Data Release

Time Series of Aerial Imagery from Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Associated Ground Control Points: Madeira Beach, Florida, July 2017 to June 2018

By Jenna A. Brown, Christine J. Kranenburg, and Karen L.M. Morgan

USGS, St. Petersburg, Florida

Summary

Aerial imagery acquired with a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS), in conjunction with surveyed ground control points (GCP) visible in the imagery, can be processed with structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques to produce high-resolution orthomosaics, three-dimensional (3D) point clouds and digital elevation models (DEMs). This dataset, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), provides UAS survey data consisting of aerial imagery and GCP positions and elevations collected at Madeira Beach, Florida, monthly from July 2017 to June 2018 in order to observe seasonal and storm-induced changes in beach topography.

Low-altitude (60 meters above ground level) digital aerial imagery were acquired over an approximately 700-meter-long and 100-meter-wide stretch of coastline. A 3DR Solo UAS quadcopter equipped with a Ricoh GR II digital camera flew shore-parallel lines at approximately 8 meters per second, collecting true color imagery at 1 Hertz, resulting in image footprints with 80% endlap/sidelap and 1.6 centimeter ground sample distance (GSD). The approximate camera position at the time of each image capture was interpolated from positions recorded by an internal Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver on-board the UAS in a telemetry log file. A number of permanent features (e.g., parking lot stripes, concrete groin blocks) and temporary targets (black and white, 4-square checked pattern), distributed uniformly throughout the UAS flight operations area, were used as GCPs and surveyed using a Spectra Precision SP80 GNSS receiver connected to a Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) in the Florida Permanent Reference Network (FPRN); real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections were sampled for 60 seconds and the average positions were recorded, with horizontal position data given in the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projected coordinate system, Zone 17 North (17N), referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83), and elevation data referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88), GEOID12B.

Related Data Release

Brown, J.A., Kranenburg, C.J., and Morgan, K.L.M., 2020, Time series of structure-from-motion products—Orthomosaics, digital elevation models, and point clouds: Madeira Beach, Florida, July 2017 to June 2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9L474WC.

Data

File Name and Description Metadata (XML format) Metadata (text format) Download File
2017-2018_MadeiraBeachFL_GCPs.zip
GCP positions for each UAS survey (.txt)
2017-2018_MadeiraBeachFL_
GCPs_metadata.xml
2017-2018_MadeiraBeachFL_
GCPs_metadata.txt
2017-2018_MadeiraBeachFL_GCPs.zip
(24 KB)
20170712_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
July 2017 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_
Imagery_metadata.xml
MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_
Imagery_metadata.txt
20170712_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(3.07 GB)
20170816_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
August 2017 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20170816_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(7.56 GB)
20170914_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
September 2017 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20170914_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(9.74 GB)
20171011_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
October 2017 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20171011_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(10.62 GB)
20171109_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
November 2017 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20171109_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(9.75 GB)
20171211_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
December 2017 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20171211_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(7.36 GB)
20180124_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
January 2018 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20180124_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(4.94 GB)
20180222_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
February 2018 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20180222_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(8.77 GB)
20180309_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
March 2018 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20180309_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(7.49 GB)
20180411_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
April 2018 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20180411_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(9.28 GB)
20180522_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
May 2018 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20180522_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(9.48 GB)
20180619_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
June 2018 low-altitude aerial imagery obtained from UAS (.jpg)
Same as above Same as above 20180619_MadeiraBeachFL_UAS_Imagery.zip
(8.57 GB)

Aerial map of the study area showing a swath of barrier island diagonally, with sea to the bottom left, a strip of beach in the center, and housing developments to the north. Blue dots show the photo flight line, and an inset map and scale give more detail.
Figure 1. Regional map showing the survey area at Madeira Beach, Florida.

Suggested Citation

Brown, J.A., Kranenburg, C.J., and Morgan, K.L.M., 2020, Time series of aerial imagery from small unmanned aircraft systems and associated ground control points: Madeira Beach, Florida, July 2017 to June 2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P91TH157.