Antarctic Aerial Photography Collection With Over 500,000 Images

Over 500,000 aerial photographs document the Antarctic continent, primarily as 9" x 9" black and white images. The collection is maintained by the US Antarctic Resource Center (USARC) and includes trimetrogon photography from Fairchild cameras, vertical and oblique shots, and some color images. Line indexes are available to identify coverage for most photographic missions.

Use Cases

• Train image segmentation models to classify ice, rock, and water features from the black and white or color photographs.
• Analyze temporal changes in glacial termini and ice shelf extent by comparing vertical photographs from different missions.
• Create 3D terrain models and digital elevation maps using stereoscopic pairs of photographs available for viewing.
• Map historical sites of specific scientific interest documented in the special-purpose vertical and handheld oblique photographs.

Strengths

• Collection contains over 500,000 individual photographs.
• Includes specialized trimetrogon photography (left oblique, vertical, right oblique) for stereoscopic analysis.
• Offers special feature processing options such as ice and rock enhancements.

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage, resolution details, and geolocation accuracy for individual images are not provided.
• Sample size and availability of color photographs versus the predominant black and white images is unclear.
• Access and digitization status of the physical contact prints is not described.

Provenance

Source

US Antarctic Resource Center (USARC), sourced via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Aerial photography captured from aircraft using Fairchild cameras with metrogon lenses.

Geography

Antarctica