Data Integration: Airborne Data Collections Provide Opportunity for Creative Data Management at ASF
Abstract
The Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) archives and distributes processed airborne data collections, including the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR), Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR), the Alaska High Altitude Photography (AHAP) Collection, the USGS Glacier Collection, and various other photo collections over Alaska. Each dataset presents different management challenges that are being solved using a variety of technological methods. The mechanism for collecting Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data differs greatly from the methods used to collect satellite-borne SAR data. As a result, metadata for airborne SAR are more complex and are have larger file size than other SAR datasets at ASF. Variations in data format require the need to manipulate the data products as they are ingested at ASF, creating zipped files to reduce the overall volume of individual products, to develop new data products, and tools to promote inter-operability. A goal of the facility is to offer all of the collections through web based interfaces, provide the opportunity for faster download speed, to download the data at several different resolutions, provide bulk download options, and allow for easy data discovery over the customer's selected area of interest. The UAVSAR and AirSAR data collections are digital and fully available online through the ASF data pool. The data are downloaded through a new web interface, designed to facilitate the discovery of online data resources. The aerial photo collections are dominantly hard copies of images, or in film format. Creating logical, systematic, minimum metadata standards for airborne data is a critical step for easy data discovery.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFMIN51B1581S
- Keywords:
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- 1912 INFORMATICS / Data management;
- preservation;
- rescue;
- 1960 INFORMATICS / Portals and user interfaces