Barrow Peninsula Radar Imagery and Elevation Models

July 2002 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) data provides a snapshot of the Barrow Peninsula, Alaska. The dataset includes Orthorectified Radar Imagery (5 m resolution), Digital Surface and Terrain Models (20 m resolution), and derived layers like slope and contour lines. Collected by Intermap Technologies for NASA, it supports research on environmental change in this Arctic region.

Use Cases

• Terrain analysis using the Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) grids.
• Landscape visualization and mapping with the Orthorectified Radar Imagery (ORRI) mosaic.
• Slope and aspect calculation for hydrological or geomorphological studies using derived grids.
• Creating contour lines for topographic mapping from the provided vector layer.
• Overlaying historical USGS quadrangle maps (DRG mosaics) for comparative analysis.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (5m ORRI, 20m DSM/DTM) geospatial data for a focused scientific area.
• Includes multiple derived data products (aspect, slope, shaded relief, contours) enhancing analytical utility.
• Offers FGDC-compliant metadata in multiple formats (text, HTML, XML) for clear documentation.

Limitations

• Data is from a single, brief acquisition period (July 27-29, 2002), limiting temporal analysis.
• Sources conflict on the last update date (datagov lists 2026-03-12, nasa_earthdata lists 2002-07-29), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column structures are not provided.

Provenance

Source

Intermap Technologies, compiled for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Collection Method

Acquired via airborne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) survey.

Time Range

2002-07-27 to 2002-07-29

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:31:27.832755

Geography

Barrow Peninsula, Alaska, USA (155.39 - 157.48 deg W, 70.86 - 71.47 deg N).