5660
            Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 937 461-0743
            Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-5:00 ET
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: The lidar calibration and system performance are verified on a periodic basis using Woolpert's calibration range. The calibration range consists of a large building and runway. The edges of the building and control points along the runway have been located using conventional survey methods. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) misalignment angles and horizontal accuracy are calculated by comparing the position of the building edges between opposing flight lines. The scanner scale factor and vertical accuracy are calculated through comparison of lidar data against control points along the runway. Field calibration is performed on all flight lines to refine the IMU misalignment angles. IMU misalignment angles are calculated from the relative displacement of features within the overlap region of adjacent (and opposing) flight lines. The raw lidar data are reduced using the refined misalignment angles.
        Process_Date: 2012
        Process_Contact:
          Contact_Information:
            Contact_Organization_Primary:
              Contact_Organization: Woolpert, Inc.
            Contact_Position: Geospatial Services
            Contact_Address:
              Address_Type: mailing and physical address
              Address: 4454 Idea Center Blvd.
              City: Dayton
              State_or_Province: OH
              Postal_Code: 45430
              Country: USA
            Contact_Voice_Telephone: 937 461-5660
            Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 937 461-0743
            Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-5:00 ET
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: Once the data acquisition and GPS processing phases are complete, the lidar data were processed immediately by Woolpert to verify the coverage had no voids. The GPS and IMU data were post-processed using differential and Kalman filter algorithms to derive a best estimate of trajectory. The quality of the solution was verified to be consistent with the accuracy requirements of the project.
        Process_Date: 20121107
        Process_Contact:
          Contact_Information:
            Contact_Organization_Primary:
              Contact_Organization: Woolpert, Inc.
            Contact_Position: Geospatial Services
            Contact_Address:
              Address_Type: mailing and physical address
              Address: 4454 Idea Center Blvd.
              City: Dayton
              State_or_Province: OH
              Postal_Code: 45430
              Country: USA
            Contact_Voice_Telephone: 937 461-5660
            Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 937 461-0743
            Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-5:00 ET
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: The individual flight lines were inspected by Woolpert to ensure the systematic and residual errors have been identified and removed. Then, the flight lines were compared to adjacent flight lines for any mismatches to obtain a homogenous coverage throughout the project area. The point cloud underwent a classification process to determine bare-earth points and non-ground points utilizing "first and only" as well as "last of many" lidar returns. This process determined Default (Class 1), Ground (Class 2), Noise (Class 7), Water (Class 9), Ignored Ground (Class 10), Overlap Default (Class 17), and Overlap Ground (Class 18) classifications. The bare-earth (Class 2 - Ground) lidar points underwent a manual QA/QC step to verify that artifacts have been removed from the bare-earth surface. The surveyed ground control points are used to perform the accuracy checks and statistical analysis of the lidar dataset.
        Process_Date: 20121107
        Process_Contact:
          Contact_Information:
            Contact_Organization_Primary:
              Contact_Organization: Woolpert, Inc.
            Contact_Position: Geospatial Services
            Contact_Address:
              Address_Type: mailing and physical address
              Address: 4454 Idea Center Blvd.
              City: Dayton
              State_or_Province: OH
              Postal_Code: 45430
              Country: USA
            Contact_Voice_Telephone: 937 461-5660
            Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 937 461-0743
            Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-5:00 ET
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description:
          Photo Science, Inc. located a total of 29 calibration control points used in the post processing of the lidar data.  The points were located on relatively flat terrain on surfaces that generally consisted of grass, gravel, or bare earth. Applanix software (PosPAC MMS) was used in the post processing of the airborne GPS and inertial data, which are critical to the positioning and orientation of the sensor during all flights. POSPac MMS provides the smoothed best estimate of trajectory (SBET) that is necessary for the post processor to develop the point cloud from the lidar missions. The point cloud is the mathematical three-dimensional collection of all returns from all laser pulses as determined from the aerial mission. The GEOID used to reduce satellite derived elevations to orthometric heights was GEOID96. Data for the task order is referenced to the UTM Zone 18N, NAD83, and NAVD88, in meters. At this point the data are ready for analysis, classification, and filtering to generate a bare-earth surface model in which the above ground features are removed from the data set. The point cloud was manipulated by the Optech or Leica software; GeoCue, TerraScan, and TerraModeler software were used for the automated data classification, manual cleanup, and bare-earth generation from the data. Project specific macros were used to classify the ground and to remove the side overlap between parallel flight lines.
          All data were manually reviewed and any remaining artifacts removed using functionality provided by TerraScan and TerraModeler.
          All ground (ASPRS Class 2) lidar data inside of the Lake Pond and Double Line Drain hydro flattening breaklines were then classified to water (ASPRS Class 9) using TerraScan macro functionality.  All Lake Pond and Double Line Drain Island features were checked to ensure that the ground (ASPRS Class 2) were reclassified to the correct classification after the automated classification was completed.
          All overlap data were processed through automated functionality provided by TerraScan to classify the overlapping flight line data to approved classes by USGS. The overlap data were classified to Class 17 (USGS Overlap Default) and Class 18 (USGS Overlap Ground). These classes were created through automated processes only and were not verified for classification accuracy.
          Data were then run through additional macros to ensure deliverable classification levels matching the ASPRS LAS Version 1.2 Classification structure.  GeoCue functionality was then used to ensure correct LAS Versioning.  In-house software was used as a final QA/QC check to provide LAS Analysis of the delivered tiles. QA/QC checks were performed on a per tile level to verify final classification metrics and full LAS header information.
        Process_Date: 2012
        Process_Contact:
          Contact_Information:
            Contact_Organization_Primary:
              Contact_Organization: Photo Science, Inc.
            Contact_Position: Geospatial Services
            Contact_Address:
              Address_Type: mailing and physical address
              Address: 4454 Idea Center Blvd.
              City: Lexington
              State_or_Province: KY
              Postal_Code: 40503
              Country: USA
            Contact_Voice_Telephone: 859 277-8700
            Hours_of_Service: M-F, 9:00-5:00 ET
      Process_Step:
        Process_Description: All Woolpert, Inc. LAZ files were extracted to LAS and converted to ASCII xyz point files using LASTools las2las.exe. The ASCII point files were then written to netcdf format using MATLAB 8.0.0.783.
        Process_Date: 20130222 through 20130227
        Process_Contact:
          Contact_Information:
            Contact_Person_Primary:
              Contact_Person: Kristin Sopkin
              Contact_Organization: Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
            Contact_Position: Data Modeler/Analyst
            Contact_Address:
              Address_Type: mailing and physical address
              Address: 600 4th Street South
              City: St. Petersburg
              State_or_Province: FL
              Postal_Code: 33701
              Country: USA
            Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 (x3141)
            Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ksopkin@usgs.gov
            Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-4:00 ET
  Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
    Indirect_Spatial_Reference: Tile index
    Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Point
    Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
      SDTS_Terms_Description:
        SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Point
  Spatial_Reference_Information:
    Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Planar:
        Grid_Coordinate_System:
          Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
          Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
            UTM_Zone_Number: 18
            Transverse_Mercator:
              Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
              Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -75.000000
              Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0
              False_Easting: 500000.000000
              False_Northing: 0
        Planar_Coordinate_Information:
          Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: row and column
          Coordinate_Representation:
            Abscissa_Resolution: 1.00000
            Ordinate_Resolution: 1.00000
          Planar_Distance_Units: meters
      Geodetic_Model:
        Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983
        Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80
        Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000
        Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.25722210100002
    Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
        Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (GEOID96)
        Altitude_Resolution: 0.15
        Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
        Altitude_Encoding_Method: Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates and referenced to GEOID96
  Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
    Overview_Description:
      Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: Each LAS file contains the following fields for each point: Northing, Easting, Elevation, Class, Intensity, Flight Line Number. The class field is defined as: Class 1 (Default) - mixture of the remaining points after the ground classification. These would contain bridges, overpasses, buildings, cars, parts of vegetation, etc; Class 2 (Ground) - bare earth surface. They are from the automated processing, as well as the manual surface review; Class 7 (Noise); Class 9 (Water) - inside of hydrographic features, as collected by photogrammetric methods. These are from automated processing, as well as the manual surface review; Class 10 (Ignored Ground); Class 17 (Overlap Default); and Class 18 (Overlaps Ground).
      Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: The attributes and classifications met contract specifications.
  Distribution_Information:
    Distributor:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Organization_Primary:
          Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
          Contact_Person: Hilary Stockdon
        Contact_Position: Research Oceanographer
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: mailing and physical address
          Address: 600 4th Street South
          City: St. Petersburg
          State_or_Province: FL
          Postal_Code: 33701
          Country: USA
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 (x3074)
        Hours_of_Service: M-F, 9:00-5:00 ET
    Resource_Description: DS 765
    Distribution_Liability: Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the 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 described 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.
    Standard_Order_Process:
      Digital_Form:
        Digital_Transfer_Information:
          Format_Name: LAS; ZIP
          Format_Version_Number: 1
          Format_Specification: The lidar LAS files with metadata are compressed into a zip file by tile number within their respective state folders. To identify state and tile number see Cross Reference "Tile Index".
        Digital_Transfer_Option:
          Online_Option:
            Computer_Contact_Information:
              Network_Address:
                Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765/data/Delaware/LAS/
                Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765/data/Maryland/LAS/
                Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765/data/Virginia/LAS/
                Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765/data/North_Carolina/LAS/
                Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/765/data/New_York/LAS/
      Fees: None, if obtained online; otherwise, prices vary.
      Ordering_Instructions: Publications are available from USGS Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 (telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS, e-mail: infoservices@usgs.gov).
  Metadata_Reference_Information:
    Metadata_Date: 20130415
    Metadata_Contact:
      Contact_Information:
        Contact_Person_Primary:
          Contact_Person: Xan Fredericks
          Contact_Organization: Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
        Contact_Position: Lidar Validation and Processing Analyst
        Contact_Address:
          Address_Type: mailing and physical address
          Address: 600 4th Street South
          City: St. Petersburg
          State_or_Province: FL
          Postal_Code: 33701
          Country: USA
        Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 (x3086)
        Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: afredericks@usgs.gov
        Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-4:00 ET
    Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
    Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
    Metadata_Time_Convention: local time
    Metadata_Extensions:
      Online_Linkage: http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html
      Profile_Name: ESRI Metadata Profile