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Results for “Pecora 10 Symposium”

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The use of low-resolution satellite image data for rangeland monitoring

The U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) jointly evaluated the used of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images for the calculate of normalized difference data as a green biomass indicator in an arid rangeland environment. The normalized difference data were compared to corresponding field-collected herbage data, and were used in a geographic information system to provide range management information.

Pecora 10 Symposium

Monitoring the earth: too many players?

A number of organizations are currently engaged in, or proposing to embark on, worldwide measurement/monitoring programs. Program objectives vary in type and complexity, including a form of technical library (the Global Environment Monitoring System of the United Nations Environment Program), and an ambitious experiment to validate algorithms to derive land surface climatological parameters (International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project). Modeling and understanding the Earth as an integrated system is an immense undertaking and will require at least as many measurements as are currently acquired. Improved coordination is required among the diverse national and international measurement/monitoring programs to ensure that sensors, launch dates, orbits, and supporting research are complementary to the maximum extent possible. Development of a long-term program of Earth system monitoring/modeling, such as the International Global Change Program proposed by the International Council of Scientific Unions, could provide the necessary focus and structure for effective international coordination and cooperation.

Pecora 10 Symposium

A perspective on remote sensing for wildlife management

The Pecora IV Symposium (Applications of Remote Sensing Data to Wildlife Management) conducted October 10-12, 1978, in Sioux Falls, S.D.; provided a perspective on the uses of remote sensing techniques for wildlife management. The task of summarizing the Symposium, which is the objective of this paper, is not simple because of the diversity of opinions presented regarding (a) the magnitude of the wildlife management problems, and (b) the uses of remotely sensed data to address these problems. Factors which contributed to the diversity of opinions presented include: varying degrees of experience with wildlife management problems, differences in experience with remote sensing applications, and level of responsibility within the management decision-making process.

Conference Paper

A temporal comparison of forest cover using digital earth science data and visualization techniques

Increased demands on forest resources and the recognition of old-growth forests as critical habitats and purifiers of the atmosphere have stimulated attention to forest harvest practices in the United States and worldwide. Visualization technology provides a means by which a history of forestry activities may be documented and presented to the public and decisionmakers. In this project, landsat multispectral scanner and thematic mapper images, acquired July 7, 1981, and July 8, 1991, respectively, were georeferenced, resampled, enhanced, and draped over U.S. Geological Survey 30-meter digital elevation models. These data then were used to create perspective views of portions of Mt. Hood Forest, Oregon. The "fly-by" animation (produced by rapidly displaying a sequence of these perspective views) conveys the forest cover change resulting from forest harvest activities over the 10-year period. This project shows the value of combining satellite data with base cartographic data and earth science information for use in public education and decision-making processes.

Pecora 12 Symposium

Evaluation of new spectral bands for multi-spectral imaging: SMIRR aircraft test results

A 10-channel radiometer called the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) is scheduled to take data from orbit on the second shuttle orbital light test. As part of the instrument test sequence, a series of aircraft flights was carried out over 10 test areas in Utah and Nevada. Apart from vegetation, the materials exposed at the surface were volcanic sequences ranging from tuffs to basalts, areas of hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks, sedimentary sequences of sandstone and carbonate rocks, and alluvial cover.

Sixth Annual Pecora Symposium and Exposition

Availability of Earth observations data from the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS data center

For decades federal and state agencies have been collecting regional, continental, and global Earth observations data acquired by satellites, aircraft, and other information-gathering systems. These data include photographic and digital remotely sensed images of the Earth's surface, as well as earth science, cartographic, and geographic data. Since 1973, the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center (EDC) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has been a data management, production, dissemination, and research center for these data. Currently, the Data Center holds over 10 million satellite images and aerial photographs, in photographic and digital formats. Users are able to place inquiries and orders for these holdings via a nationwide computer network. In addition to cataloging the data stored in its archives, the Data Center provides users with rapid access to information on many data collections held by other facilities.

Pecora 12 Symposium

A conceptual method for monitoring locust habitat

A procedure to map and monitor vegetation conditions in near-real time was developed at the United States Geological Survey;s Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center for use in locust control efforts. Meteorological satellite dat were acquired daily for 3 weeks in October and November 1986 over a 1.4-million-square-kilometer study area centered on Botswana in southern Africa. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer data were screened to remove cloud-contaminated data and registered to a 1-kilometer geographic base. Each day the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated to determine the presence and relative amounts of green vegetation in the area. Over a 10-day cycle, subsequent dates of NDVI data were composited to fill in data removed by the cloud-screening process. At any pixel location, the maximum NDVI value was retained. At the end of the 10-day cycle, a composite vegetation-greenness map was produced and another cycle started. Greenness-change maps were produced by comparing two 10-day composite greenness images. Automated map production procedures were used to merge the NDVI image data with cartographic data (boundaries, roads, tick marks) digitized from 1:1,000,000-scale operational navigation charts. The vegetation-greenness map shoes the current distribution of vegetation in the region and can be used to locate potential locust breeding area. The change map shows areas where increases and decreases in greenness have occurred between processing cycles. Significant areas of locust damage in remote regions are characterized by an unexpected decrease in greenness. These maps can be used by locust control teams to efficiently target areas for reconnaissance. In general, the procedures and products have utility for resource managers who are required to monitor vegetation resources over large geographic regions.

Pecora XI Symposium