Alaska Aerial Photography Collection from 1978-1986

Alaska is covered by approximately 70,000 frames of high-altitude aerial photography. The collection includes 1:60,000 color infrared and 1:120,000 black and white images, acquired by the AHAP program. The data is held by the GeoData Center and was captured between 1978 and 1986.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical land cover and vegetation patterns using color infrared (CIR) film frames.
• Detect changes in glacial extent and coastal features by comparing B&W photography across the 1978-1986 time range.
• Create orthorectified base maps for remote Alaskan areas using the 1:60,000 scale photography.
• Study urban and infrastructure development in Alaskan settlements from the late 1970s to mid-1980s.

Strengths

• Approximately 70,000 frames provide dense spatial coverage.
• Covers approximately 95% of the State of Alaska.
• Data captured over a defined 8-year period from 1978 to 1986.

Limitations

• Data is stored in 10-inch film format, requiring digitization for digital analysis.
• Imagery is historically stale, with the last update in 1986.
• Specific metadata like individual frame coordinates or acquisition dates per frame is unknown from this description.

Provenance

Source

Alaska High Altitude Aerial Photography (AHAP) Program, accessed via NASA Earthdata and the GeoData Center.

Collection Method

Acquired via high-altitude aerial surveys.

Time Range

1978 to 1986

Freshness

Static historical archive; last updated 1986.

Geography

State of Alaska, covering approximately 95% of the state.