Second Phase of Photo and Video Portal Completed
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed the second phase of releasing thousands of photos and videos of the seafloor and coastline through their Coastal and Marine Video and Photography Portal.
Most of these marine and coastal scenes have never been seen before or mapped at this level of detail. A more accurate perspective of these areas helps coastal managers make important decisions that range from protecting habitats to understanding hazards and managing land use.
This USGS portal is unique, due to the sheer quantity and quality of data presented. It is the largest database of its kind, providing detailed and fine-scale representations of the coast and seafloor. The “geospatial context” is also unique, with maps that display imagery in the geographic location where the images were recorded.
Prior to development of the data portal, retrieving this imagery most often required internal USGS access with specific hardware and software. Furthermore, it was difficult to manage and challenging to share such a large amount of information.
In early 2015, the USGS published imagery and video of California, Massachusetts, the Gulf of Mexico and the mid-Atlantic coasts. This second phase, now complete, includes Puget Sound, Hawaii, Alaska, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Long Island Sound, as well as additional products from Massachusetts and nine pre-storm and post hurricane photo datasets from the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. Video and photographs will be continuously added as they are collected; archived imagery will also be incorporated soon.
In total, approximately 165,500 photographs have been collected as well as 1,210 hours of trackline video covering almost 3,200 miles of coastline.
Online tutorials are available to explain how to navigate the portal and also how to search the data catalog and work with multiple data layers.
Learn more about USGS science by visiting the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards Program website.
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