Faroe Islands rephotography image registration dataset

Area of Science:

• Geosciences
• Cultural Heritage Studies
• Digital Humanities

Background:

• Rephotography offers a powerful method for documenting landscape and cultural heritage changes over time.
• Georeferenced historical and contemporary image pairs are crucial for quantitative analysis of environmental and societal transformations.
• The Faroe Islands present a unique case study due to their distinct landscape and rich cultural history.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a comprehensive dataset of georeferenced rephotographic compilations for the Faroe Islands.
• To facilitate research on landscape change, urban development, and cultural heritage.
• To establish a benchmark for future rephotography and time-series projects.

Main Methods:

• Collection and georeferencing of over 200 historical images (late 19th to mid-20th century) from public domain sources.
• Acquisition of contemporary images in summer 2022, precisely aligned with historical counterparts.
• Organization of the data as a Geographic Information System (GIS) project, including camera positions and viewing directions.

Main Results:

• A dataset of over 200 accurately aligned historical and contemporary image pairs of the Faroe Islands.
• Georeferenced data enabling visualization of image locations and viewing angles on a map.
• Inclusion of images where rephotography was suboptimal, providing data for methodological improvements.

Conclusions:

• The dataset serves as a valuable resource for image registration, landscape change, and urban development research.
• It supports cultural heritage research and public engagement initiatives.
• The compiled data will aid in refining rephotography techniques and advancing time-series analyses.