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Land Remote Sensing Program

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EarthNow!
The surface of the Earth is changing rapidly, at local, regional, national, even global scales, with significant repercussions for people, the economy, and the environment. Remote sensing satellites and aircraft monitor the Earth providing information that is broad, precise, impartial, and easily available. In addition to operating two remote sensing satellites Landsat 5 and Landsat 7, USGS provides the Nation's portal to the largest archive of remotely sensed land data in the world, supplying continuous access to current and historical land images worldwide. These images serve many purposes from assessing the impact of natural disasters to monitoring global agricultural production, from monitoring the impact of climate and other global changes to supporting national defense.

The LRS Program is defined by three major components:

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latest

Pinpointing Drought Coast to Coast
Released: 06/24/2009
Take vast quantities of satellite remote sensing data. Season with time. Mix generously with information about climate, soils, and recent rainfall. These are the ingredients for the Vegetation Drought Response Index. Read more...

USGS Scientist Receives Prestigious Award
Released: 04/08/2009
Dr. Thomas Loveland, Senior Scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has been named a 2009 Fellow for the American Society for Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Read more...

Designed for 3 years, 'workhorse' satellite completes 25
Released: 03/05/09
Outliving its expected 3-year lifespan by more than 22 years, on March 1 Landsat 5 completed a busy quarter-century of collecting information about and observations of the planet Earth's land mass and seems to still be going strong. Read more...

May 1, 2009- William T. Pecora Award Nominations deadline.
Released: 02/27/09
The William T. Pecora Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals or groups toward understanding the Earth by means of remote sensing. Any individual or group (domestic or international) working in the field of remote sensing of the Earth is eligible to receive the William T. Pecora Award. Read more...

Video- Remote Sensing documents change  PODCAST
Released: 02/12/09
Ronald E. Beck, a Public Information Specialist with the U.S. Geographical Survey recently spoke at the Kingsport Public Library about how remote sensing can document physical changes on earth. Here is a complete video of his discussion. (Approximately 53 minutes). View Podcast...

Pecora Award Recognizes Stellar Achievements in Earth Observation
Released: 11/21/2008
The prestigious 2008 William T. Pecora Award for outstanding contributions to the understanding of the Earth by means of remote sensing has been presented to Samuel N. Goward of the University of Maryland-College Park and the QuikSCAT Mission Team. Read more...

Group on Earth Observations Heralds Free, Global Access to USGS Earth Imagery
Released: 11/20/2008
In a breakthrough applauded today by the international Group on Earth Observations, scientists and decision-makers will soon have unrestricted global access at no charge to the USGS Landsat archive, the world's most extensive collection of continuously-acquired land imagery. Read more...

Wireless Sensor Networks Workshop Sept. 16 - 17
Released: 9/27/2008
The USGS Geography Discipline is hosting a two-day Wireless Sensor Network workshop at the Winter Park Lodge, Winter Park Colorado on September 16th and 17th, 2008.

RFI: Landsat Raw Data Products
Released: 8/14/2008
The US Geological Survey seeks information to determine if there is interest by one or more commercial or non-profit vendors in offering Landsat products beyond those available from the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS has available Landsat TM and ETM+ data in a raw, uncorrected format (Level-0R) so that these data could be processed to user specifications (projection, datum, and resampling method). Responses are due by September 12, 2008. Details can be found at FedBizOpps.

DOI Secretary Kempthorne Showcases Free Public Availability of Landsat Image Archive at ESRI Conference
Released: 8/5/2008
"With the click of a mouse, scientists, government officials and land managers will be able to see the changes in the earth's landscape at any point in the past three and a half decades," Kempthorne told the audience on Saturday.   News Release    U.S. Department of the Interior

USGS Accelerates Access to Satellite Data
Released: 7/1/2008
Federal and state agencies that need satellite imagery from commercial sources will find it much easier to acquire the data through a streamlined process managed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Read more...




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Featured Science

Landsat 7 helps track Antarctica's emperor penguins

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Landsat 7 satellite imagery is used to track Antarctica's emperor penguins. This true-color image, acquired by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on the Landsat 7 satellite, 12-4-2002, captures brown stains of penquin guano. Researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), discovered that looking for guano stains is more reliable than looking for actual penguins since the birds’ tuxedo colors blend in with the shadows on the ice. By locating penguin droppings, the BAS team identified 38 emperor penguin colonies along the Antarctic coast. Learn more...

Visit the Latest Archive page for information highlighted here in the past.


Satellite images of Southern California wildfire and link to larger view
The White House has initiated a year-long study called The Future of Land Imaging to explore options for United States operational use of satellites to better serve society. The USGS serves on the leadership team of this Federal interagency working group.

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Page Last Modified: June 24, 2009