[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 148 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44858-44860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18148]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 Geological Survey

[GX14MN00CO0000]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
iCoast--Did the Coast Change?

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection, iCoast--Did the Coast 
Change?

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) are notifying the public that 
we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the 
information collection request (ICR) described below. To comply with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and as part of our continuing 
efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on this ICR.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, we must 
receive them on or before September 2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments on this information 
collection directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Department of the Interior, via email: ([email protected]); or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify your 
submission with `OMB Control Number 1028-NEW: iCoast--Did the Coast 
Change?'. Please also forward a copy of your comments and suggestions 
on this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance 
Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, 
Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-7195 (fax); or [email protected] (email). Please reference `OMB Information 
Collection 1028-NEW: iCoast--Did the Coast Change?' in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sophia B. Liu, Research Geographer, 
Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies, US Geological Survey, 600 4th 
Street South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33705, [email protected]. You may 
also find information about this Information Collection Request (ICR) 
at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    As part of its mission to document coastal change, the USGS has 
been acquiring aerial photographs of the coast before and after each 
major storm for the past 18 years to assess damages to the natural 
landscape and the built environment. A typical mission consists of 
approximately 2,500 photographs. The digital photo-archive maintained 
by the USGS is a valuable environmental record containing approximately 
140,000 photographs taken before and after 23 extreme storms along the 
Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. At the same time, the USGS has been 
developing mathematical models that predict the likely interactions 
between storm surge and coastal features, such as beaches and dunes, 
during extreme storms, with the aim of predicting areas that are 
vulnerable to storm damage. Currently the photographs are not used to 
inform the mathematical models. The models are based primarily on pre-
storm dune height and predicted wave behavior.

[[Page 44859]]

    If scientists could ``ground truth'' coastal damage by comparing 
before and after photographs of the coast, the predictive models might 
be improved. It is not physically or economically possible for USGS 
scientists to examine all aerial photographs related to each storm, 
however, and automation of this process is also problematic. Image 
analysis software is not yet sophisticated enough to automatically 
identify damages to the natural landscape and the built environment 
that are depicted in these photographs; human perception and local 
knowledge are required. `iCoast--Did the Coast Change?' (hereafter 
referred to as `iCoast') is a USGS research project to construct a web-
based application that will allow citizen volunteers to compare these 
before and after photographs of the coast and identify changes that 
result from extreme storms through a process known as `crowdsourcing' 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing). In concept, this 
application will be similar to those of other citizen science image 
comparison and classification projects such as the Citizen Science 
Alliance's Cyclone Center project, (see www.cyclonecenter.org), which 
asks people to classify types of cyclones by comparing satellite 
images.
    There are two distinct purposes to `iCoast':

     To allow USGS scientists to `ground truth' or validate 
their predictive storm surge models. These mathematical models, which 
are widely used in the emergency management community for locating 
areas of potential vulnerability to incoming storms, are currently 
based solely on pre-storm beach morphology as determined by high-
resolution elevation data, and predicted wave behavior derived from 
parameters of the approaching storm. The on-the-ground post-storm 
observations provided by citizens using `iCoast' will allow scientists 
to determine the accuracy of the models for future applications, and
     to serve as a repository of images that enables citizens 
to become more aware of their vulnerability to coastal change and to 
participate in the advancement of coastal science.

    The application consists of sets of before-and-after photographs 
from each storm with accompanying educational material about coastal 
hazards. Since the photographs of a given area are taken on different 
dates following slightly different flight paths, the geographic 
orientation of before and after images will differ slightly. Often 
there will be more than one image covering approximately the same 
geographic area and showing the same coastal features. Participants are 
asked to identify which post-storm image best covers the same 
geographic area and shows the same natural and man-made features as the 
image taken after the storm. After the best match between before-and-
after aerial photographs is established, participants will classify 
post-storm coastal damage using simple one-or-two word descriptive 
tags. This type of tagging is similar to that used in commercial photo-
sharing Web sites such as Flickr (www.flickr.com). Each participant 
will classify photographs of their choice. They may classify as many 
photographs as they wish in as many sessions as they choose.
    In order for a citizen to participate in classifying the 
photographs, the following information must be collected by this 
application:
    (1) Participants will register for the `iCoast' application using 
externally issued credentials via the Federally approved ``Open 
Identity Exchange'' (www.openid.net) method. This Federal Government 
program benefits users by accelerating their sign up, reducing the 
frustration of maintaining multiple passwords, allowing them to control 
their own identity, and minimizing password security risks. User 
credentials will be managed and authenticated by Google, an Identity 
Provider approved by the Federal Government. During the login process 
participants will be redirected to a Google owned and operated login 
page. Following successful authentication of Id and password, 
participants are asked by Google to confirm agreement to their Google 
email address being shared with `iCoast'. Users have the option to 
decline this and halt the login process with no information shared to 
`iCoast'. If a participant accepts the sharing of their email address 
then the USGS will store the address within the `iCoast' database. 
`iCoast' is never supplied nor does it request a participant's password 
directly. Storing of the participant's email address by `iCoast' is 
necessary to permit the pairing of Google login credentials with their 
`iCoast' profile. The USGS will encrypt all stored participant email 
addresses. No other information or Google account access is shared by 
Google to `iCoast' and nothing is shared from `iCoast' to Google at any 
time.
    (2) Level of expertise: At initial log in to `iCoast', the 
participant will be asked to indicate what type of `crowd' or group he 
or she belongs to by picking from a pre-determined list (e.g. coastal 
scientist, coastal planner, coastal resident, general public etc.). The 
participant may also optionally contribute his or her professional 
affiliation in an open text box, but this is not required. Professional 
affiliation may provide additional information to the scientists to 
more fully assess the accuracy of a participant's classifications. 
Provision of level of expertise alone will not allow an individual to 
be personally identified.
    (3) Keyword tagging: After comparing pre-and post-storm aerial 
photographs, participants can select predefined keyword tags OR they 
can submit their own in a free-form text field. The keyword tags will 
help the USGS determine classification accuracy, and confirm or refute 
pre-storm predictions of coastal inundation and damage derived from the 
mathematical storm surge models.
    This application will have many benefits. It will serve the cause 
of open government and open data, in that these images will be 
available to the public in an easily accessible online format for the 
first time. It will enhance the science of coastal change and allow for 
more accurate storm surge predictions, benefitting emergency managers 
and coastal planners. It will also familiarize coastal communities with 
coastal processes and increase their awareness of vulnerabilities to 
extreme storms. We anticipate that this application will be used by 
educators to further science, technology, engineering and mathematics 
(STEM) education; outreach to educators is planned.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-NEW.
    Title: iCoast--Did the Coast Change?
    Type of Request: Approval of new information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: None (participation is voluntary).
    Frequency of Collection: Occasional.
    Description of Respondents: Coastal scientists, coastal managers, 
marine science students, emergency managers, citizens/residents of 
coastal communities.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 2500.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that it will take 30 
minutes per person to log into the system, read the introductory and 
help material and tag 2-3 photo comparisons.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1250.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this collection 
of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and

[[Page 44860]]

you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Until the OMB 
approves a collection of information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On February 28, 2014 we published a Federal Register 
notice (79 FR 11461) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB 
for approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on 
April 22, 2014. We received no comments.

III. Request for Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this ICR as to: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information; (c) how to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize 
the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Please note that comments submitted in response to this notice are 
a matter of public record. Before including your personal mailing 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask the OMB in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Richard Z. Poore,
Center Director, USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center.
[FR Doc. 2014-18148 Filed 7-31-14; 8:45 am]
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