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Flame & Flood (DAAC Study)
fire scar locations, the study requires information about plant growth and erosion that ASTER cannot provide. “Even with ASTER’s high resolution, the changes in stream channels are too subtle to detect,” said Ramsey. So he and his colleague...
Urban Sprawl: the Big Picture
More-sophisticated techniques can wring all kinds of useful numbers from satellite data: estimates of water-quality degradation due to development, for example. Hard numbers like these are crucial for making and justifying the tough decisions public o...
The Digital Earth: Understanding Our Planet in the 21st Century
need it the most. This is known as precision farming, or "farming by the inch." The Way Forward We have an unparalleled opportunity to turn a flood of raw data into understandable information about our society and out planet. This data will include not only high...
Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images
and from those of some other Federal agencies. In addition, many images from such space programs as Landsat, begun in 1972, are held by the USGS. Most satellite scenes can be obtained only in digital form for use in computer-based image processing and...
Landsat 7 starts viewing the the world
images (right) released by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on Earth Day. The Tennessee Valley is home to the Global Hydrology and Climate Center, one of the research institutions that will use Landsat 7's improved imagery. Scientists at the GHCC in Huntsville,...
The Communication Oriented Society
the case today. Management has become an integrated part of the information network that makes up the corporation. This development is accelerated by the introduction of more user-friendly computer software and of expert knowledge stored in intelligent data...
CoolCosmos: IRrelevant Astronomy
QuickTime 6 movie [17 MB] Watch on YouTube July 21, 2008 Robot Astronomy Talk Show: Omega Centauri While the robots are away, a sad and lonely man calls in with a beautiful image of the Omega Centauri globular cluster. (2:45) Standard Definition (for iPods) [1...
RAMPing Up (DAAC Study)
Mystery shrouds the Antarctic continent, particularly its eastern interior where few humans have explored. Satellite images obtained in 1997 for the RADARSAT Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) culminated in the world's first high-resolution map of Antarctica ...
NASA's Planetary Photojournal: Earth
Images of Earth and All Available Satellites Subscribe Your search criteria found 1696 images Target is Earth (and available satellites) Go directly to image (PIxxxxxx): Other Search Methods Sub-select this list of images...
 Smithsonian: Reflections on Earth: Biodiversity and Remote Sensing Teacher Guide
Landsat TM image has a resolution of 30 m. A 1-ha plot (100 m x 100 m) would be equivalent to approximately 9 pixels (a square of 3 pixels by 3 pixels). School biodiversity plots are only 20 m2.) 5. Ask students what factors might affect the use of satellite...
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Landsat TM image has a resolution of 30 m. A 1-ha plot (100 m x 100 m) would be equivalent to approximately 9 pixels (a square of 3 pixels by 3 pixels). School biodiversity plots are only 20 m2.) 5. Ask students what factors might affect the use of satellite images. (Cloud cover, for example, can reduce the detail obtained from a Landsat image.) EXTENSIONS 1. Repeat the above activity with a satellite image of your school site, (which should be available from the USGS web site) and a local topographic map
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=17
www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=17
Teacher Guide 15 A c ti v it y 3 L <span class="highlight">an</span> d C ov er M ap pi ng OVERVIEW Thinking more globally, how do scientists assess biodiversity <span class="highlight">for</span> large regions? In this activity, students emulate scientists by using a <span class="highlight">satellite</span> <span class="highlight">image</span> to determine different land cover types <span class="highlight">and</span> create a land cover map <span class="highlight">of</span> Front Royal, Virginia. OBJECTIVES Students will be introduced to remote-sensing techniques <span class="highlight">and</span> their applications in monitoring forest biodiversity. Students will visually interpret a <span class="highlight">satellite</span> <span class="highlight">image</span> (as opposed to
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=18
www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=18
statistical calculations carried out on each pixel <span class="highlight">of</span> <span class="highlight">an</span> <span class="highlight">image</span>. Although remote-sensing techniques hold great promise <span class="highlight">for</span> extending our understanding <span class="highlight">of</span> biodiversity to a global level, scientists using <span class="highlight">satellite</span> data to identify forests <span class="highlight">and</span> other vegetation only now are able to reliably achieve the level <span class="highlight">of</span> detail necessary <span class="highlight">for</span> biodiversity studies. Interpretation <span class="highlight">of</span> vegetation is complicated by seasonal variations, environmental factors, <span class="highlight">and</span> health <span class="highlight">of</span> the vegetation. Transitional zones <span class="highlight">and</span> climatic gradients make
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=19
www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=19
Teacher Guide 17 L <span class="highlight">an</span> d C ov er M ap pi ng GUIDE TO INTERPRETING COLORS ON THE <span class="highlight">SATELLITE</span> <span class="highlight">IMAGE</span> Red: healthy vegetation Pink: less densely vegetated areas or, possibly, less healthy vegetation Tan, brown, green <span class="highlight">with</span> patches <span class="highlight">of</span> red: forests (darker shades are shadows on the mountains) Dark blue: rivers, lakes, streams or reservoirs Light blue <span class="highlight">and</span> gray: <span class="highlight">urban</span> areas, cities, towns, buildings, concrete <span class="highlight">and</span> other human-made features White: bare land, fields or soil <span class="highlight">with</span> sparse or no vegetation. (There are no
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=20
www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=20
transparency over the <span class="highlight">satellite</span> <span class="highlight">image</span> <span class="highlight">and</span> outlining the boundaries <span class="highlight">of</span> areas that appear different. (Tracing paper can be substituted <span class="highlight">for</span> transparencies.) Students should classify the different land cover types. Areas <span class="highlight">with</span> the same appearance <span class="highlight">and</span> characteristics should be classified as the same land cover type <span class="highlight">and</span> coded <span class="highlight">with</span> same color or symbol. See Figure 5. Land cover can include <span class="highlight">urban</span> areas, forests, agricultural lands, <span class="highlight">and</span> water. Using the topographic map as a reference, add other features that relate to the land
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=21
www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=21
Landsat TM <span class="highlight">image</span> has a <span class="highlight">resolution</span> <span class="highlight">of</span> 30 m. A 1-ha plot (100 m x 100 m) would be equivalent to approximately 9 pixels (a square <span class="highlight">of</span> 3 pixels by 3 pixels). School biodiversity plots are only 20 m2.) 5. Ask students what factors might affect the use <span class="highlight">of</span> <span class="highlight">satellite</span> images. (Cloud cover, <span class="highlight">for</span> example, can reduce the detail obtained from a Landsat <span class="highlight">image</span>.) EXTENSIONS 1. Repeat the above activity <span class="highlight">with</span> a <span class="highlight">satellite</span> <span class="highlight">image</span> <span class="highlight">of</span> your school site, (which should be available from the USGS web site) <span class="highlight">and</span> a local topographic map
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http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=23
www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/reflecttg.pdf#page=23
<span class="highlight">an</span> understory <span class="highlight">of</span> smaller trees <span class="highlight">and</span> shrubs, a ground layer <span class="highlight">of</span> herbaceous plants (wild flowers <span class="highlight">and</span> ferns), <span class="highlight">and</span> a surface layer <span class="highlight">of</span> lichens <span class="highlight">and</span> mosses. These conditions provide abundant food <span class="highlight">and</span> shelter <span class="highlight">for</span> a variety <span class="highlight">of</span> wildlife species. In this <span class="highlight">satellite</span> <span class="highlight">image</span>, forests appear brown <span class="highlight">and</span> tan <span class="highlight">with</span> some patches <span class="highlight">of</span> red. FIELDS This land surface has exposed areas due to relatively recent clearing. Characteristic plants found in fields are mainly herbaceous plants such as grasses <span class="highlight">and</span> wild flowers. Some tree saplings
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