High-Resolution Rectified Aerial Photography for Collaborative Research of Environmental Change at Barrow, Alaska, USA

Summary

This data set includes aerial photography of Barrow, Alaska, which has been geocorrected to a 2002 QuickBird satellite image or Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) imagery. Photography included in the set is from these specific dates, from 1948 to 1997: 4 August 1948, 29 July 1949, 12-14 August 1955, 12-24 August 1962, 14 July 1964, 15 July 1979, 31 August 1984, and 16 July 1997.

Data are in GeoTIFF and ESRI Shapefile formats with FGDC compliant metadata. Data on DVD are available for ordering. Note: The data for 14 July 1964 span both DVDs.

Citing These Data

Lestak, L. R., W. F. Manley, P. M. Sturtevant, J. A. Maslanik, C. E. Tweedie, and J. Brown. 2007. High-resolution rectified aerial photography for collaborative research of environmental change at Barrow, Alaska, USA. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. DVD.

Overview Table

Category	Description
Data format	GeoTIFF and ESRI Shapefiles with FGDC compliant metadata
Spatial coverage	Southernmost Latitude: 70.90° N Northernmost Latitude: 71.45° N Westernmost Longitude: 157.47° W Easternmost Longitude: 155.40° W
Temporal coverage	4 August 1948, 29 July 1949, 12-14 August 1955, 12-24 August 1962, 14 July 1964, 15 July 1979, 31 August 1984, and 16 July 1997
Tools for accessing data	Geographic Information System (GIS) image processing software, graphic design software
File sizes and naming convention	See File List
Parameter	Aerial photography
Procedures for obtaining data	To place an order for data on DVD, please fill out a Data Order Form.

Table of Contents

1. Contacts and Acknowledgments
2. Detailed Data Description
3. Data Access and Tools
4. Data Acquisition and Processing
5. References and Related Publications
6. Document Information

1. Contacts and Acknowledgments

Investigators

Leanne R. Lestak
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
University of Colorado
216 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0216 USA

William F. Manley
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
University of Colorado
450 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0450 USA

Paige M. Sturtevant
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
University of Colorado
216 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0216 USA

James A. Maslanik
Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR)
University of Colorado
431 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0216 USA

Craig E. Tweedie
Department of Biology
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
500 University Blvd
El Paso, TX 79968-0513 USA

Jerry Brown
International Permafrost Association
PO Box 7
Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA

Technical Contact

Acknowledgements

Acquisition and processing of this data set was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs (OPP), Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program grant OPP-0224071, and Arctic Sciences Section grant OPP-0100120.

2. Detailed Data Description

Format

The data are provided in two standardized data formats, GeoTIFF and ESRI Shapefiles. Please see the FGDC metadata for details specific to the georectified image files.

File and Directory Structure

Data on the DVDs are organized by subdirectory named with the year of photography. Please see the File List for file names, file types, file sizes, and descriptions. For the directory structure, please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 below.

Figure 1: Directory structure, Disc 1 of 2.

Figure 2: Directory structure, Disc 2 of 2.

Spatial Coverage

Southernmost Latitude: 70.90° N
Northernmost Latitude: 71.45° N
Westernmost Longitude: 157.47° W
Easternmost Longitude: 155.40° W

Projection

Frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum.

Temporal Coverage

Photography included in the set is from these specific dates, from 1948 to 1997: 4 August 1948, 29 July 1949, 12-14 August 1955, 12-24 August 1962, 14 July 1964, 15 July 1979, 31 August 1984, and 16 July 1997.

Parameter or Variable

These data are computer-generated images of aerial photographs in which displacements caused by camera orientation have been removed by georectification. Distortions caused by topography have not been removed. Digital geocorrected photographs serve a variety of purposes, from interim maps to the basis of observation and analysis for Earth science investigations. These digital geocorrected images are useful as layers within a geographic information system (GIS).

Quality Assessment

Investigators have provided a quality control report for the data from each of the eight date ranges. These can be found in the directory for each year. See File List.

3. Data Access and Tools

Data Access

To place an order for data on DVD, please fill out a Data Order Form.

Volume

DVD 1 is approximately 4.17 GB. DVD 2 is approximately 4.33 GB. The approximate volume of the entire data set is 8.50 GB.

Software and Tools

NSIDC does not provide any software to read these data, which are easily imported into image processing software, Geographic Information Software (GIS) and graphic design software.

Related Data Collections

• Barrow Area Information Database - Internet Map Server
• Imagery and Related GIS Data for Barrow, Alaska, USA
• Point Barrow, Alaska and Vicinity Bathymetry
• Polar Ice Sheet DEMs and Elevation Data
• Alaska North Slope 100 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

4. Data Acquisition, Processing, and Error Sources

The following investigator-provided information is also available in the FGDC metadata files within each directory on the DVDs.

Note: DigitalGlobe created custom orthorectified and radiometrically-corrected tiled QuickBird imagery used to rectify the aerial photography. They delivered two image swaths for the Barrow area: image P001, the westernmost image, and image P002, the easternmost image. Each image was independently orthocorrected.

4 August 1948

This data set contains five georectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 4 August 1948. The original 9" x 9" black and white aerial photograph negatives, at 1:19,200 scale, were scanned at 1000 dpi. Each frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006). The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 0.5 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1948 aerial photograph negatives were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data Center (EDC). William Manley at the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) scanned them at 1000 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. The scanned photographs were imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows 2000 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation Precision 330. The images were rectified to the panchromatic Barrow Quadrangle (BQ) subsetted 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery. If the photograph was located south of the extent of the BQ image, then the P001 2002 QuickBird satellite image was used. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the satellite imagery were used to warp the photos. Nearly all the photographs were warped with a second-order polynomial transformation, unless a first-order polynomial yielded a more accurate transformation. First-order polynomial warping was used for photographs that contained mostly water. Control points cannot be selected in water areas. All images were resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with a 0.5 m cell size for the photo set.

29 July 1949

This data set contains one georectified frame of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 29 July 1949. The original 9" x 9" black and white aerial photograph print, at 1:10,000 scale, was scanned at 615 dpi. This frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006). The frame is projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 0.5 m, and is distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1949 aerial photograph prints were obtained from Jerry Brown of the International Permafrost Association. This image was captured by an unknown organization, possibly the USGS or the military. William Manley at INSTAAR scanned 5 prints at 615 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. One print was chosen to fill in a section of coastline that is missing in the 1948 set of photography. The scanned photograph was imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows 2000 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation Precision 330. The image was rectified to the panchromatic BQ subsetted 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery. If the photograph was located south of the extent of the BQ image, then the P001 2002 QuickBird satellite image was used. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the satellite imagery were used to warp the photos. The photographs were warped with a first-order polynomial transformation. First-order polynomial warping was used for photographs that contained mostly water. Control points cannot be selected in water areas. This image was resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with a 0.5 m cell size for the photo set.

12-14 August 1955

This data set contains twenty georectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 12-14 August 1955. The original 9" x 9" black and white aerial photograph negatives, at 1:51,000 scale, were scanned at 1000 dpi. Each frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from the 2002 IFSAR orthorectified radar image (Manley et al., 2006). The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of approximately 1.4 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1955 aerial photograph negatives were obtained from the USGS EarthExplorer. William Manley at INSTAAR scanned them at 1000 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. The scanned photographs were imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows XP 2002 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation PWS340. The images were rectified to the 2002 IFSAR orthorectified radar image (ORRI) tiles, which have a cell size of 1.25 m. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the ORRI were used to warp the photos. On average, 22.7 control points were used for each frame. Nearly all the photographs were warped with a second-order polynomial transformation unless a first-order polynomial yielded a more accurate transformation. First-order polynomial warping was used for photographs that contained mostly water. Control points cannot be selected in water areas. All images were resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with an approximate 1.3 m cell size for the photo set; exact cell size varies from frame to frame. An average of 8.6 independent check points were analyzed for each frame with a resulting average root mean squared error of 2.6 m.

Recording technique	Vertical cartographic
Overlap	40%
Flying height in feet	25,001
Film length and width	229 mm x 229 mm
Focal length	152 mm
USGS project number	M059

12-24 August 1962

This data set contains seventeen georectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area between 12-24 August 1962. The original 9" x 9" black and white aerial photograph prints, at 1:2400, 1:2940, 1:5000, 1:10000 and 1:21600 scale, were scanned at 1000 dpi and 1200 dpi for the 1:21600 scale photo. Each frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006). The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 0.1 - 0.5 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1962 aerial photograph prints were originally obtained by the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and provided by Jerry Brown (Brown and Johnson, 1965). Paige Sturtevant at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) scanned them at 1000 dpi and 1200 dpi resolutions using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. The scanned photographs were imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows XP 2002 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation PWS340. The images were rectified to the panchromatic Barrow 2002 QuickBird satellite image P001. If the photograph was located east of the extent of image P001, then the P002 2002 QuickBird satellite image was used. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the satellite imagery were used to warp the photos. Nearly all the photographs were warped with a second-order polynomial transformation unless a third-order polynomial yielded a more accurate transformation. All images were resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with a 0.1 m, 0.15 m, 0.36 m, or 0.56 m cell size for the photo set.

14 July 1964

This data set contains eleven georectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 14 July 1964. The original 9" x 9" black and white aerial photograph negatives, at 1:10000 scale, were scanned at 600 dpi. Each frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006). The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 0.35 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1964 aerial photograph negative rolls were part of a U.S. Army CRREL mapping project (Brown and Johnson, 1966) and were provided by Jerry Brown to Craig Tweedie, formerly of Michigan State University, for initial scanning and archiving. William Manley at INSTAAR scanned them at 600 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. Paige Sturtevant performed the geocorrection. The scanned photographs were imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows XP 2002 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation PWS340. The images were rectified to the panchromatic Barrow 2002 QuickBird satellite image P001. If the photograph was located east of the extent of image P001, then the P002 2002 QuickBird satellite image was used. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the satellite imagery were used to warp the photos. Nearly all of the photographs were warped with a second-order polynomial transformation unless a third-order polynomial yielded a more accurate transformation. All images were resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with a 0.35 m cell size for the photo set.

15 July 1979

This data set contains six orthorectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 15 July 1979. The original 9" x 9" color infrared aerial photograph prints, at 1:65,000 scale, were scanned at 1600 dpi except for frame 3005, which was scanned at 1800 dpi. Each frame was then orthorectified using camera calibration reports, ground control points (GCPs) collected from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006), and the 2002 IFSAR DSM (Manley et al., 2005), and then resampled with bilinear interpolation. The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 2 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1979 aerial photograph prints were obtained from the USGS EDC (except for frame 3005).

Entity ID	AR579002790
Agency	NASA Ames
Research center roll number	002790
Frame number	2997, 3003, 3004, 3005, 3024, 3034
Image type	Infrared (color)
Scale	65000
Quality	Good
Cloud cover	0-9%
Recording technique	Vertical reconnaissance stereo
Overlap	60%
Flying height in feet	65003
Film length and width	229 mm x 229 mm
Focal length	304.99 mm
Microframe location	02630010

William Manley at INSTAAR scanned five frames (2997, 3003, 3004, 3024, and 3034) at 1600 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. Frame 3005 was scanned by the USGS EDC from the negative at 1800 dpi. The images scanned from each frame of the 1979 aerial photography were fully orthorectified in Imagine (v. 8.7) with a camera model and digital elevation model (DEM). The camera model is customized for aerial photographs and utilizes information such as focal length, principal point coordinates, and fiducial coordinates. The DEM used is the 2002 Digital Surface Model (DSM) for the Barrow area (Manley et al., 2005). Processing was done on a Pentium 4 workstation running Windows XP SP2. With one exception, 18 to 21 control points were input using image-to-image registration with 2002 QuickBird panchromatic satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006), where possible, and with 2002 IFSAR orthorectified radar imagery (Manley et al., 2005) in some areas. For one of the frames (2997), only 6 control points were used due to the extent of water within the image. The orthorectified images were then output at 2 m resolution using bilinear interpolation. For each frame, horizontal accuracy was assessed in ArcGIS using 10 to 11 independent check points (with 5 check points for frame 2997).

31 August 1984

The 1984 aerial photograph prints were obtained from Aeromap, U.S., flown for the Corps of Engineers.

Film type	2445 color negative
Can number	COE278

This data set contains eight georectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 31 August 1984. The original 9" x 9" color aerial photograph prints, at 1:12,000 scale, were scanned at 635 dpi. Each frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006). The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 0.5 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The five flight lines running northeast to southwest are parallel to the Chukchi shoreline. William Manley at INSTAAR scanned them at 635 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. The scanned photographs were imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows 2000 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation Precision 330. The images were rectified to the panchromatic BQ subsetted 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery. If the photograph was located south of the extent of the BQ image, the P001 2002 QuickBird satellite image was used. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the satellite imagery were used to warp the photos. Nearly all the photographs were warped with a second-order polynomial transformation unless a first-order polynomial yielded a more accurate transformation. First-order polynomial warping was used for photographs that contained mostly water. Control points cannot be selected in water areas. All images were resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with a 0.5 m cell size for the photo set.

16 July 1997

This data set contains six georectified frames of aerial photography acquired for the Barrow area on 16 July 1997. The original 9" x 9" color aerial photograph prints, at 1:12,000 scale, were scanned at 635 dpi. Each frame was then georectified using a polynomial transformation with image-to-image control points taken from 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery (Manley et al., 2006). The frames are projected to UTM zone 4 using the NAD 83 datum, with a horizontal resolution of 0.5 m, and are distributed in GeoTIFF format.

The 1997 aerial photograph prints were loaned to the University of Colorado from the North Slope Borough GIS department in Barrow, Alaska. The photographs were captured by Aeromap, U.S. for the North Slope Borough. There were 3 flight lines flown: two flight lines parallel to the Chukchi shoreline, running northeast to southwest, and one flight line perpendicular to the Chukchi shoreline, running east to west. William Manley at INSTAAR scanned the prints at 635 dpi using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. The scanned photographs were imported into ArcGIS software as GeoTIFF images. All georectification was completed using the ArcMap georeferencing tool set with MS Windows 2000 as the operating system on a Dell Workstation Precision 330. The images were rectified to the panchromatic BQ subsetted 2002 QuickBird satellite imagery. If the photograph was located south of the extent of the BQ image, then the P001 2002 QuickBird satellite image was used. Link points common to both the scanned aerial photographs and the satellite imagery were used to warp the photos. Nearly all the photographs were warped with a second-order polynomial transformation unless a first-order polynomial yielded a more accurate transformation. First-order polynomial warping was used for photographs that contained mostly water. Control points cannot be selected in water areas. All images were resampled using nearest-neighbor interpolation with a 0.5 m cell size for the photo set.

5. References and Related Publications

Barrow Area Information Database - Internet Map Server

Brown, J. and P. L. Johnson. 1965. Pedo-ecological investigation, Barrow, Alaska. U.S. Army CRREL Technical Report 159.

Brown, J. and P. L. Johnson. 1966. U.S. Army CRREL Topographic Map, Barrow, Alaska (1:25,000). U.S. Army CRREL Special Report 101.

Manley, W. F., L. R. Lestak, C. E. Tweedie, and J. A. Maslanik. 2005. High-resolution radar imagery, digital elevation models, and related GIS layers for Barrow, Alaska, USA. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. DVD.

Manley, W. F., L. R. Lestak, C. E. Tweedie, and J. A. Maslanik. 2006. High-resolution QuickBird imagery and related GIS layers for Barrow, Alaska, USA. Boulder, Colorado USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. DVD.

6. Document Information

Acronyms and Abbreviations

The following acronyms and abbreviations are used in this document.

BQ	Barrow Quadrangle
CIRES	Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
CRREL	Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
DEM	Digital Elevation Model
dpi	Dots per inch
DSM	Digital Surface Model
DVD	Digital Versatile Disc
EDC	EROS Data Center
EROS	Earth Resources Observation and Science
ESRI	Environmental Systems Research Institute
FGDC	Federal Geographic Data Committee
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
GCP	Ground control point
GeoTIFF	Geographic (geographically referenced) Tagged Image File Format
GIS	Geographic Information Systems
HTML	HyperText Markup Language
IFSAR	Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar
INSTAAR	Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research
MS	Microsoft
NAD 83	North American Datum of 1983
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NSF	National Science Foundation
NSIDC	National Snow and Ice Data Center
OPP	Office of Polar Programs
ORRI	Orthorectified radar image
PDF	Portable Document Format
URL	Uniform Resource Locator
USGS	United States Geological Survey
UTM	Universal Transverse Mercator
XML	Extensible Markup Language

Document Creation Date

May 2007

Document URL

http://nsidc.org/data/docs/arcss/arcss306/index.html