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Metadata: 
   Identification Information: 
      Dataset Identifier: 
         gov.noaa.csc.maps:ca2003_rri
      Citation: 
         Citation Information: 
            Originator: 
               Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
               Administration (NOAA), National Ocean
               Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC)
            Publication Date: 
               2004
            Title: 
               2002/2003 IfSAR data for Southern California: Radar Reflectance 
               Image
            Publication Information: 
               Publication Place: 
                  Charleston, SC
               Publisher: 
                  NOAA's Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC)
            Online Linkage: 
               http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ldart
      Description: 
         Abstract: 
            This metadata document describes the collection and processing of 
            topographic elevation point data derived
            from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) measurement for 
            coastal Southern California. Collection
            consists of topographic elevations from the California counties of 
            Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange,
            and San Diego, and the hydrologic units within those counties that 
            drain to the Pacific Ocean along with
            offshore islands within the Channel Islands. The resulting data 
            include (1) Digital Elevation Model (DEM),
            (2) Raw magnitude radar reflectance data, and (3) Height Variance 
            data. This metadata record describes the
            orthorectified radar reflectance image.
         Purpose: 
            The mission of the NOAA Coastal Services Center is to provide coastal 
            managers and partners with data and
            associated decision support tools to more effectively manage and 
            preserve America's coastal zone. This project
            is a collaboration between the NOAA Coastal Services Center and the 
            Southern California Water Research
            Project which is charged with contributing to the scientific 
            understanding of linkages among human activities,
            natural events, and the health of the Southern California coastal 
            environment. This project uses Interferometric
            synthetic aperture radar to create accurate, detailed elevation 
            models and associated imagery to support an array of
            studies and analyses that include hydrologic modeling, watershed 
            delineation and water quality assessment.
            When this data is combined with other geographic data layers, NOAA 
            CSC and SCCWRP will have the ability to
            communicate an understanding of the linkages between natural and 
            human activities to decision makers and other
            stakeholders, and to develop strategies for protecting the ocean 
            environment for this and future generations.
      Time Period of Content: 
         Time Period Information: 
            Range of Dates/Times: 
               Beginning Date: 
                  20020101
               Ending Date: 
                  20030101
         Currentness Reference: 
            Ground Conditions
      Status: 
         Progress: 
            Complete
         Maintenance and Update Frequency: 
            None planned
      Spatial Domain: 
         Bounding Coordinates: 
            West Bounding Coordinate: 
               -118.00415
            East Bounding Coordinate: 
               -115.973179
            North Bounding Coordinate: 
               33.631677
            South Bounding Coordinate: 
               32.489551
      Keywords: 
         Theme: 
            Theme Keyword Thesaurus: 
               ISO 19115 Topic Category
            Theme Keyword: 
               Elevation
         Theme: 
            Theme Keyword Thesaurus: 
               EDI Thesaurus
            Theme Keyword: 
               Elevation
            Theme Keyword: 
               Digital elevation model (DEM)
            Theme Keyword: 
               Raw magnitude radar imagery (MAG)
            Theme Keyword: 
               Height variance data
            Theme Keyword: 
               DSM
            Theme Keyword: 
               GeoSAR
            Theme Keyword: 
               RADAR
            Theme Keyword: 
               Mapping
            Theme Keyword: 
               Bathymetry/Topography
            Theme Keyword: 
               Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR)
            Theme Keyword: 
               Interferometric
         Place: 
            Place Keyword Thesaurus: 
               Geographic Names Information System
            Place Keyword: 
               United States of America (USA)
            Place Keyword: 
               CA
            Place Keyword: 
               California
            Place Keyword: 
               Santa Barbara County
            Place Keyword: 
               Ventura County
            Place Keyword: 
               Los Angeles County
            Place Keyword: 
               Orange county
            Place Keyword: 
               San Diego County
            Place Keyword: 
               Channel Islands
            Place Keyword: 
               Coastal
      Access Constraints: 
         None
      Use Constraints: 
         These data depict the heights at the time of the survey and are only 
         accurate for that time.
         Users should be aware that temporal changes may have occurred since this 
         data set was collected
         and some parts of this data may no longer represent actual surface 
         conditions. Users should not use
         this data for critical applications without a full awareness of it's 
         limitations. Not intended for legal use.
      Point of Contact: 
         Contact Information: 
            Contact Organization Primary: 
               Contact Organization: 
                  Department of Commmerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                  Administration (NOAA),
                  National Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC)
            Contact Position: 
               TCM Project Scientist
            Contact Address: 
               Address Type: 
                  mailing and physical address
               Address: 
                  2234 South Hobson Ave.
               City: 
                  Charleston
               State or Province: 
                  South Carolina
               Postal Code: 
                  29405-2413
               Country: 
                  USA
            Contact Voice Telephone: 
               (843) 740-1200
            Contact Electronic Mail Address: 
               tcm@csc.noaa.gov
      Data Set Credit: 
         NOAA Coastal Services Center
         2234 S. Hobson Ave.
         Charleston, SC 29405-2413
         Tel. 843-740-1200
         FAX. 843-740-1290
         EarthData International of Maryland, LLC
         7320 Executive Way
         Frederick, MD 21704
         Tel. 301-948-9550
         FAX. 301-963-2064
      Native Data Set Environment: 
         The following describes the hardware and software
         environment for the acquisition, processing/mosaicking
         and product finishing phases of the project.
         A. Acquisition
         1. Gulfstream-II Jet Aircraft
         2. Ashtech Z-12 GPS Receiver
         3. Honeywell GPS/IMU (EGI)
         4. Sandi National Laboratories Metrology System
         5. Sony Data Instrumentation Recorder (DIR)
         6. Sony 19mm tapes
         7. GeoSAR X-band/P-band Collection - JPL developed
         software/hardware
         B. Processing/Mosaicking
         1. SGI2400 Processors
         (a) DMF Ver. 2.7.0.0
         (b) TMF Ver. 1.3.5.0
         (c) Openvault Ver 1.4
         (d) IRIX Ver. 6.5.12M
         2. Ampex Storage (64 TB)
         3. SGI Workstations
         (a) OS/UNIX
         (b) Erdas Imagine Ver. 8.5
         (c) JURASSICPROK Jurx_20031024_cal (JPL)
         (d) DGX (JPL)
         (e) Multi-Mosaick, Ver 28 Jan 04 (JPL)
         (f) Multi-Match, Ver 28 Jan 04 (JPL)
         (g) Multi-Cull, Ver 28 Jan 04 (JPL)
         (h) Multi-Affine, Ver 28 Jan 04 (JPL)
         (i) Motion Measurement Processing, Ver 27 May 03 (JPL)
         (j) Terrasurver
         (k) Projector, Ver. .3a
         (l) ESRI ArcView 3.2a
         (m). EarthData Proprietary Software
         C. Product Finishing
         1. Bentley - Microstation
         2. Terrasolid - Terrascan Ver. 3.003
         3. Terrasolid - Terramodeler Ver. 3.003
         4. ESRI - ArcInfo ARC GIS Ver. 8.2
         5. Microsoft Windows 2000 Ver. 5.0
         6. EarthData proprietary software
   Data Quality Information: 
      Logical Consistency Report: 
         EarthData International complied with the accuracy requirements
         through the placement of radar reflective corner reflectors, GPS
         ground control points, GPS base station locations and ABGPS/IMU.
         This data was integrated into the acquisition, processing/mosaicking
         and product finishing process to ensure that the accuracy requirements
         were met.
      Completeness Report: 
         The data set comprehensively includes all anticipated topographic
         elevation data for the region covered.
      Positional Accuracy: 
         Horizontal Positional Accuracy: 
            Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report: 
               The horizontal accuracy was tested by comparing GPS
               ground control points against the data set. Test consisted
               of visual checks and the use of EarthData proprietary
               software. Reporting according to the National Standard for Spatial 
               Data
               Accuracy, the accuracy statement is "Compiled to meet 4.3 meter
               horizontal accuracy at 95% confidence level."
      Lineage: 
         Source Information: 
            Source Citation: 
               Citation Information: 
                  Originator: 
                     EarthData International, GeoSAR Mapping Services
                  Originator: 
                     EarthData International of Maryland, LLC
                  Publication Date: 
                     20040316
                  Publication Time: 
                     Unknown
                  Title: 
                     GeoSAR Mapping of Southern California
                  Geospatial Data Presentation Form: 
                     model
                  Publication Information: 
                     Publication Place: 
                        Frederick, MD
                     Publisher: 
                        EarthData International of Maryland, LLC
            Type of Source Media: 
               Digital data tape
            Source Time Period of Content: 
               Time Period Information: 
                  Single Date/Time: 
                     Calendar Date: 
                        20040316
               Source Currentness Reference: 
                  Publication Date
            Source Citation Abbreviation: 
               GeoSAR
            Source Contribution: 
               The project was flown using EarthData's modified
               Gulfstream-II jet aircraft. The IfSAR data was captured
               using a dual-frequency, dual-polarimetric, Interferometric
               airborne radar mapping system (GeoSAR) that generates
               digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthorectified radar
               reflectance maps near the tops of trees as well as beneath
               foliage.
               Data was captured simultaneously in both X-band (first
               surface, near the tops of trees) and P-band (beneath the
               foliage).   X-band antenna are mounted under the wings
               close to the fuselage and have a 160 MHz bandwidth at a
               center frequency of 9.7 GHz. P-band antennas are
               mounted on the wingtips and have a center frequency of
               350 MHz. Each X-band and P-band antenna provides two
               looks at each point on the ground for a total of four looks
               on each side. Flight lines are overlapped to provide
               coverage of the space directly beneath the aircraft. As a
               result, some points on the ground are covered eight times.
               Left-right look angles on each side of the aircraft combined
               with mosaicking process mitigates radar shadow and layover.
               X-band data has been processed for the entire project area
               and P-band has been processed for an area of approximately
               300 square kilometers within the project area.
               Due to flight clearance requirements all data was normally collected
               between the hours of 10 PM and 7 AM.
         Source Information: 
            Source Citation: 
               Citation Information: 
                  Originator: 
                     EarthData International
                  Originator: 
                     TerraSurv, LLC
                  Publication Date: 
                     20040316
                  Publication Time: 
                     Unknown
                  Title: 
                     Ground Control Survey
                  Geospatial Data Presentation Form: 
                     model
                  Publication Information: 
                     Publication Place: 
                        Frederick, MD, USA
                     Publisher: 
                        EarthData International of Maryland, LLC
            Type of Source Media: 
               Paper/digital
            Source Time Period of Content: 
               Time Period Information: 
                  Single Date/Time: 
                     Calendar Date: 
                        20040316
               Source Currentness Reference: 
                  Publication Date
            Source Citation Abbreviation: 
               GPS Ground Control
            Source Contribution: 
               Ground control and GPS base station locations were
               established to provide the necessary control to meet the
               accuracy requirements of the project.
               Radar reflective corner reflectors were deployed across the
               project area to be used in the mosaicking stage to ensue
               that the data met the accuracy requirements. A total of
               fourteen reflectors were deployed across the total project
               area with six reflectors deployed within the Phase I project
               area. A total of ten additional ground control points were
               established using GPS for vertical and horizontal
               coordinate values. These points were used during the
               quality control process to evaluate the accuracy of the final
               mosaicked data. Ground control references UTM Zone
               11, NAD83, GRS80.
         Source Information: 
            Source Citation: 
               Citation Information: 
                  Originator: 
                     Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and 
                     Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National
                     Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC)
                  Publication Date: 
                     2004
                  Title: 
                     2002 Southern California IfSAR
                  Publication Information: 
                     Publication Place: 
                        Charleston, South Carolina
                     Publisher: 
                        NOAA's Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC)
                  Online Linkage: 
                     http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ldart
            Type of Source Media: 
               Digital
            Source Time Period of Content: 
               Time Period Information: 
                  Single Date/Time: 
                     Calendar Date: 
                        2004
               Source Currentness Reference: 
                  upon processing
            Source Citation Abbreviation: 
               NOAA CSC
            Source Contribution: 
               NOAA Coastal Service Center obtained the final product deliverable
               from EarthData International, processed it, and loaded it into 
               ArcSDE
               for distribution purposes.
         Process Step: 
            Process Description: 
               EarthData has developed an in depth production process
               for processing GeoSAR data to meet NOAA's
               specifications. The following outlines the GeoSAR
               acquisition and processing workflow that was
               designed to produce the final product deliverables.
               1. PROJECT PLANNING.
               The success of this project depended on effective
               management of all components of the project. To support
               this effort EarthData identified an experienced
               management team to oversee all aspects of the project.
               This team was responsible for ensuring that all project
               requirements outlined in the SOW and any subsequent
               amendments were met and that an open
               communication/reporting line was maintained with all
               participants.
               2. GeoSAR ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING WORKFLOW.
               This section describes the general workflow for the
               GeoSAR system for the planning, collection, processing,
               and mosaicking of GeoSAR dual band IFSAR products.
               2.1 Collection & Processing Requirements Production Steps
               Six major activities take place in this production step.
               A. Ground Control requirements are derived from the
               Project accuracy and QC specification in combination with
               the data take flight lines. The need for in situ corner
               reflectors, kinematic GPS profiles, and mosaicking control
               drive this task.
               B. Kinematic GPS is routinely specified for collection
               (where cost effective) to provide an independent means of
               quickly verifying the end mosaic product. This is an
               important part of the overall QA process, since this data is
               sequestered from the mosaicking staff until after the mosaic
               is completed. Kinematic GPS data is frequently collected
               prior to deployment in conjunction with the site
               survey (see item-D, below).
               C. GPS Base Station Location candidate sites are
               selected from the existing High Accuracy Regional
               Networks (HARN) in the project area, and the High
               Precision Geodetic Net (HPGN) in California. One or more
               such locations are usually occupied as the base stations
               during the flight mission. If such a station is not available
               within or close to the project site, then either an existing
               HPGN densification station is used or a new station is
               established through static GPS survey connected to
               HPGN stations and meeting the FGCS Order-C, Class-I
               relative positioning standard.
               D. Site Surveys are usually conducted several weeks to
               several months prior to deployment to identify reflector
               ground control locations, identify and resolve deployment
               issues (obtain permission or permits), and to verify that the
               GPS base station receives a high quality signal at the
               selected primary and backup locations. Kinematic dGPS
               traces are frequently obtained at this time using one of the
               base station locations.
               E. Detailed Acquisition Planning generates a complete
               acquisition plan including final notched frequency
               waveforms based upon coordination with the Army
               Spectrum Office. Flight lines are fully specified and the
               associated run-time data packets finalized and checked by
               the Project Manager and the Radar Operators for accuracy
               and completeness.
               F. Sortie Packing is the final planning step prior to
               initiating the Deployment & Acquisition of the raw radar
               data. In this step the various data take lines are bundled
               into a flight (sortie) and the corresponding logistical support
               requirements are determined (e.g., ground control, media,
               contingency supplies, etc.). The sortie schedule is
               specified, crews hired, personnel reserved, suppliers hired,
               and support material inventoried.
               2.2 Deployment & Acquisition of Raw Data Production
               Steps
               Three major activities take place in this production step.
               A. Mobilization initiates the acquisition process. If the
               aircraft requires alternate basing, then it is moved to this
               base. The aircrew, the Radar operators, and the In-field
               Acquisition Manager secure local lodging and prepare for
               the initial sortie. The GPS base station and ground crews
               are deployed to the region, where upon they install the
               specified reflector ground control, check GPS equipment
               for proper operation, and secure local lodging. All supplies
               required to support the acquisition are propositioned.
               B. Sortie Generation consists of five basic steps, each
               requiring close coordination by the In-field Acquisition
               Manager. Some of these steps may not pertain to every
               sortie.
               a. Reflector Deployment-if not already in place, the
               specified corner reflectors are positioned and orientated
               per the sortie plan.
               b. Ground Station Deployment-the GPS ground crew
               deploy to their specified locations, install the monitoring
               equipment, and start collecting local GPS data at least 30
               minutes prior to "wheels-up" and continue recording until
               notified of "wheels down".
               c. Preflight Logistics-sortie flight plan is filed, sortie supplies
               loaded, aircraft and radar equipment preflight checked,
               verify GPS ground crew in position.
               d. Data Takes-fly the specified plan. If problems arise, use
               best judgment to extract the maximum value from the sortie.
               e. Post Flight Logistics-notify GPS ground crew of landing,
               offload recorded data takes and auxiliary sensor data files
               and media, update operators' log, debrief In-field
               Acquisition Manager on mission, ship (as appropriate) data
               takes to production facility.
               This process is repeated for every sortie. Radar hardware
               failures and/or aircraft maintenance issues are resolved as
               quickly as possible and the sortie schedule is adjusted
               accordingly.
               C. Demobilization commences upon completion of the last
               sortie. All staff and aircraft return to home base. Post
               deployment inspection and maintenance are performed.
               2.3 X-band and P-band Data Processing Production Steps
               Seven major activities take place in this production step.
               A. Data Take Ingestion is the process of incoming
               reception and logging of the data tapes and auxiliary data
               sent from the field into the production database. The base
               station GPS data is combined with the aircraft GPS data to
               create a dGPS location of the aircraft relative to the base
               station ground control point. This data is entered into the
               production database.
               B. Motion Measurement Processing (MMP) examines the
               auxiliary data for motion quality and prepares the
               parameters necessary for transferring the raw data off of
               the tapes. MMP is the beginning step of the Ground
               Processor. The motion data is sent through a QA process
               to verify its quality. The MMP inputs the dGPS aircraft
               position location data and combines it with the auxiliary
               antenna motion data to generate a Time Varying Parameter
               (TVP) file for the data take, which is used by the X-band
               and P-band processors to motion compensate the raw
               data.
               C. Tape Transfer is based upon data obtained from the
               MMP process, which identified what data is located where
               on the tape. The Tape transfer process requires 3 to 4
               times real time to complete the transfer from the
               high-density Sony tapes into a format suitable for
               processing.
               D. X-band Swath Processing inputs operator or MMP
               specified parameters and outputs a coregistered X-band
               reflectance image and DEM at the specified ground
               sample distance. This is a computationally intense process,
               limited to about 4-quads/hour throughput.
               E. P-band Swath Processing inputs operator or MMP
               specified parameters and X-band DEM (or other suitable
               DEM) and outputs a coregistered P-band reflectance
               image and DEM at the specified ground sample distance.
               This is a computationally intense process, limited to about
               2-quads/hour throughput.
               Steps 2, 3, and 4, while sequential, can be executing in
               parallel on different swaths. Up to a dozen different swaths
               may be in processing at single time.
               F. QC Swath occurs when the radar processors have
               completed their reduction of the raw data into reflectance
               and DEM swaths. This is a manual operation where each
               swath is examined for processing anomalies, such as
               phase-unwrapped regions, ambiguity jumps, of noisy data.
               Approximately 20% of this data will be reprocessed with
               different input parameters to mitigate the anomalies.
               G. Ready to Mosaic is the final QC check of the
               processed swaths to ensure that all the available data has
               been processed correctly and enough data is on hand to
               generate a composite mosaic for (a large portion of) the
               project area.
               2.4 Wide Area Mosaicking Production Steps
               Three major activities take place in this production step.
               a. Segmentation-chop the swaths into segments
               containing usable, eliminating sub spec data (usually a
               result of severe motion artifacts due to turbulent weather
               during the data take).
               b. Swath De-Tilt-remove residual linear tilt in range for the
               swath (this is minimized by calibration, but might be required
               on wide swaths).
               c. Region Match Exclusion-mask out large water regions
               so they do not generate spurious interswath match points
               (this region is usually defined during the flight planning
               process).
               d. Control Point Extraction-using ground control
               information, extract the position of the radar corner
               reflectors to a fraction of a pixel.
               e. Swath Point Matching-in the overlap regions of any two
               swaths, find all reflectance (and/or DEM) points which
               correspond to the same point on the ground. This process
               generates hundreds to thousands of match points per
               swath-pair.
               f. Match Point Culling-severely cull the match points to
               retain only the very best, highly correlated points.
               B. Mosaic Affine Transformations is the process of
               combining the match points (produced by item-f above)
               and the ground control points in a weighted lease mean
               squared error swath-by-swath affine transformation
               for geographic registration to generate a composite mosaic of
               the region. Data from overlapping swaths are averaged in
               common areas and feathered at the boundaries. The same
               transformation parameters are applied for both the
               reflectance and height data. Null values in one swath are
               replaced by non-null values in overlapping swaths.
               Orthogonal tie lines provide powerful near range
               constraints to remove residual tilts. Ground control points
               remove residual systematic vertical bias (z-bump).
               C. QC and Mosaic Statistics are collected for the
               composite mosaic. Independent ground control is used to
               estimate the overall quality. Once the mosaic is declared
               completed by the mosaicking staff compare the kinematic
               GPS data values collected during acquisition against the
               mosaicked values to assess independently of the
               mosaicking statistics the overall quality of the final mosaic.
               If the mosaic is satisfactory, i.e., there are no major
               blunders, then optionally the kinematic data can be used
               as additional constraints to improve further the final
               product. If the result is not satisfactory, then the anomalies
               are noted and the composite mosaic is redone (usually from
               the swath point matching or from the affine transformation
               step.
               2.5 Product Finishing and Packaging Steps.
               Seven major activities take place in this production step.
               A. Crop to Quads chops the composite mosaic into units
               suitable for ingestion by the DEM and Image editing
               workstation.
               B. Transfer data to product finishing team.
               C. DEM Edit is the manual process for removing residual
               radar artifacts from the DEM according to NOAA's
               specifications.
               D. Image Edit is cosmetic smoothing or removal of radar
               artifacts to enhance the photo-like quality of the imagery.
               E. QC is the final check on inherent data quality. Data,
               which fails to meet the delivery spec, is sent back to
               the processing team for remediation.
               F. Formatting established the data onto NOAA's specified
               media and formats.
               G. Delivery is the process of shipping the data to NOAA
               and following up that the data is found to be satisfactory.
               3   DEM AND IMAGE CLEANING AND PRODUCT FINISHING
               The following provides an in depth description of the steps
               involved in this process.
               A Pre-Processing Data Review.
               Once the data acquisition and processing/mosaicking
               phase has been completed the data will be provided to the
               product development and finishing team to continue
               the processing and delivery development phase.
               B Data Preparation.
               Prior to beginning the processing and delivery development
               phase, all data will be processed into the workflow
               structure designed to support the delivery requirements.
               Data will be downloaded and placed into a folder or
               database. The downloaded data will then be transferred
               into a job folder where it will be extracted and cut into tiles
               roughly the size of a 7.5-minute quad. Automated data
               validation software routines will be run on the data to
               check for gross errors and anomalies. Once all of the data
               is validated it will be processed through an additional
               control check. A series of supplemental control points
               gathered during data acquisition will be utilized to provide
               an independent accuracy assessment and RMSE
               validation prior to beginning the final production phase.
               Once all of the data has been accepted, it is placed in a
               secure folder/database location to be used for the final
               processing and delivery development phase.
               C Image/DEM Edit
               The delivery development phase in broken into the Image
               edit and DEM edit phase. Each phase is made up of a
               series of steps designed to meet the delivery requirements
               outlined in the project SOW. The following provides an
               outline of the processes used to develop each set of
               deliverables.
               a. Image Edit.
               Our image edit process has been developed to meet the
               requirements for imagery deliverables outlined in the SOW.
               EarthData shall provide orthorectified radar
               reflectance imagery for the area of the main task order.
               (1) Imagery shall be in GeoTiff format and tiled with
               no compression to fit the 7.5-minute USGS quads.
               (2) Imagery shall have a horizontal resolution of 3
               meters and a horizontal accuracy of 2.5 meters.
               (a) Translate to Tiff format.
               Data is withdrawn from the secure accepted database file
               location as needed and prepared for translation.
               EarthData utilizes proprietary software to coverts the
               existing Magnitude Image (or reflectance image) files to Tiff
               format. The converted data is visually viewed for
               completeness and prepared for the next step.
               (b) Merge tiles into final sheets.
               Based on the project limits EarthData will develop a tile
               structure that conforms to the limits of 7.5-minute USGS
               quads. This tile structure will be used as the template for
               merging tiles into the final sheets.
               To support this effort EarthData will utilize existing
               commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and proprietary software to
               convert the Tiff format data into clipped and merged final
               7.5-minute quad limits. The converted data is then
               reviewed for completeness and prepared for the next step.
               (c) Edit voids/PhotoShop.
               The GeoSAR preliminary flight planning and processing
               steps are intentionally robust to reduce and minimize the
               occurrence of void areas within the data. However, some
               limited void areas are typical for IFSAR-generated data.
               EarthData will utilize COTS and proprietary software to
               identify and fill identified voids. Each void will be
               individually reviewed and corrected during this process. At
               the end of this stage the base image product is complete
               and ready for input into the database.
               (d) Update index or database.
               A final QC of the data is performed on the completed data
               prior to input into the index or database. Based on
               acceptance, the final data is merged into the existing
               database structure. At this point the data is ready to start
               the next DEM edit phase of production.
               b DEM Edit.
               Our DEM edit process has been developed to ensure
               adherence to requirements outlined in the SOW. These
               include.
               (1) EarthData shall deliver DEM data in an ESRI
               floating point grid format with a 3.0-meter cell size. The
               data shall be split into tiles corresponding to USGS 7.5
               minute quads.
               (2) Delivered reflective surface DEM data shall have a
               vertical accuracy of +/- 1.5 meter RMSEz or better.
               EarthData shall provide our "best effort" to meet vertical
               accuracy requirements within urban corridors (dense
               buildings of greater than 2-3 stories) due to shadowing and
               "layover" within these areas.
               (3) Elevation points used to generate the DEM shall
               have a horizontal resolution of 3 meters and a horizontal
               accuracy of 2.5 meters.
               (4) Data shall be delivered on DVD.
               (a) Digitize water polygons from Tiffs
               Based on the acceptance of the Tiff formatted data,
               EarthData technicians will interactively identify water
               polygons that require digitizing. All stream channels will be
               digitized for leveling if they exceed approximately twenty
               (20) meters in width. Open water bodies five (5) acres or
               larger will be digitized to level water in these areas.
               (b) Drape water polygons on DEMs.
               Using COTS and proprietary software the 2D collected
               water polygons are draped over generated DEMs. This
               process assigns each element with a "Z" value.
               (c) Fill water polygons with lowest elevation
               Using proprietary developed software the draped water
               polygons are imported and grids are dropped in to level to
               the lowest elevation within that polygon. A void map is
               generated for all edited voids. Color codes are used to
               identify void type, i.e. water, terrain.
               (d) Generate void polygons and fill.
               Using our proprietary developed software routines any
               remaining voids are identified and a polygon is generated
               around each void.   Using the poly fill routine the software
               fills any remaining voids with an average of the surrounding
               data. A void map is generated for all edited voids. Color
               codes are used to identify void type, i.e. water, terrain.
               (e) Using TIN, Image and contours fix wells and spikes.
               During this step we generate a TIN and contours. Using
               the TIN and contours along with the magnitude image we
               identify and correct any wells, spikes and other anomalies.
               (f) Final Q/C of DEM using contours/TIN and Magnitude
               image
               An independent review of the data is conducted at this
               point to ensure that all wells, spikes and other anomalies
               were identified and corrected. This independent review is
               conducted by someone other than the technician who
               worked on that area.
               (g) Generate final DEM deliverable.
               Based on the acceptance of data from the final QC
               process the final DEM is generated.
               4 DELIVERABLE GENERATION
               The Image edit and DEM edit phase prepare data for final
               deliverable generation. Based on final data acceptance,
               the data flowing from each phase will be formatted to an
               acceptable data delivery format and prepared for delivery.
               Final deliverables include.
               (1) Digital Elevation Model (DEM),
               (2) Raw Magnitude radar imagery (Mag).
               Supplemental data consists of
               (1) Height error layer (HEL),
               (2) Void mask,
               (3) Water mask, and
               (4) TIFF (8 bit raster of Magnitude imagery)
               Final deliverable formats consists of
               (1) DEM   -   ESRI Float Grid Format
               (2) Mag   -   IEEE 32 bit Float Format
               (3) Void Mask    -   ESRI Shape File Format
               (4) Water Mask   -  ESRI Shape FIle Format
               (5) Mag   -  8 bit Raster TIFF Format
               5 METADATA
               Project level metadata is provided for each phase of the
               project.
            Source Used Citation Abbreviation: 
               GeoSAR
            Source Used Citation Abbreviation: 
               GPS Ground Control
            Process Date: 
               2004
            Source Produced Citation Abbreviation: 
               Topographic Elevation Mapping
            Process Contact: 
               Contact Information: 
                  Contact Organization Primary: 
                     Contact Organization: 
                        EarthData International of Maryland, LLC
                  Contact Address: 
                     Address Type: 
                        mailing and physical address
                     Address: 
                        7320 Executive Way
                     City: 
                        Frederick
                     State or Province: 
                        MD
                     Postal Code: 
                        21704
                     Country: 
                        USA
                  Contact Voice Telephone: 
                     301-948-8550
                  Contact Facsimile Telephone: 
                     301-963-2064
                  Hours of Service: 
                     9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (EST) Mon - Fri
         Process Step: 
            Process Description: 
               In-house routines that used the GDAL open source library converted 
               the floating point raster data sets into
               Environmental Research System Institute (ESRI) Arc Grids. These 
               grids were then loaded into a single raster
               data set within ArcSDE using a utility developed with ESRI 
               ArcObjects.
            Source Used Citation Abbreviation: 
               NOAA CSC
            Source Used Citation Abbreviation: 
               Topographic Elevation Mapping
            Process Date: 
               2004
            Process Contact: 
               Contact Information: 
                  Contact Organization Primary: 
                     Contact Organization: 
                        Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and 
                        Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
                        National Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC)
                  Contact Address: 
                     Address Type: 
                        mailing and physical address
                     Address: 
                        2234 South Hobson Avenue
                     City: 
                        Charleston
                     State or Province: 
                        South Carolina
                     Postal Code: 
                        29405-2413
                     Country: 
                        USA
                  Contact Voice Telephone: 
                     (843) 740-1200
                  Contact Electronic Mail Address: 
                     tcm@csc.noaa.gov
         Process Step: 
            Process Description: 
               The NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) received Lidar 
               data files on external harddrive. The disk contains LiDAR data 
               from the NOAA Coastal Services Center. This data is currently 
               being served via LDART at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ldart . This 
               data can be used to re-populate the system.
            Process Date: 
               20071226
            Process Contact: 
               Contact Information: 
                  Contact Organization Primary: 
                     Contact Organization: 
                        DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, 
                        NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
                     Contact Person: 
                        Kelly Stroker
                  Contact Address: 
                     Address Type: 
                        Mailing and Physical Address
                     Address: 
                        NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC E/GC1 325 Broadway
                     City: 
                        Boulder
                     State or Province: 
                        CO
                     Postal Code: 
                        80305-3328
                     Country: 
                        USA
                  Contact Voice Telephone: 
                     (303) 497-4603
                  Contact TDD/TTY Telephone: 
                     (303) 497-6958
                  Contact Facsimile Telephone: 
                     (303) 497-6513
                  Contact Electronic Mail Address: 
                     kelly.stroker@noaa.gov
                  Hours of Service: 
                     7:30-5:00 Mountain
                  Contact Instructions: 
                     Contact Data Center
   Spatial Data Organization Information: 
      Direct Spatial Reference Method: 
         Raster
      Raster Object Information: 
         Cell Value Type: 
            unsigned eight-bit integer
         Raster Object Type: 
            Grid Cell
   Spatial Reference Information: 
      Horizontal Coordinate System Definition: 
         Planar: 
            Grid Coordinate System: 
               Grid Coordinate System Name: 
                  Universal Transverse Mercator
               Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM): 
                  UTM Zone Number: 
                     11
                  Transverse Mercator: 
                     Scale Factor at Central Meridian: 
                        0.9996
                     Longitude of Central Meridian: 
                        -117
                     Latitude of Projection Origin: 
                        0
                     False Easting: 
                        500000
                     False Northing: 
                        0
            Planar Coordinate Information: 
               Planar Coordinate Encoding Method: 
                  row and column
               Coordinate Representation: 
                  Abscissa Resolution: 
                     3
                  Ordinate Resolution: 
                     3
               Planar Distance Units: 
                  Meters
         Geodetic Model: 
            Horizontal Datum Name: 
               NAD83
            Ellipsoid Name: 
               GRS80
            Semi-major Axis: 
               6378137.0
            Denominator of Flattening Ratio: 
               298.257222101
   Entity and Attribute Information: 
      Overview Description: 
         Entity and Attribute Overview: 
            Radar Reflectance value
         Entity and Attribute Detail Citation: 
            none
   Distribution Information: 
      Distributor: 
         Contact Information: 
            Contact Organization Primary: 
               Contact Organization: 
                  Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                  Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS),
                  Coastal Services Center (CSC)
            Contact Position: 
               CEM Project Scientist
            Contact Address: 
               Address Type: 
                  mailing and physical address
               Address: 
                  2234 South Hobson Avenue
               City: 
                  Charleston
               State or Province: 
                  SC
               Postal Code: 
                  29405-2413
            Contact Voice Telephone: 
               843-740-1200
            Contact Electronic Mail Address: 
               tcm@csc.noaa.gov
      Resource Description: 
         Downloadable Data
      Distribution Liability: 
         Any conclusions drawn from analysis of this information are not the 
         responsibility of NOAA,
         the Coastal Services Center or it's partners.
      Custom Order Process: 
         This data can be obtained on-line at the following URL:    http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ldart
   Distribution Information: 
      Distributor: 
         Contact Information: 
            Contact Organization Primary: 
               Contact Organization: 
                  DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, 
                  NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
               Contact Person: 
                  Kelly Stroker
            Contact Address: 
               Address Type: 
                  Mailing and Physical Address
               Address: 
                  NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC E/GC1 325 Broadway
               City: 
                  Boulder
               State or Province: 
                  CO
               Postal Code: 
                  80305-3328
               Country: 
                  USA
            Contact Voice Telephone: 
               (303) 497-4603
            Contact TDD/TTY Telephone: 
               (303) 497-6958
            Contact Facsimile Telephone: 
               (303) 497-6513
            Contact Electronic Mail Address: 
               kelly.stroker@noaa.gov
            Hours of Service: 
               7:30-5:00 Mountain
            Contact Instructions: 
               Contact Data Center
      Distribution Liability: 
         Disclaimer While every effort has been made to ensure that these data 
         are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of 
         the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any 
         errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of 
         the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, 
         expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute 
         such a warranty.
      Custom Order Process: 
         The National Geophysical Data Center serves as the archive for this 
         LIDAR data. NGDC should only be contacted for this data if it cannot 
         be obtained from NOAA Coastal Services Center.
   Metadata Reference Information: 
      Metadata Date: 
         20080102
      Metadata Contact: 
         Contact Information: 
            Contact Organization Primary: 
               Contact Organization: 
                  Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                  Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS),
                  Coastal Services Center (CSC)
               Contact Person: 
                  Brian Hadley
            Contact Position: 
               CEM Project Scientist
            Contact Address: 
               Address Type: 
                  mailing and physical address
               Address: 
                  2234 South Hobson Avenue
               City: 
                  Charleston
               State or Province: 
                  SC
               Postal Code: 
                  29405-2413
            Contact Voice Telephone: 
               843-740-1200
            Contact Electronic Mail Address: 
               tcm@csc.noaa.gov
      Metadata Standard Name: 
         FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
      Metadata Standard Version: 
         FGDC-STD-001-1998