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Land Remote Sensing Program


Land Remote Sensing Program Featured Science Archive

NOTE: Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.

2013

Remote Sensing Activities Report

Remote Sensing Activities ReportThe Department of the Interior has released its remote sensing activities report for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11). This report from the DOI Remote Sensing Working Group (DOIRSWG) provides a sampling of the many FY11 applications of remote sensing across the Department. Remotely sensed data, information, and resources contribute significantly to mission-critical work across the DOI. Spanning data sources from aerial photography, to moderate resolution satellite data, to highly specialized imaging sensors and platforms, DOI personnel use remotely sensing capabilities to evaluate and monitor land-surface conditions over the vast areas for which DOI has responsibility.



Landsat Improving Everyday Life

Landsat: Continuing to Improve Everyday LifeLandsat satellites provide decision makers with key information about the world's food, forests, water and how these and other land resources are being used. The Landsat Application Book, Landsat: Continuing to Improve Everyday Life (PDF, 101 Mb), explores a number of important everyday uses of Landsat that benefit us as a society. The launch of the LDCM satellite ensures that Landsat data will continue to enable these applications.



How do we measure changes to Earth's environment?

ECVs Global climate is changing. USGS is using remote sensing data to help develop new climate information products called Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) and Climate Data Records (CDRs). Together, USGS CDRs and ECVs can provide an authoritative basis for regional to continental scale identification of historical change, monitoring of current conditions, and predicting future scenarios. Find out more...





Archive 2012 arrow
Value of Landsat-Executive Report

Featured ScienceAcross the country, people in many different sectors of the working world use Landsat imagery. But exactly who these users are, how they use the imagery, and the value and benefits derived from the information that the imagery provides were largely unknown-until now...




VideoVideo: Interior Department Plays Role in President's National Space Policy

Archive 2011 arrow
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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Forest-cover Loss in Eastern US
Processing coal at a coal mine in southern West Virginia.

Remote-sensing data, statistical sampling, and change-detection methods indicate that contemporary land-use pressures have a significant impact on the extent and condition of forests in the eastern United States, causing a regional-scale decline in forest cover. Across the East from 1973-2000 an important land-cover transition has occurred: from a mode of regional forest-cover gain to one of forest-cover loss caused by timber cutting cycles, urbanization, and other land-use demands.

BioScience article
Learn more about Land Cover Trends

Eagerly awaiting Landsat 8
OLI Overview

The Earth Imaging Journal recently featured an article about a launch of vital importance to the global Earth observation science community in December 2012. The joint NASA/USGS Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) was created to investigate and research options for the most feasible solution to follow the Landsat 7 mission. NASA is acquiring the spacecraft to collect and provide data to DOI/USGS. The USGS is responsible for the operations of this mission, along with collecting, archiving, processing, and distributing the data to the U.S. Government and other users. The Landsat Science Team has been established to address the science goals of the mission. NASA and the USGS plan to implement LDCM in a manner that does not preclude a long-term solution for continuity of Landsat-type data. OLI Instrument   Learn more

Tracking Nature's Cycles
Remote Sensing Phenology

Phenology is the study of recurring biological cycles such as plant budding and animal migrations. The earliest known phenological records were compiled by the Chinese approximately 1000 BC. Today, USGS Remote Sensing Phenology scientists use satellites to track seasonal changes in vegetation on regional, continental, and global scales. Remotely sensed phenological data are useful for assessing crop conditions, drought severity, and wildfire risk as well as tracking invasive species, infectious diseases, and insect pests. Because phenological events are sensitive to climate variation, these data also represent a powerful tool for documenting phenological trends over time and detecting the impacts of climate change on ecosystems at multiple scales. Learn more...


Archive 2009 arrow
Landsat 7 helps track Antarctica's emperor penguins
Click to view enlarged version of this graphic.
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...
Landsat 5 captures Mt. Redoubt
Mt. Redoubt
On March 1, 2009, Landsat 5 acquired a clear image of the Mt. Redoubt region in Alaska. Scientists have been carefully monitoring the area as Mt. Redoubt has experienced volcanic tremors and gas releases in recent months, activities normally associated with possible eruptions. Landsat 5, having completed 25 years of global observations on March 1 provides a useful tool for monitoring global land surface features and changes. Learn More...
Kingston Fossil Plant Flood
Kingston Fossil Plant Flood
At approximately 1:00a.m. on December 22, 2008, an earthen dam holding a containment pond at the Kingston, Tennessee Fossil Plant gave way, releasing over 500 million gallons of ash and sludge. In a brief time downstream areas were flooded, some with as much as six feet of debris. More than 12 homes were affected, a number of them were destroyed or moved off their foundations. No lives were lost though many families were displaced and the Emory River and shorelines were inundated. Landsat 5 data, acquired the morning of the 22nd, illustrate the effects of the break. The light blue tones in the water bodies indicate sediment flow from the flooding. Clear water in the region has a darker blue tone. Recovery agencies will use the Landsat data and other sources of information on the area to study the extent of the damage and the long term effects of the dam break.
Archive 2008 arrow
Cyclone Nargis — 2008
Cyclone Nargis
Landsat satellite imagery, acquired shortly before and after Cyclone Nargis hit the coastal region of Myanamr on May 3, 2008, illustrate the flooding and destruction caused by the cyclone. The delta region, which is home to one fourth of Myanmar's 57 million people, is a major agricultural area and its lowlands make it especially susceptible to flooding. The cyclone created a 3.6 meter storm surge which devastated the area. At least 22,000 deaths have been reported, with 41,000 listed as missing. Over 1 million are homeless. Learn More.

Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica
Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica
LIMA brings the coldest continent on Earth alive in greater detail than ever before through this virtually cloudless, seamless, and high resolution satellite view of Antarctica. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), created LIMA from more than 1,000 Landsat ETM+ scenes. For more information visit LIMA and Landsat.

Press Release
Archive 2007 arrow
Georgia Fires
Georgia Fires
Satellite remote sensing research and applications are essential for providing required data for mapping fire fuels, assessing fire effects, monitoring fire danger, and measuring progress in implementing the National Fire Plan. Land management agencies, scientific communities, and citizenry affected by wildland fires can benefit from research and development of consistent and accurate geospatial fire data, maps, and assessment produced at various scales. To learn more visit USGS Satellite Data Applications for Fire Science
Archive 2006 arrow
South California wildfire
Satellite images of Southern California wildfire and link to larger view
The nearly 11,000 acres affected by the Sierra fire in Orange County, California are seen in these Landsat 5 images. The image on the left was acquired three days prior to the breakout of the fire. The image on the right was acquired the day the fire was contained. The burned areas show as the deep red tones in the center of the right image. View the above image in higher resolution or visit the Landsat Web Site for more images.
Archive 2005 arrow
Katrina
Satellite images of New Orleans -- pre and post-Hurricane Katrina
View the larger size image to see the changes to New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina.
Archive 2004 arrow
Asian Tsunami
Satellite images of the Asian Tsunami area -- pre and post-tsunami
Within hours of the Asian Tsunami, the USGS National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Sciences (EROS) began providing pre-and post-tsunami satellite images and other vital information to help planners for disaster response from many agencies and organizations make well-informed decisions.

Gap-Filled Products available soon

Salton Sea one of the Gap-Filled products soon from the USGS

This image is a preview of the new Gap-Filled products that will soon be available from the USGS. The left image is path 39 row 37, acquired over Salton Sea in southern California on 9/17/2003, and shows the scan gaps caused by the failed Scan Line Corrector (SLC). The right image is the same data, but with the gaps filled by data acquired 9/14/2002. More....

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Page Last Modified: March 25, 2013