Modesto, CA Aerial USGS Imagery for Solar Photovoltaic Array Detection

A collection of USGS Orthoimagery .tif image and .xml metadata files for Modesto, California. The data is part of the Distributed Solar Photovoltaic Array Location and Extent Data Set for Remote Sensing Object Identification, authored by Kyle Bradbury and colleagues and hosted on figshare. Acknowledgement is given to the U.S. Geological Survey as the original data source.

Use Cases

• Training object detection models for solar panels based on high-resolution aerial imagery.
• Conducting geospatial analysis of solar energy infrastructure deployment in urban areas.
• Validating automated solar array mapping algorithms using ground-truth data from the associated dataset.
• Studying land-use patterns and the integration of renewable energy sources into the built environment.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
• Imagery is part of a published, citable research dataset with a DOI (10.6084/m9.figshare.3385780).
• Includes associated .xml metadata files for each image, which likely contain georeferencing and acquisition details.

Limitations

• The specific number of images, their resolution, and exact acquisition dates are not provided in the available metadata.
• Column-level documentation for any associated tabular data is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Modesto, California area.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Orthoimagery, processed and shared by Kyle Bradbury et al. via figshare.

Collection Method

Aerial imagery collection, likely part of the USGS National Aerial Imagery Program (NAIP) or similar.

Geography

Modesto, California, USA