PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
November 2017
729
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By David Ruiz, Data Archivist / Imagery Analyst with Quantum Spatial Inc.
Data Preservation and Archiving Committee—Saving the World One Image at a Time
T
he Geospatial world is getting bigger. We as a soci-
ety have created and collected data to include paper
maps, film based aerial, multi-spectral images, li-
dar, GPS and a tremendous amount of metadata.
The Data Preservation and Archiving Committee (DPAC) is
a working group chartered by ASPRS and is made up of pro-
fessionals within the geospatial community. The scope of the
committee’s attention includes all forms of remotely sensed
Earth-oriented photography, digital camera, videography,
and sensor data collected in the visible, ultraviolet, VNIR,
SWIR, LWIR, and microwave spectral regions to include
maps, GIS, and GPS datasets. Identifying and preserving ae-
rial photography and its supporting data, making it available
to the larger geospatial community and recommending best
practices for archiving geospatial data are central tenants of
the committee. The members of DPAC focus on identifying
collections, such as historical aerial photos, recommending
industry standards for preservation, and providing a tool so
that others can locate data.
There are a variety of collections from a variety of sources.
Federal governments, especially the USGS, have a vast
collection of data, especially aerial imagery available for
public use. However, these collections are widely known or
can be easily located through web portals currently available.
DPAC, through a network of members, tries to identify
collections, such as historical aerials, that are generally
concentrated in regional areas, cataloged, and collected at
scales that make them invaluable. These collections come
from different types of sources such as local government,
universities and small or local aerial mapping firms. The
data can be extensive, properly cataloged for easy reference,
and contain extensive supporting metadata or it can be
limited, sometimes just aerial film. These collections play an
important role in researching our future by looking at our
past, so such collections should be identified and preserved.
Additionally, it is equally important to retain knowledge on
how this type of data was used and manipulated. In today’s
digital world and automated processing, subject matter
such as the “No. 1” fiducial, interior orientation, and camera
calibration reports are lost to technology, and traditional
photogrammetry or stereo compilation can be considered a
dying science.
DPAC has also recommended standards for preservation of
archives anddata, specificallyfilm-basedaerial imagerywhere
temperature, humidity, and storage play an important role.
Standards to preserve collections are often costly to control
environments and have equipment to protect it from fire,
water or non-natural incidents. Often, government agencies,
and sometimes universities are able to afford buildings and
equipment for preservation, but private firms often struggle
not only to preserve at an affordable price, but also balance
that with the ability to make the collection profitable, which
is a factor government and institutions do not always have
to consider. DPAC does not in any way enforce a standard of
care on any of its members but does make recommendations
based on industry standards and practices, especially those
used by the government. These standards are often in
practice so they are vetted to some degree and in most cases
have some industry policy approved by an organization such
as the International Standards Organization (ISO). These
standards can play an important role for those involved in
government contracts where the raw data, ancillary data,
and finished products to include metadata will be turned over
to an agency that has standards in place.
DPAC would like to invite you to help us with identifying
collections and see what is available to the community at
large. DPAC has developed a web site that allows anyone to
search for aerial imagery. The web site:
is simple in nature, designed to make available a listing of
providers and their data. It is not designed to search based
on geolocation, perhaps that will come in the future, but it
allows a keyword search and delivers the contact info of those
collections that may be of interest. This database, managed
by David Day of Keystone Aerial, has evolved with the help
and input of members of the geospatial community and John
Faundeen of the USGS as a leader in this effort. DPAC is
constantly looking for public and private collections to add
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 83, No. 11, November 2017, pp. 729–730.
0099-1112/17/729–730
© 2017 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.83.10.729
