Identification_Information:
  Citation:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
      Publication_Date: 2013
      Title: EAARL Coastal Topography and Imagery--Western Louisiana, Post-Hurricane Rita, 2005: First Surface
      Edition: first
      Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image
      Series_Information:
        Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series
        Issue_Identification: 720
      Publication_Information:
        Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
        Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
  Description:
    Abstract: ASCII xyz and binary point-cloud data, as well as a digital elevation model (DEM) of a portion of the Louisiana coastline, post-Hurricane Rita (September 2005 hurricane), was produced from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Elevation measurements were collected over the area using the 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, resulting in a laser swath of approximately 240 meters with an average point spacing of 2-3 meters. The EAARL, developed originally 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 surveyed easily within a 3- to 4-hour mission. When resultant elevation maps for an area are analyzed, they provide a useful tool to make management decisions regarding land development.
    Purpose: The purpose of this project was to produce highly detailed and accurate digital elevation maps of a portion of the Louisiana coastline, post-Hurricane Rita (September 2005 hurricane), for use as a management tool and to make these data available to natural-resource managers and research scientists.
    Supplemental_Information:
      Raw lidar data are not in a format that is generally usable by resource managers and scientists for scientific analysis. 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 Program (CMGP) 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 Airborne 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. The terms first surface and bare earth refer to the digital elevation data of the terrain, but while first-surface data include vegetation, buildings, and other manmade structures, bare-earth data do not. The zero crossing of the second derivative (that is, detection of stationary points) is used to detect the first return, resulting in "first surface" topography, while the trailing edge algorithm (that is, the algorithm searches for the location prior to the last return where direction changes along the trailing edge) is used to detect the range to the last return, or "bare earth" (the first and last returns being the first and last significant measurable portion of the return pulse). Statistical filtering, known as the Random Consensus Filter (RCF), is used to remove false bottom returns and other outliers from the EAARL topography data. The filter uses a grid of non-overlapping square cells (buffer) of user-defined size overlaid onto the original point cloud. The user also defines the vertical tolerance (vertical width) based on the topographic complexity and point-sampling density of the data. The maximum allowable elevation range within a cell is established by this vertical tolerance. An iterative process searches for the maximum concentration of points within the vertical tolerance and removes those points outside of the tolerance (Nayegandhi and others, 2009). These data are then converted to the North American Datum of 1983 and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (using the GEOID09 model). Each file contains data located in a 10-kilometer by 10-kilometer tile, where the upper-left bound can be ascertained quickly through the filename.  The first 3 numbers in the filename represent the left-most UTM easting coordinate (e###000) in meters, the next 4 numbers represent the top-most UTM northing coordinate (n####000) in meters, and the last 2 numbers (##) represent the UTM zone in which the tile is located (for example, fs_e123_n4567_15).

      The development of custom software for creating these data products has been supported by the U.S. Geological Survey CMGP's Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management project. Processed data products are used by the U.S. Geological Survey CMGP'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: 20050927
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 20050928
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 20051002
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition
  Status:
    Progress: Complete
    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
  Spatial_Domain:
    Bounding_Coordinates:
      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -93.93150463
      East_Bounding_Coordinate: -91.96498093
      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.83044590
      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.46545651
  Keywords:
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
      Theme_Keyword: elevation
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
      Theme_Keyword: Airborne Lidar Processing System
      Theme_Keyword: ALPS
      Theme_Keyword: Cessna 310
      Theme_Keyword: Digital Elevation Model
      Theme_Keyword: DEM
      Theme_Keyword: EAARL
      Theme_Keyword: Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar
      Theme_Keyword: laser altimetry
      Theme_Keyword: lidar
      Theme_Keyword: remote sensing
      Theme_Keyword: topography
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Global Change Master Science Directory
      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: Cameron
      Place_Keyword: Vermillion
      Place_Keyword: Louisiana
      Place_Keyword: Gulf of Mexico
    Stratum:
      Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
      Stratum_Keyword: First Surface
    Temporal:
      Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
      Temporal_Keyword: 2005
      Temporal_Keyword: Post-Hurricane Rita
  Access_Constraints: None
  Use_Constraints: The U.S. Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration 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: 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 & 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_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2031
      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: afredericks@usgs.gov
      Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-4:00 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 for data source is expected. 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: Nayegandhi, A., Brock, J.C., and Wright, C.W.
      Publication_Date: 2009
      Title: Small footprint, waveform-resolving lidar estimation of submerged and subcanopy topography in coastal environments
      Series_Information:
        Series_Name: International Journal of Remote Sensing
        Issue_Identification: 30(4), p. 861-878
Data_Quality_Information:
  Attribute_Accuracy:
    Attribute_Accuracy_Report: The expected accuracy of the measured variables is as follows: attitude within 0.07 degree, 3 centimeters nominal ranging accuracy, and vertical elevation accuracy of +/-15 centimeters for the topographic surface. Quality checks are built into the data-processing software.
  Logical_Consistency_Report: Each file contains data located in a 10-kilometer by 10-kilometer tile where the upper-left bound can be ascertained quickly through the filename. The first 3 numbers in the filename represent the left-most UTM easting coordinate (e###000) in meters, the next 4 numbers represent the top-most UTM northing coordinate (n####000) in meters, and the last 2 numbers (##) represent the UTM zone in which the tile is located (for example, fs_e123_n4567_15).
  Completeness_Report: Several regions of the raster dataset are labeled as "No Data," which corresponds to a cell value of -32767 meters in the GeoTIFF file. 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 presence of "No Data" values does not necessarily indicate an absence of land, but rather an absence of survey coverage or the presence of prolific vegetation that the laser is not able to penetrate in order to return bare-earth data. This metadata file is generalized; each data file on this DVD has its own corresponding metadata file.
  Positional_Accuracy:
    Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
      Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Raw elevation measurements have been determined to be within 1 meter in horizontal accuracy.
    Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:
      Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Typical vertical elevation accuracies for these data are consistent with the point elevation data, +/-15 centimeters. However, a ground-control survey is not conducted simultaneously with every lidar survey. Vertical accuracies may vary based on the type of terrain and the accuracy of the GPS and aircraft-attitude measurements.
  Lineage:
    Process_Step:
      Process_Description: The data were collected using a Cessna 310 aircraft. The Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) laser scanner collects the data using a green-wavelength (532-nanometer) 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 office in St. Petersburg, Florida. The navigational data are processed and then, along with the raw data, are downloaded into ALPS, or the Airborne Lidar Processing System (20110713 - 20110923). Data are converted from units of time to x,y,z points for elevation and formatted into .las and .xyz files, and the derived surface data is converted into raster data (GeoTIFFs).
      Process_Date: 20050927 through 20110923
      Process_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 & 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
    Process_Step:
      Process_Description: Metadata imported into ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3000 from XML file.
      Process_Date: 20130226
      Process_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 & 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
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
  Indirect_Spatial_Reference: Tiling Index
  Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Raster
  Raster_Object_Information:
    Raster_Object_Type: Pixel
Spatial_Reference_Information:
  Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
    Planar:
      Grid_Coordinate_System:
        Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
        Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
          UTM_Zone_Number: 15
          Transverse_Mercator:
            Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
            Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -93.000000
            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: 2.500000
          Ordinate_Resolution: 2.500000
        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
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.15
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
  Detailed_Description:
    Entity_Type:
      Entity_Type_Label: *.xyz
      Entity_Type_Definition: The "*" represents the file name. The file is .xyz ASCII space-delimited.
      Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Internally devised to maintain naming consistency.
    Attribute:
      Attribute_Label: X
      Attribute_Definition: UTM easting in meters
      Attribute_Definition_Source: NAD 83
      Attribute_Domain_Values:
        Unrepresentable_Domain: varying value range
    Attribute:
      Attribute_Label: Y
      Attribute_Definition: UTM northing in meters
      Attribute_Definition_Source: NAD 83
      Attribute_Domain_Values:
        Unrepresentable_Domain: varying value range
    Attribute:
      Attribute_Label: Z
      Attribute_Definition: Altitude in meters
      Attribute_Definition_Source: NAVD 88
      Attribute_Domain_Values:
        Unrepresentable_Domain: varying value range
  Overview_Description:
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: The input parameters for the random consensus filter (RCF) were: grid cell size (buffer) = 6 meters x 6 meters; vertical tolerance (vertical width) = 5 meters. Each pixel of the encoded GeoTIFF has an explicit elevation value associated with it. The GeoTIFF grid is encoded with the interpolated elevation value at a 2.5-meter resolution. The GeoTIFFs are created using Delauney triangulation, followed by linear interpolation based on the routines in the ITT VIS Interactive Data Language (IDL) code.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1078/
Distribution_Information:
  Distributor:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Organization_Primary:
        Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
        Contact_Person: Xan Fredericks
      Contact_Position: Lidar Validation & 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)
      Hours_of_Service: M-F, 8:00-4:00 ET
  Resource_Description: DS 720
  Distribution_Liability: 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.
  Standard_Order_Process:
    Digital_Form:
      Digital_Transfer_Information:
        Format_Name: GeoTIFF
        Format_Version_Number: 2
        Format_Specification: GeoTIFF
      Digital_Transfer_Option:
        Offline_Option:
          Offline_Media: DVD
          Recording_Format: DVD
    Fees: Vary
    Ordering_Instructions: Contact U.S. Geological Survey.
    Turnaround: Vary
  Custom_Order_Process: Contact U.S. Geological Survey for details.
  Available_Time_Period:
    Time_Period_Information:
      Multiple_Dates/Times:
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 20050927
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 20050928
        Single_Date/Time:
          Calendar_Date: 20051002
Metadata_Reference_Information:
  Metadata_Date: 20110923
  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 & 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