Remotely sensed data available from the US Geological Survey EROS Data Center

Abstract

The Center for Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) is a field center of the geography discipline within the US geological survey (USGS) of the Department of the Interior. The EROS Data Center (EDC) was established in the early 1970s as the nation’s principal archive of remotely sensed data. Initially the EDC was responsible for the archive, reproduction, and distribution of black-and-white and color-infrared aerial photography acquired under numerous mapping programs conducted by various Federal agencies including the USGS, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA. The EDC was also designated the central archive for data acquired by the first satellite sensor designed for broad-scale earth observations in support of civilian agency needs for earth resource information. A four-band multispectral scanner (MSS) and a return-beam vidicon (RBV) camera were initially flown on the Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1, subsequently designated Landsat-1. The synoptic coverage, moderate spatial resolution, and multi-spectral view provided by these data stimulated scientists with an unprecedented perspective from which to study the Earth’s surface and to understand the relationships between human activity and natural systems.