The Center’s IfSAR data consist of two separate data sets, the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project (SCWRP) data, a GeoSAR collection, and the licensed data for the coastal areas of northern and central California, the Gulf Coast region, and the eight major islands of Hawaii, which is a NEXTMap collection. These data sets were collected by different groups using slightly different sensors. Each is a slightly different product.
GeoSAR (Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project data)
This data set was collected by EarthData in 2002-2003. The collection consists of two products: a digital elevation model (DEM) and an orthorectified image (ORI). The DEM is a surface model. The ORI is an image produced by the differing radar signal returns. A separate ancillary data set reflecting the general accuracy of the DEM is also available. All these data are available for download.
NEXTMap (California, Gulf Coast, and Hawaii data)
This data set was collected by Intermap in 2004. The collection consists of three products: a digital surface model (DSM), a digital terrain model (DTM), and an ORI. The DSM is the surface model produced from the IfSAR data and includes features such as trees, buildings, and bridges. The DTM is a refined DSM, which means that efforts were made to remove these features where possible. The ORI is similar to the GesoSAR ORI.
Users can see the bounds of these data sets, but the data are licensed and not available for direct download from Digital Coast. Local, state, academic, and nonprofit organizations involved in coastal management may obtain the data by contacting the Center at clearinghouse@csc.noaa.gov. The Center will provide the requestor’s information to Intermap, the data supplier, who will then grant the requesting organization an end-user license agreement for the data.
Notes and Limitations: DTMs from Intermap are processed to remove vegetation and structures. The process is run only in areas that have less than two acres of continuous vegetation or buildings. For this reason, accuracies are highly dependent on the land cover. Stated accuracies are quoted only in areas with limited vegetation cover and structure size.