1. Acquisition of Aerial Photographs Lecture 8 prepared by R. Lathrop 9/99 Updated 9/07 with reference to material in Avery & Berlin 5th edition

2. Learning Objectives Remote sensing concepts –Range of existing imagery sources –Important parameters to consider in planning/contracting imagery acquisition Math concepts –Calculating number of photos required as part of flight planning Skills –Lay out a flight plan and calculate number of photos required to cost out a flight mission

3. Aerial Photographic Sources National High Altitude Photography (NHAP): (1980-1987) 1:58,000 CIR or 1:80,000 Pan National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP): (since 1987) 1:40,000 CIR NASA high altitude photography: (since 1964) 1:60,000-1:120,000 PAN, COLOR, CIR These images are archived by the Eros Data Center as part of the USGS Global Land Information System. To search archive http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/

4. Aerial Photographic Sources USDA:(since 1955): mainly PAN of 1:20,000-1:40,000. These photos are archived by the Aerial Photography Field Office http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dam/APFO/airfto. htm National Archives and Records Administration archives older (pre- 1950’s) aerial photography http://www.nara.gov/research/ordering/map ordr.html

5. 1930’s B&W aerial photography mosaics of New Jersey (source: NJDEP)

7. 1-meter resolution natural color aerial photography of New Jersey, leaf-on: July-August 2006 (source: USDA-FSA APFO)

8. Aerial Photographic Sources National Ocean Survey (NOS) coastal photography: (since 1945), color, scales of 1;10,000 - 1:50,000 The photos are used for a variety of geo- positioning applications, which include delineating the shoreline for Nautical Chart creation, measuring water depths, mapping seabed characteristics, and locating obstructions to marine and air navigation. http://mapfinder.nos.noaa.gov

9. Army Corps NJ shore aerial photos of 1920’s-30’s-40’s-60’ http://chl.wes.army.mil/shore /newjersey /

10. NASA Astronaut Photography http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/clickmap/

11. Satellite imagery sources Will be covered later in the semester

12. Contract Imagery Existing aerial photographs/imagery may be unsuitable for certain projects Special-purpose photography/imagery - may be contracted through commercial aerial survey firms

13. Contracting Imagery Considerations Camera focal length Camera format size Image scale  ground coverage and resolution desired Film/filter Overlap/sidelap Photo Alignment/tilt Seasonal considerations Time-of-Day considerations/ cloud cover

14. Seasonal considerations Cloud free conditions, ideally < 10% Leaf-off: spring/fall when deciduous tree leaves are off and ground free of snow used for topographic/soils mapping, terrain/landform interpretation Leaf-on: summer when deciduous trees are leafed out or late fall when various tree species may be identified by foliage color used for vegetation analyses

15. Scale Considerations What is the minimum mapping unit or size of smallest object that you want resolved and mapped? What is the ground coverage desired for an individual photo or image frame? How large of a study area to be covered? 3 considerations involve trade-offs

16. Time-of-day considerations Quantity of light determined by solar elevation angle no shadows: +- 2 hrs around solar noon shadows desired: early or late day Spectral quality: possibility of sun/hot spots causing image saturation

17. Flight Alignment Flight lines are planned to be parallel Usually in a N-S or E-W direction. For maximum aircraft efficiency, they should be parallel to the long axis of the study area (minimize aircraft turns). Crab or drift should be minimized Tilt, 2-3 o for any single photo, average < 1 o for entire project

18. Example: Flight planning for aerial photography of submerged aquatic vegetation Color film gives better water depth penetration

19. Example: Flight planning for aerial photography of submerged aquatic vegetation Other considerations Scales of 1:12,000 to 1:24,000 needed Time of year: late spring-early summer Time of day: sun angles 15-30 o, generally early morningto reduce wind/surface waves Tides: +- 2 hours of lowest tide

20. Example: Flight planning for aerial photography of submerged aquatic vegetation GeoVantage Digital Camera 4 bands: Blue, Green, Red, NIR Pixel Array Size: 0.00465mm Focal Length: 12mm Field of View: 28.1 o crossrange, 21.1 o along range Easily mounted on wheel strut Coordinated acquisition with Inertial Measurement Unit to determine precise geodetic positioning to provide for georegistration and orthorectification

21. Example: Flight planning for aerial photography of submerged aquatic vegetation What Flying Height (m) needed to resolve individual SAV beds of 1m wide x 10 m long (0.001 ha in size)? General Rule of Thumb: GSD at a minimum of ½ the size of smallest feature. In this case need, GSD of 0.5m. GSD = array element size * H’. focal length Example: array element size = 0.00465mm f = 12 mm GSD = 0.5mH’ = ? H’ = 0.5m * 12 mm / 0.00465mm = 1290 m

22. Example: Flight planning for aerial photography of submerged aquatic vegetation What will be the image width(m)? FOV = 28.1 o H’ = 1290m

23. Example: Flight planning for aerial photography of submerged aquatic vegetation What will be the image width(m)? Remember your basic trigonometry? Tan = opposite / adjacent Tan FOV/2 = (1/2 image width)/H’ Image width = 2 * tan14.05 * 1290m = 2 * 0.250 * 1290m = 645 m FOV = 28.1 o H’ = 1290m opp adj

24. Example: Flight Planning Mission parameters Study area: 20 km E-W & 35 km N-S Elevation of study area: 500 m above sea level Desired Photo scale: 1:25,000 Film format: 23 x 23 cm or 0.23 x 0.23 m Focal length: 152 mm or 0.152 m Overlap: 60% Sidelap: 30% From Avery & Berlin, 5th ed. pp 101-102

25. Map with Study Area Footprint 35 km long 20km wide

26. Example: Flight planning Flight altitude RF = f / H or H = RF d * f H = (25,000) (0.152 m) = 3,800 m above terrain Flight altitude = 3,800 m + 500 = 4,300 m above sea level

27. Example: Flight planning Ground distance Ground distance coverage of a single photo RF = PD / GDor GD = RF d * PD GD = 25,000 * 0.23 m = 5,750 m

28. Example: Flight planning Number of flight lines NL = [W / (GD)(S g )] + 2 where W = width of study area GD = ground distance of single photo S g = sidelap gain (100 - % sidelap) expressed as a decimal fraction 2 = extra flight lines (1 per side) NL = [20 km / (5.75 km)(0.7)] + 2 = 4.97 + 2 = 6.97 = 7 (always round up)

29. Map with Study Area Footprint and Flight Lines 35 km long 20km wide

30. Example: Flight planning Number of photos per flight line NP = [L / (GD)(O g )] + 4 where L = length of flight line GD = ground distance of single photo O g = overlap gain (100 - % overlap) expressed as a decimal fraction 4 = extra photos (2 per end of flight line) NP = [35 km / (5.75 km)(0.4)] + 4 = 15.2 + 4 = 19.2 = 20 (always round up)

31. Example: Flight planning Total number of photos Number of flight lines x number of photos per flight lineor TN = NP x NL TN = NP x NL = 7 x 20 = 140 photos If each photo cost approximately $25/frame, what is the total cost of the mission? –140 photos * $25/photo = $3,500