Aerial transect photographs of U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Fort Wainwright Training Lands, Alaska in 2019

Metadata:
Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Marcot, Bruce G.
Originator: Jorgenson, M. Torre
Originator: Douglas, Thomas A.
Originator: Nelsen, Patricia
Publication_Date: 2022
Title:
Aerial transect photographs of U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Fort Wainwright Training Lands, Alaska in 2019
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: photographs and tabular digital data
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Fort Collins, CO
Publisher: Forest Service Research Data Archive
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2022-0033
Description:
Abstract:
This data publication contains low-level aerial nadir and oblique-angle photographs taken from 3 cameras on two flight lines in Fort Wainwright, U.S. Army training lands, central Alaska, on 4 June 2019 and associated text files containing estimated area of vegetation and cover type in each photograph. A total of 6,960 photographs are included in this collection (6,253 nadir photos plus 707 oblique photos).
Purpose:
The purpose of this project was to document current landscape and land cover conditions along representative aerial transects, as a baseline for future change-comparison studies (especially from climate change); and to analyze current distribution and amount of land cover conditions on Fort Wainwright, U.S. Army training lands, from the representative transects.
Supplemental_Information:
This data publication went live on 03/23/2022. Minor metadata updates were made on 05/03/2022 and 06/26/2023.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 20190604
Currentness_Reference:
Ground condition
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Description_of_Geographic_Extent:
Fort Wainwright, U.S. Army, Tanana Flats, Yukon, and Donnelly Training Areas in central boreal Alaska
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -148.66670
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -145.70800
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 64.81670
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 63.71670
Bounding_Altitudes:
Altitude_Minimum: 374
Altitude_Maximum: 4257
Altitude_Distance_Units: feet
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: environment
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation
Theme_Keyword: imageryBaseMapsEarthCover
Theme_Keyword: intelligenceMilitary
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: National Research & Development Taxonomy
Theme_Keyword: Inventory, Monitoring, & Analysis
Theme_Keyword: Climate change
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: aerial transect
Theme_Keyword: aerial photographs
Theme_Keyword: boreal ecosystem
Theme_Keyword: aerial flight
Theme_Keyword: nadir aerial photography
Theme_Keyword: oblique aerial photography
Theme_Keyword: geotagging
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Alaska
Place_Keyword: Fort Wainwright
Place_Keyword: Tanana Flats Training Area
Place_Keyword: Yukon Training Area
Place_Keyword: Donnelly Training Area
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Marcot, Bruce G.; Jorgenson, M. Torre; Douglas, Thomas A.; Nelsen, Patricia. 2022. Aerial transect photographs of U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Fort Wainwright Training Lands, Alaska in 2019. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2022-0033
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Contact_Person: Bruce G. Marcot
Contact_Position: Research Wildlife Biologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: Pacific Northwest Research Station
Address: Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building
Address: 1220 S.W. 3rd Ave.
City: Portland
State_or_Province: OR
Postal_Code: 97204
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 503-347-2277
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: bruce.marcot@usda.gov
Browse_Graphic:
Browse_Graphic_File_Name: \Supplements\flight paths on GE w ASL & velocity.jpg
Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
Satellite image of the training areas and an inset graph of the altitudes and speed of the flight paths.
Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG
Browse_Graphic:
Browse_Graphic_File_Name: \Supplements\flight paths w Training Areas.jpg
Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
Satellite image of the training areas with the two flight paths drawn
Browse_Graphic_File_Type: JPEG
Data_Set_Credit:
This project was funded by the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station via the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), Project RC18-1170.


Author Information:

Bruce G. Marcot
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Portland, OR
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3667-7481

M. Torre Jorgenson
Alaska Ecoscience, Fairbanks, AK
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9834-8851

Thomas A. Douglas
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, AK
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1314-1905

Patricia Nelsen
U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, AK
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1856-5056
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Marcot, Bruce. G.
Originator: Jorgenson, M. Torre
Originator: Douglas, Thomas A.
Originator: Nelsen, Patricia
Publication_Date: 2022
Title:
Photographic aerial transects of Fort Wainwright, Alaska
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Technical Report
Issue_Identification: ERDC/CRREL TR-22-14
Publication_Information:
Publisher: Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Other_Citation_Details:
26 p. (Prepared for U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, under Department of Defense's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Project RC18-1170. Final submitted version is included in this data publication: \Supplements\Report Photo Aerial Transects (final submitted).pdf)
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.21079/11681/45283
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Marcot, Bruce G.
Originator: Sullivan, Taylor D.
Originator: Hiemstra, Christopher A.
Originator: Douglas, Thomas A.
Publication_Date: 2022
Title:
Ecological field sound recordings of U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Fort Wainwright Training Lands, Alaska
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: audio
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Fort Collins, CO
Publisher: Forest Service Research Data Archive
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2022-0048
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Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
Exchangeable image file format (EXIF) data in each photograph truthed to geotagged GPS Exchange Format (GPX) data taken independently during flight transects, and cross-checked on Google Earth, and truthed to date and time stamps.
Logical_Consistency_Report:
EXIF data on geotags (lat-long) and date-time stamps of each photograph were cross-checked with ground-truthed GPS data taken at time of the flight transects.
Completeness_Report:
All photographs are included.

Transect routes chosen cover collectively 38 of the 44 cover categories present in the Fort Wainwright area. See the methods section for more details.

This package includes tabular data that contains estimated area of vegetation and cover type for each photograph. This information is not provided for all photographs because some of the GoPro nadir photographs, as taken using 5-second-interval timelapse, did not include vegetation or cover type conditions, such as when taken over airstrips during takeoffs or landings, or where the land base was not that of Fort Wainwright. However, as noted above, all photographs in the series are included for their EXIF data on GPS location, so that any future efforts to replicate the flights would have those locations included to help guide the flight lines.
Lineage:
Methodology:
Methodology_Type: Field
Methodology_Description:
Aerial photographs were taken along low-elevation (approximately 1,000 feet above ground level [AGL]) flights in a Cessna model 180 airplane, covering 4 hour 15 minute flight time and 486 miles (782 kilometers) on two flight paths over Fort Wainwright, U.S. Army, Tanana Flats, Yukon, and Donnelly Training Areas in central boreal Alaska, on 4 June 2019. Two cameras (a GoPro3 and a GoPro5) were afixed to the plane's understructure to shoot nadir photographs, and a Panasonic Lumix digital camera was hand-held within the plane cabin to shoot oblique-angle photographs. The GoPro cameras operated at 5-second timelapse intervals to provide approximately 30% overlapping coverage of sequential photographs. The transect routes were chosen to cover a broad, representative sampling of landscape, cover type, and vegetation conditions, including woodlands, forests, tundra, riparian, upland, lowland, lucastrine, and riverine environments, collectively representing 38 of the 44 cover categories present in the Fort Wainwright area.
Methodology_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Marcot, Bruce. G.
Originator: Jorgenson, M. Torre
Originator: Douglas, Thomas A.
Originator: Nelsen, Patricia
Publication_Date: 2022
Title:
Photographic aerial transects of Fort Wainwright, Alaska
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Technical Report
Issue_Identification: ERDC/CRREL TR-22-14
Publication_Information:
Publisher: Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Other_Citation_Details:
26 p. (Prepared for U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, under Department of Defense's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Project RC18-1170. Final submitted version is included in this data publication: \Supplements\Report Photo Aerial Transects (final submitted).pdf)
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.21079/11681/45283
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
PHOTOGRAPH CORRECTIONS

The GoPro (nadir) photographs were corrected for wide-angle distortion, and all photographs slightly enhanced for contrast to account for changes in sun and cloud cover conditions.


VEGETATION/COVER CALCULATIONS

Vegetation and cover type coverage in each photo were determined by intersecting the GPS location of each photograph (as listed in the photographs' EXIF data) with GIS data on vegetation and cover type as provided in the most recent National Vegetation Classification (NVC) produced by Landfire (2021), described on the Marcot et al. report (2022).


Landfire. 2021. Draft NVC map for VPU 22. Unpublished draft map produced by U.S. Geological Survey for the Landfire Program. https://landfire.gov/index.php

Marcot, Bruce G.; Jorgenson, M. Torre; Douglas, Thomas A.; Nelsen, Patricia. 2022. Photographic aerial transects of Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Technical Report. ERDC/CRREL TR-22-14. Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.). 26 p. (Prepared for U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, under Department of Defense's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Project RC18-1170. Final submitted version is included in this data publication: \Supplements\Report Photo Aerial Transects (final submitted).pdf). https://doi.org/10.21079/11681/45283
Process_Date: Unknown
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Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
Below you will find a list and description of the files included in this data publication.

DATA FILES - PHOTOGRAPHS

\Data\GoPro3 Flight Path 01\2019-06-04 hh-mm-ss - G#######_pt.JPG:
JPEG photographs (2054) taken by the GoPro3 camera on flight path 1 at time hh-mm-ss (hh = hour, mm = minutes, ss = seconds).

\Data\GoPro3 Flight Path 02\2019-06-04 hh-mm-ss - G#######_pt.JPG:
JPEG photographs (753) taken by the GoPro3 camera on flight path 2 at time hh-mm-ss.

\Data\GoPro5 Flight Path 01\2019-06-04 hh-mm-ss - G#######_pt.JPG:
JPEG photographs (1941) taken by the GoPro5 camera on flight path 1 at time hh-mm-ss.

\Data\GoPro5 Flight Path 02\2019-06-04 hh-mm-ss - G#######_pt.JPG:
JPEG photographs (1505) taken by the GoPro5 camera on flight path 2 at time hh-mm-ss.

\Data\PanasonicLumix Flight Path 01\2019-06-04 hh-mm-ss - P#######.JPG:
JPEG photographs (522) taken by the PanasonicLumix camera on flight path 1 at time hh-mm-ss.

\Data\PanasonicLumix Flight Path 02\2019-06-04 hh-mm-ss - P#######.JPG:
JPEG photographs (185) taken by the PanasonicLumix camera on flight path 2 at time hh-mm-ss.


DATA FILES - TABULAR DIGITAL DATA

The following 6 comma-separated values (CSV) files contain photograph-specific data such as latitude, longitude, altitude, and area coverage of vegetation and cover type categories for each camera and flight path. NOTE: these files only contain information for those photographs that are pertinent to vegetation and cover types in the images, that is, photos over habitations and other conditions, or over the land base not consisting of the Fort Wainwright study area. (Row 1 contains variable names and data begin on row 2.)

\Data\GoPro3 Flight Path 01 veg types.csv
\Data\GoPro3 Flight Path 02 veg types.csv

\Data\GoPro5 Flight Path 01 veg types.csv
\Data\GoPro5 Flight Path 02 veg types.csv

\Data\PanasonicLumix Flight Path 01 veg types.csv
\Data\PanasonicLumix Flight Path 02 veg types.csv

Variables included in these files:

Photo = photo filename
Date = date of photo (m/d/yyyy)
Latitude = latitude (decimal degrees)
Longitude = longitude (decimal degrees)
AGL (m) = altitude above ground level (meters)

The following 44 columns contain the estimated square meters in the photo with each vegetation/cover type:

Agriculture-Cultivated Crops and Irrigated Agriculture
Agriculture-Pasture and Hay
Alaskan Boreal Dry Aspen Forest
Alaskan Maritime Western Hemlock - Sitka Spruce Rainforest
Alaskan-Yukon Boreal Black Spruce Wet Forest
Alaskan-Yukon Boreal Flooded & Rich Swamp
Alaskan-Yukon Boreal Montane Alder - Willow Shrubland
Alaska-Yukon Northern Boreal Mesic Woodland
Arctic Herbaceous Tundra
Arctic Low Shrub Tundra
Central Alaskan Boreal Montane Woodland
Central Alaskan-Yukon Boreal Mesic Forest
Developed-High Intensity
Developed-Low Intensity
Developed-Medium Intensity
Developed-Open Space
Developed-Roads
North American Glacier and Ice Field
Open Water
Quarries-Strip Mines-Gravel Pits-Energy Development
Recently Burned-Herb and Grass Cover
Recently Burned-Shrub Cover
Recently Burned-Tree Cover
Recently Disturbed Other-Herb and Grass Cover
Recently Disturbed Other-Shrub Cover
Recently Logged-Herb and Grass Cover
Recently Logged-Shrub Cover
Southern Alaskan Boreal Mesic Forest
Southern Alaskan Boreal Montane Woodland
Western Boreal Alpine Acidic Mesic Meadow
Western Boreal Alpine Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation
Western Boreal Alpine Dwarf-shrubland
Western Boreal Alpine Mesic Dwarf Birch - Willow Shrubland
Western Boreal Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation
Western Boreal Dry Shrubland & Grassland
Western Boreal Dune Shrubland & Grassland
Western Boreal Mesic Alder - Willow Shrubland
Western Boreal Mesic Birch - Willow Low Shrubland
Western Boreal Mesic Grassland & Meadow
Western Boreal Wet Alder - Willow Tall Shrub Swamp
Western Boreal Wet Birch - Willow Low Shrubland
Western Boreal Wet Meadow & Marsh
Western North American Boreal Alkaline Fen
Western North American Boreal Bog & Acidic Fen


SUPPLEMENTAL FILES

\Supplements\flight paths on GE w ASL & velocity.jpg:
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) image file containing a satellite image of the training areas and an inset graph of the altitudes and speed of the flight paths.

\Supplements\flight paths w Training Areas.jpg:
JPEG image file containing a satellite image of the training areas with the two flight paths drawn.

\Supplements\flight transect GPS waypoint data.csv:
CSV file containing GPS waypoints including flight date, flight time, latitude, longitude, flight altitude, and flight course. (Row 1 contains variable names, row 2 contains variable units if applicable, and data begin on row 3.)

Variables include:

Date = date of flight (m/d/yyyy)
Time = time at waypoint (hh:mm:ss)
Latitude = latitude of waypoint (decimal degrees North)
Longitude = longitude of waypoint (decimal degrees West)
Altitude = altitude of waypoint (feet)
Course = flight course (degrees)

\Supplements\Report Photo Aerial Transects (final submitted).pdf: Portable Document Format file containing the final submitted report "Photographic aerial transects of Fort Wainwright, Alaska".
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Marcot, Bruce G.; Jorgenson, M. Torre; Douglas, Thomas A.; Nelsen, Patricia. 2022. Photographic aerial transects of Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Technical Report. ERDC/CRREL TR-22-14. Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.). 26 p. (Prepared for U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, under Department of Defense's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Project RC18-1170. Final submitted version is included in this data publication: \Supplements\Report Photo Aerial Transects (final submitted).pdf). https://doi.org/10.21079/11681/45283
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Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Research and Development
Contact_Position: Research Data Archivist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 240 West Prospect Road
City: Fort Collins
State_or_Province: CO
Postal_Code: 80526
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: see Contact Instructions
Contact Instructions: This contact information was current as of June 2023. For current information see Contact Us page on: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS.
Resource_Description: RDS-2022-0033
Distribution_Liability:
Metadata documents have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness. Unless otherwise stated, all data and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. However, neither the author, the Archive, nor any part of the federal government can assure the reliability or suitability of these data for a particular purpose. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed for a user's application of these data or related materials.

The metadata, data, or related materials may be updated without notification. If a user believes errors are present in the metadata, data or related materials, please use the information in (1) Identification Information: Point of Contact, (2) Metadata Reference: Metadata Contact, or (3) Distribution Information: Distributor to notify the author or the Archive of the issues.
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: CSV
Format_Version_Number: see Format Specification
Format_Specification:
Comma-separated values file
File_Decompression_Technique: Files zipped with 7-Zip 19.0
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2022-0033
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: JPEG
Format_Version_Number: see Format Specification
Format_Specification:
Joint Photographic Experts Group image file
File_Decompression_Technique: Files zipped with 7-Zip 19.0
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2022-0033
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: PDF
Format_Version_Number: see Format Specification
Format_Specification:
Portable Document Format file
File_Decompression_Technique: Files zipped with 7-Zip 19.0
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2022-0033
Fees: None
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Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20230626
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Contact_Person: Bruce G. Marcot
Contact_Position: Research Wildlife Biologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: Pacific Northwest Research Station
Address: Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building
Address: 1220 S.W. 3rd Ave.
City: Portland
State_or_Province: OR
Postal_Code: 97204
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 503-347-2277
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: bruce.marcot@usda.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001.1-1999
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