One Meter Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016

Dates

Publication Date: 2017-09-21

Citation

Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M., Poppenga, S.K., Danielson, J.J, Tyler, D.J., Gesch, D.B., Kottermair, M., Jalandoni, A., Carlson, E., Thatcher, C., and Barbee, M., 2017, One Meter Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7416VXX.

Summary

Located in the northern tropical Pacific Ocean, Majuro is the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Majuro Atoll consists of a large, narrow landmass and a set of smaller perimeter islands surrounding a lagoon that is over 100 square miles in size. The waters surrounding the Majuro Atoll land areas are relatively shallow with poorly mapped bathymetry. However, the Pacific Ocean on the exterior of the coral atoll and the lagoon within its interior consist of deep bathymetry with steep slopes. The highest elevation of the Majuro Atoll is estimated at only 3-meters above sea level, which is the island community of Laura located on the western part of the atoll. At the eastern edge of the atoll lies the capital city and port [...]

Summary

Located in the northern tropical Pacific Ocean, Majuro is the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Majuro Atoll consists of a large, narrow landmass and a set of smaller perimeter islands surrounding a lagoon that is over 100 square miles in size. The waters surrounding the Majuro Atoll land areas are relatively shallow with poorly mapped bathymetry. However, the Pacific Ocean on the exterior of the coral atoll and the lagoon within its interior consist of deep bathymetry with steep slopes. The highest elevation of the Majuro Atoll is estimated at only 3-meters above sea level, which is the island community of Laura located on the western part of the atoll. At the eastern edge of the atoll lies the capital city and port infrastructure of Majuro with the island community of Djarrit located in the northeast part of the atoll. Thus, the low-lying Majuro Atoll is extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise, tsunamis, storm surge, coastal flooding, and climate change that could impact the sustainability of the infrastructure, groundwater, and ecosystems. To support the modeling of storm- and tide-induced flooding, the USGS Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project has created an integrated 1-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) for the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. High-resolution coastal elevation data are required to identify flood, hurricane, and sea-level rise inundation hazard zones and for other earth science applications, such as storm-surge models. The new Majuro TBDEM consists of the best available multi-source topographic and bathymetric elevation data for the Majuro Atoll onshore and offshore areas.

The Majuro TBDEM integrates nine different data sources, including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) imagery, Structure from Motion (SfM) derived topography, real-time kinematic (RTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) survey points, Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) using USGS Landsat 8 (L8) and DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 (WV-3) imagery, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) bathymetry, hydrographic surveys, single-beam acoustic surveys, multi-beam acoustic surveys, and chart soundings obtained from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the Naval Oceanographic Office. The topographic and bathymetry surveys were sorted and prioritized based on survey date, accuracy, spatial distribution, and point density to develop a TBDEM model based on the best available elevation data. Because bathymetric data are typically referenced to Mean Low Water Springs or Mean Low Water, all bathymetric heights were adjusted to Local Mean Sea Level. The grid spacing is 1 meter and includes the Majuro Atoll, exclusive of some northern islands, extending offshore to a depth of at least 71 meters in the lagoon. The temporal range of the input topography and bathymetry is 1944 to 2016.

Additional information regarding the CoNED Applications Project is located at https://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/coned/index.php.

Additional information about the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center is located at https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/pacificislandscsc.

Funding:
DOI Pacific Islands Climate Science Center
USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program
NOAA/National Geodetic Survey
In-kind support was provided by the RMI personnel who went above and beyond their daily jobs to help this work succeed.

References:

Danielson, J.J., Poppenga, S.K., Brock, J.C., Evans, G.A., Tyler, D.J., Gesch, D.B., Thatcher, C.A., and Barras, J.A. , 2016, Topobathymetric elevation model development using a new methodology-Coastal National Elevation Database: Journal of Coastal Research, SI no. 76, p. 75-89, at http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI76-008.

Helweg, D., Nash, S., and Polhemus, D., 2014, The Pacific Islands Climate Science Center five-year science agenda, 2014–2018: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1075, 30 p., at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141075.

Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M., Danielson, J.J., Gesch, D.B., Kottermair, M., Jalandoni, A., Barbee, M., Carlson, E., and Thatcher, C.A., 2017, Improving elevation mapping in the Pacific; Majuro Atoll, RMI-1-meter DEM Project [poster], presentation at Federal Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Workshop, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., 28-30 March 2017: U.S. Geological Survey, at https://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/posters/UAS_Ames_2017_majuro_team1.jpg.

Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M., Poppenga, S.K., Danielson, J.J., Tyler, D.J., Gesch, D.B., Kottermair, M., Jalandoni, A., Carlson, E., Thatcher, C.A., and Barbee, M.M., 2018, One-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5047, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185047.

Poppenga, S.K., Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M., Gesch, D.B., Danielson, J.J., and Tyler, D.J., 2018, Evaluating the potential for near-shore bathymetry on the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, using Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 imagery: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5024, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185024.

Thatcher, C.A., Brock, J.C., Danielson, J.J., Poppenga, S.K., Gesch, D.B., Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M.E., Barras, J.A., Evans, G.A., and Gibbs, A.E., 2016, Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for science and conservation applications: Journal of Coastal Research, SI no. 76, p. 64-74, at http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI76-007.

Acknowledgements:

Imagery and GPS data were collected in Majuro in September 2016 by Jeff Danielson, Dean Gesch (USGS EROS), Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy (USGS EGSC), Maria Kottermair (University of Guam), Andrea Jalandoni (Griffith University), Cindy Thatcher (USGS NGP), Matt Barbee (University of Hawaii), Edward Carlson (NOAA NGS), Bill Labija (RMI-Land and Survey Office), and local survey crew. We thank Edward Carlson (NOAA NGS) and Bill Labija for their leadership facilitating and orchestrating the field work. We also thank Mark Stege (Marshall Islands Conservation Society), Karl Fellenius (Coastal Resource Advisor for the RMI Environmental Protection Authority), and Norman Splittstoesser (Directorate of Civil Aviation) for assisting with the logistics.

A local geoid was created by Edward Carlson (NOAA NGS) and Ross Winans (The Baldwin Group at NOAA) for the Majuro Atoll.

GPS data were processed by Jeff Danielson and Dean Gesch (USGS EROS - CoNED), and Edward Carlson (NOAA NGS).

Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy (USGS EGSC - CoNED) generated terrestrial topography using structure-from-motion algorithms applied to imagery collected in the field. Ground-truth and validation data for the modeled elevation were collected by the field team using survey-grade GPS.

Sandra Poppenga (USGS EROS - CoNED) generated satellite-derived bathymetry using the ratio of natural logarithms applied to Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 satellite imagery. We thank the Naval Oceanographic Office for their CHARTS bathymetric lidar data that were used to calibrate the modeled bathymetry. We thank Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) for their SOPAC bathymetry source data along with a special thanks to Tony Kimmet (USDA-NRCS-NGCE) for providing the DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 satellite imagery. We also thank the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for the RMI Majuro Atoll chart soundings.

The integrated topobathymetric digital elevation model was assimilated by Dean Tyler and Jeff Danielson (USGS EROS - CoNED).

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Jeffrey J Danielson, U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science, David Helweg, U.S. Department of the Interior, Pacific Islands Climate Science Center
Originator :: Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Sandra Poppenga, Jeffrey J Danielson, Dean Tyler, Dean B Gesch, Maria Kottermair, Andrea Jalandoni, Ed Carlson, Cindy Thatcher, Matthew Barbee
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
USGS Mission Area :: Land Resources
SDC Data Owner :: Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

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majuro_tbdem_metadata.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	55.52 KB	application/fgdc+xml
Majuro_RTK_GNSS_Data.zip “RTK GNSS Survey Points”		4.65 MB	application/zip
Majuro_Topobathy_DEM_Spatial_Metadata.zip “Majuro Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model (TBDEM) Spatial Metadata”		898.66 KB	application/zip
“Majuro Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model (TBDEM)”		2.19 GB	application/zip
“Structure from Motion (SfM) Imagery”		5.31 GB	application/x-7z-compressed
		8.25 GB	application/x-7z-compressed
		9.67 GB	application/x-7z-compressed
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Related External Resources

Type: Related Primary Publication

Poppenga, S.K., Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M., Gesch, D.B., Danielson, J.J., and Tyler, D.J., 2018, Evaluating the potential for near-shore bathymetry on the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, using Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 imagery: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5024, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185024.	https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185024

Purpose

The Majuro TBDEM development is a collaboration between the USGS CoNED Applications Project, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PI-CSC), USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP), University of Guam, University of Hawaii at Mânoa, NOAA National Geodetic Survey, the Republic of the Marshall Islands Office of Lands & Survey, College of the Marshall Islands, Directorate of Civil Aviation RMI, and the Marshall Islands Conservation Society. The CoNED Project integrates disparate topographic and bathymetric data sources into a common 3D elevation database aligned both vertically and horizontally to a reference system. CoNED Applications Project TBDEM development is focused in select regions around the U.S. coast and in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands, including the Republic of the Marshall Islands. CoNED Applications Project TBDEMs provide a required seamless elevation product for several science application studies, such as shoreline delineation, coastal-inundation mapping, sediment transport, sea-level rise, storm-surge models, tsunami-impact assessment, and also to analyze the impact of various climate change scenarios on coastal regions. The data are utilized by the scientific and resource management communities for global change research, hydrologic modeling, resource monitoring, and mapping and visualization applications.

One Meter Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016

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