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EAARL Topography-Padre Island National Seashore

Metadata Updated: October 26, 2023

Elevation maps (also known as Digital Elevation Models or DEMs) of Padre Island National Seashore were produced from remotely-sensed, geographically-referenced elevation measurements in cooperation with NASA and NPS. Point data in ascii text files were interpolated in a GIS to create a grid or digital elevation model (DEM) of each beach surface. Elevation measurements were collected in Texas, over Padre Island National Seashore, using the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), a pulsed laser ranging system mounted onboard an aircraft to measure ground elevation 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 beach at approximately 60 meters per second while surveying from the low-water line to the landward base of the sand dunes. The EAARL, developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) located at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, measures ground elevation with a vertical resolution of 15 centimeters. A sampling rate of 3 kHz or higher results in an extremely dense spatial elevation data set. Over 100 kilometers of coastline can be easily surveyed within a 3- to 4-hour mission time period. The ability to sample large areas rapidly and accurately is especially useful in morphologically dynamic areas such as barrier beaches. Quick assessment of topographic change can be made following storms comparing measurements against baseline data. When subsequent elevation maps for an area are analyzed, they provide a useful tool to make management decisions regarding coastal development. For more information on Lidar science and the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) system and surveys, see http://ngom.usgs.gov/dsp/overview/index.php and http://ngom.usgs.gov/dsp/tech/eaarl/index.php .

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date October 26, 2023

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date October 26, 2023
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/aa6cb5a15bb043de9728af5e926958c7
Identifier USGS:bd96a723-0756-4244-ba31-934fffaf4674
Data Last Modified 20211109
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 26de271b-f60f-4087-9842-2e16e5987d91
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -97.399643,26.561368,-97.268904,27.518209
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 8fc677c8bf66213039df22d264af0df032c98a061adf708fbe4fe4f75921563f
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -97.399643, 26.561368, -97.399643, 27.518209, -97.268904, 27.518209, -97.268904, 26.561368, -97.399643, 26.561368}

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