High-Resolution UAV Imagery and Terrain Models for Methane Flux Analysis

908 raw UAV images were processed into centimeter-accurate multispectral reflectance layers, NDVI, and digital surface/terrain models for a 0.5 km2 area around Big Trail Lake, Alaska. The dataset, produced by ORNL_CLOUD, integrates these geospatial products with in-situ methane flux measurements to enhance greenhouse gas upscaling models. Data collection occurred on a single day, August 4, 2019.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating upscaling models for methane emissions using integrated in-situ flux measurements.
• Analyzing vegetation health and water body distribution via the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and reflectance layers.
• Creating high-resolution elevation models for hydrological or permafrost studies using the digital surface and terrain data.
• Studying the relationship between surface reflectance at specific wavelengths (green, red, red-edge, NIR) and biogeochemical processes.

Strengths

• Extremely high spatial resolution of 13 cm x 13 cm per pixel for detailed landscape analysis.
• Mosaic layers incorporate ground control points with centimeter-level positional accuracy.
• Derived from a substantial set of 908 raw UAV images captured in a single flight mission.
• Data is validated by integration with concurrent in-situ methane flux measurements.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a single day (2019-08-04), preventing seasonal or multi-year analysis.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, listing both 2019-08-04 and 2026-03-12, creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• Specific column names and the exact data structure within the provided file formats (ZIP, JPEG, etc.) are not documented.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery collection and processing with ground control points, combined with in-situ methane flux measurements.

Time Range

2019-08-04

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:34:50.919017

Geography

0.5 km2 area surrounding Big Trail Lake (BTL) in the Goldstream Creek Valley north of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.