About this CD-ROM

This section provides general operating instructions for installing the CD-ROM, using the associated software, accessing the various data sets, and obtaining additional information regarding this project.

• Introduction
• Software Installation and Requirements
• Directory Structure
• Disclaimer
• For Technical Assistance

Introduction

Previously, remote sensing data sets have not been readily accessible to the desktop geographic information system (GIS) community. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center has addressed this problem by integrating satellite-derived land cover data, change analysis data, and LIDAR airborne laser beach mapping data with vector data in a multi-platform environment for use by coastal resource managers. This CD-ROM approaches different audiences with multiple ways to access the data:

• A web-browser for viewing static maps, tutorials, data applications, and background information about remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and the data
• An ArcView® project file for ArcView GIS users
• ArcExplorer®, a free data browser, for those users who do not have GIS software
• Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF) files to view and print pre-made maps

Data sets contained on this CD-ROM include: land cover and change analysis data, contour and elevation maps derived from LIDAR beach mapping data, a vectorized shoreline of South Carolina's coast, and orthophotography.

• BeachMapper: a software application included on this CD-ROM set to acquire LIDAR beach mapping data for South Carolina
• LIDAR Loader: an ArcView extension created to load LIDAR data into ArcView
• LIDAR Data Handler Extension: An ArcView extension created to give users specific tools to manipulate LIDAR data
• LDART: a web-based LIDAR retrieval tool that allows the user to pick a state, area of interest, and projection
• GIS tutorials: exercises to aid coastal resource managers with the more technical aspects of a GIS

This is the fourth project of its type for the NOAA Coastal Service Center. Other Center CD-ROMs for coastal resource managers include Yakutat Bay, Alaska; the Columbia River Basin in Washington and Oregon; and San Francisco Bay; Otter Island, South Carolina Ecological Characterization; Sea View, and New Technologies for Coastal Mapping. For more information about these Center products, click here.

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Software Installation and Requirements

To receive the full benefit of this CD-ROM, a number of different software packages are necessary. The following list is a description of the software and where it can be obtained if it is not already available on the CD-ROM.

Internet Browsing Software

Many computer operating systems come with Internet browsing software included. If you would like to upgrade your current browsers, the most recent version of these browsers are available at the following links:

• Internet Explorer®
  

• Netscape® Navigator

PKZIP® Shareware

To allow us to include a large amount of data on the CD-ROM, many of the data sets have been compressed using PKZIP. This software package is available on the Internet at this site:

• PKZIP Software
  

Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) Reader

Adobe Acrobat Reader is free software that allows you to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing platforms. Whether or not users are proficient with ArcView or other GIS, they will be able to view the 1990 and 1995 land cover data and change analysis data, and LIDAR data from PDF maps contained on this CD-ROM. Furthermore, unlike some software packages that are limited to selected platforms, Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for a wide range of platforms. To learn more about Adobe Acrobat Reader, visit the Adobe Home Page.

This free PDF viewing software is ready to be installed from this CD-ROM. For instructions on installing Acrobat Reader software, and accessing the PDF maps contained on this CD-ROM, click here.

ArcExplorer

ArcExplorer is a lightweight GIS data explorer developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI®). ArcExplorer is built using MapObjects®, ESRI's collection of GIS and mapping components for application developers. To use ArcExplorer, you must have Microsoft® Windows® 95/98 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or later installed on your system. To learn more about ArcExplorer, visit the ESRI Home Page.

This free GIS software is on Volume 1 this CD-ROM and ready to be installed. For instructions on installing the ArcExplorer software, and accessing the ArcExplorer project files contained on this CD-ROM, click here. If you've never worked with GIS software, give it a try - it's easier than you think!

ArcView GIS

For those users with ArcView GIS software installed on their computers, there are two customized ArcView 3.0 project files included on the CD-ROM. One project file (landcov.apr) contains the land cover and change analysis data while the other project file (lidar.apr) contains LIDAR beach mapping data. Both project files include all of the vector and image data that is available on this CD-ROM. Two pull-down menus have been added to the View and Layout document types. These menus are: DATASETS, which provides links to data sets that have been thematically grouped into views, and MAPS, which provides access to "ready to print" map layouts. A metadata button, symbolized by an "M" icon, has been added to the View document to provide easy access to a Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata record for the active themes in the View.

For information on the data available in each of the ArcView project files contained on this CD-ROM, click here for the LIDAR data projects or click here for the land cover data project.

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Directory Structure

Volume One provides the information about the project, much of the data, and ArcView and ArcExplorer project files. The CD-ROM has the following directories and files:

Volume 2 provides the tools necessary to download LIDAR data for South Carolina, contours for South Carolina islands and beaches generated from the LIDAR data, orthophotographs of South Carolina's natural dune line, and classified land cover imagery. The CD-ROM has the following directories and files:

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Disclaimer

THE DATA AND ASSOCIATED DATA FILES ON THIS CD-ROM ARE PROVIDED "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTY TO THEIR PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABLE STATE, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCES OF THE DATA IS ASSUMED BY THE USER. THIS DATA IS NOT FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES.

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For Technical Assistance

NOAA Coastal Services Center
2234 South Hobson Avenue
Charleston, South Carolina 29405
e-mail: clearinghouse@csc.noaa.gov