Submitting Author: Michael Mahoney (@mikemahoney218)
Repository: https://github.com/mikemahoney218/terrainr
Version submitted: 0.2.1
Editor: @ldecicco-USGS
Reviewer 1: @mikejohnson51
Reviewer 2: @sfoks
Archive: TBD
Version accepted: Feb. 19, 2021

• Paste the full DESCRIPTION file inside a code block below:

Package: terrainr
Type: Package
Title: Retrieve Data from the 'USGS' National Map and Transform it for '3D' Landscape Visualizations
Version: 0.2.0
Authors@R: 
    person(given = "Michael",
           family = "Mahoney",
           role = c("aut", "cre"),
           email = "mike.mahoney.218@gmail.com",
           comment = c(ORCID = "0000-0003-2402-304X"))
Description: Functions for the retrieval and manipulation of 'USGS' National Map 
    data ('<https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/services/>'), enabling users to 
    download elevation and image data for areas of interest. Functions are also 
    provided to transform these data sources into formats that can be used to 
    create 3D elevation models in the Unity rendering engine.
URL: https://mikemahoney218.github.io/terrainr/, https://github.com/mikemahoney218/terrainr
BugReports: https://github.com/mikemahoney218/terrainr/issues
License: MIT + file LICENSE
Encoding: UTF-8
LazyData: true
Imports: 
    base64enc,
    httr,
    raster,
    magick (>= 2.5.0),
    gdalUtils,
    methods,
    png,
    utils,
    gdalUtilities,
    sf,
    rlang
RoxygenNote: 7.1.1
Suggests: 
    testthat,
    covr,
    progressr,
    knitr,
    rmarkdown,
    progress,
    ggplot2,
    jpeg,
    tiff
Config/testthat/parallel: true
Config/testthat/edition: 3
VignetteBuilder: knitr

Scope

• Please indicate which category or categories from our package fit policies this package falls under: (Please check an appropriate box below. If you are unsure, we suggest you make a pre-submission inquiry.):

  • data retrieval
  • data extraction
  • data munging
  • data deposition
  • workflow automation
  • version control
  • citation management and bibliometrics
  • scientific software wrappers
  • field and lab reproducibility tools
  • database software bindings
  • geospatial data
  • text analysis

• Explain how and why the package falls under these categories (briefly, 1-2 sentences):

terrainr enables users to retrieve geospatial data from the USGS National Map family of APIs and process it into both generic rasters for use in analysis and a specialized format which may be imported into the Unity rendering engine.

• Who is the target audience and what are scientific applications of this package?

The data retrieval functions within terrainr are designed to be useful to any researcher interested in geospatial data for areas within the United States, particularly digital elevation models and orthoimagery. The data processing aspect of terrainr is designed to enable more users to use game engines as GIS, producing high-resolution 3D models from spatial data.

• Are there other R packages that accomplish the same thing? If so, how does yours differ or meet our criteria for best-in-category?

I am only aware of two packages which mention the USGS National Map API:

• quickmapr provides the ability to download a topographic basemap for use in plotting. The URL used does not overlap with the APIs included in this package, and I believe is not actually part of the National Map at all (as images from the National Map are released into the public domain, while the referenced URL indicates that downloaded data is copyright the National Geographic Society). This package was additionally last updated in 2018, and an entry in NEWS.md indicates the overlapping functionality may have been destined for deprecation.
• A prior package of mine, spacey, provides access to the 3DEP Digital Elevation Model, one of the APIs included in this package. Future development of spacey will move to using terrainr for data retrieval.

The elevatr package also returns elevation data from the USGS Elevation Point Query Service and AWS Terrain Tiles, which are similar -- but not the same -- sources as used in this package.

This package provides access to 9 API endpoints which I do not believe are incorporated in any other R package. Transforming tiles to be imported into Unity as heightmaps depends on a newly-contributed feature to the magick package, which leads me to believe this package is the first to provide this functionality.

• (If applicable) Does your package comply with our guidance around Ethics, Data Privacy and Human Subjects Research?

N/A

• If you made a pre-submission enquiry, please paste the link to the corresponding issue, forum post, or other discussion, or @tag the editor you contacted.

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• includes documentation with examples for all functions, created with roxygen2.
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