Satellite Imagery from the
U.S. Geological Survey
Bruce K. Quirk & John L. Faundeen
- Presented by James A. Sturdevant
ASPRS Conference
Technology: Converging at the Top of the World
May 5-9, 2003
Anchorage, AK
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Outline
ƒ Mission / Mandate
ƒ Satellite Holdings
ƒ Access Means
ƒ Future Directions
Mission / Mandate
World's largest collection of civilian remotely
sensed data covering the Earth's land surface
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National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive
World Data Center for Remotely Sensed Land Data
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
Landsat Program
United Nations Environment Programme/
Global Resources Information Database
National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive
Established by the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of
1992 (Public Law 102-555)
“It is in the best interest of the United States to maintain a
permanent, comprehensive Government archive of global Landsat
and other land remote sensing data for long-term monitoring and
study of the changing global environment. ”
“DOI shall provide for long-term storage, maintenance, and
upgrading of a basic, global, land remote sensing data set...and
shall follow reasonable archival practices to assure proper storage
and preservation of the basic data set and timely access for parties
requesting data.”
National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive
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Declassified Intelligence Satellite Photography
ƒ Corona
ƒ Argon
ƒ Lanyard
ƒ KH-7
ƒ KH-9
Landsat MSS
Landsat TM
AVHRR
World Data Center for Remotely Sensed Land Data
World Data Centers (WDC) are designated by the
International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU),
Panel on World Data Centers.
“Data constitute the raw material of scientific
understanding. The World Data Center system works to
guarantee access to solar, geophysical, and related
environmental data. It serves the whole scientific
community by assembling, scrutinizing, organizing, and
disseminating data and information.”
World Data Center for Remotely Sensed Land Data
In the U.S., the World Data Center Coordination Office
is managed by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
through its Committee on Geophysical and
Environmental Data. In 1992, the USGS EROS Data Center
was designated as a World Data Center
for Remotely Sensed Land Data.
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
Established as part of NASA's
Earth Observing System (EOS)
Data and Information System (EOSDIS) initiative
to process, archive, and distribute
land-related data collected by EOS sensors,
thereby promoting the interdisciplinary study
and understanding of the Earth system.
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
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EOS Terra satellite was launched on December 18, 1999.
Terra carries two sensing systems for which the LP
DAAC has data processing and/or distribution
responsibilities.
ƒ the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer (ASTER) and
the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).
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Numerous ASTER and MODIS data products are
publicly available from the LP DAAC.
Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
EOS Aqua satellite was launched, May 4, 2002.
Aqua continues the MODIS sensor tradition by
providing afternoon data to complement
the Terra morning data stream.
Landsat Program
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The longest-running enterprise for acquisition of
moderate resolution imagery of the Earth from space.
Landsat 1 was launched in 1972.
The most recent, Landsat 7, was launched in 1999.
Instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired
millions of images.
These images form a unique resource for applications
in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning,
education, mapping, and global change research.
Landsat Program
ƒ A joint initiative of the USGS and NASA to
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gather Earth resource data using a series of
satellites.
NASA was responsible for developing and
launching the spacecrafts.
USGS is responsible for flight operations, and
management of all ground data reception,
processing, archiving, product generation, and
distribution.
Landsat Program
The objective of the Landsat Program is to ensure a
collection of consistently calibrated Earth imagery.
Landsat’s global survey mission is to establish and execute
a data acquisition strategy that ensures repetitive acquisition
of observations over the Earth’s land mass, coastal boundaries, and
coral reefs; and to ensure the data acquired are of maximum utility
in supporting the scientific objectives of monitoring changes
in the Earth’s land surface and associated environment.
United Nations Environment Programme/
Global Resources Information Database
The North American Node of UNEP GRID, located at the USGS EROS
Data Center since 1991, is in the forefront of applying information
technology tools such as remote sensing, Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) and web mapping to address the relationships
between the environment and human populations
(http://grid2.cr.usgs.gov).
Satellite Holdings
Data Set
Declassified
Landsat MSS
Landsat TM
Landsat ETM+
AVHRR
EO-1
ASTER
MODIS
SRTM
Time Span
1962-1980
1972-1992
1982-Today
1999-Today
1987-Today
2000-Today
1999-Today
1999-Today
Feb 2002
Number of Records
1,000,000
660,000
560,000
350,000
280,000
15,000
1,350,000
5,100,000
Seamless
Satellite Holdings - Declassified
Satellite Holdings - Landsat MSS
Satellite Holdings - Landsat TM
Satellite Holdings - ETM+
Satellite Holdings - AVHRR
Satellite Holdings – EO-1
Hyperion
ALI
Satellite Holdings - ASTER
Satellite Holdings - MODIS
Satellite Holdings - SRTM
Access Means
ƒ Earth Explorer
ƒ EOS Data Gateway
ƒ GloVis
ƒ Earthshots
Access Means – Earth Explorer
ƒ USGS data discovery, access and ordering
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tool.
Functionality includes:
ƒ secure credit card/e-commerce order system,
ƒ cross-inventory searching, and
ƒ a subscription query/order capability that greatly
expands data access possibilities for researchers.
http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov
Access Means – Earth Explorer
Access Means – EOS Data Gateway
ƒ NASA World Wide Web-based query system.
ƒ Provides information on a variety of data sets,
including:
ƒ documentation,
ƒ image browse (depending upon the data set), and
ƒ ordering services.
http://redhook.gsfc.nasa.gov/imswww/pub/imswe
lcome/
Access Means - Glovis
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Quick and easy online search and order tool for
selected satellite data.
Allows user-friendly access to all available browse
images from the Landsat 7 (ETM+) and Landsat 4/5
(TM) sensors.
Allows access to ASTER Level-2 Decorrelated Stretch
VNIR browse images from the LP DAAC inventory.
Through a graphic map display, the user can select
any area of interest and immediately view all available
browse images for the specified location.
http://glovis.usgs.gov/
Access Means - Glovis
Access Means - Earthshots
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An ebook of before-and-after satellite images showing
recent environmental events and introducing remote
sensing.
Illustrates changes on the Earth’s surface from
deforestation, urbanization, agricultural expansion,
floods, volcanic events, fire, and drought using
Landsat, AVHRR, SPOT, and MODIS data.
http://earthshots.usgs.gov
Access Means - Earthshots
Table of contents
12 January 2001
First-time readers: start at Garden City, Kansas.
Future readers: get email announcing new Earthshots.
Bells and whistles
Garden City, Kansas: introduction/help
Mozambique: greenup/browndown animation
Filchner Ice Shelf: simulated elevation
Las Vegas, Nevada: landcover maps
EROS Data Center: TV, radar, PCA
Wyperfeld N.P., Australia: 25-year animation
Knife River, Canada: vegetation-index images
Agriculture articles
Nile River Delta, Egypt
Garden City, Kansas
Elburz Mountains, Iran
Southern Mauritania
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Imperial Valley, California
Mozambique
Chernobyl, Ukraine
EROS Data Center
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
IJsselmeer, Netherlands
Lake Chad, West Africa
Aral Sea, Kasakhstan
May 1973
Landsat 2
August 1987
July 2000
Landsat 7
Landsat 5
Future Directions
ƒ New Data Sets
ƒ Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)
ƒ SAR
ƒ Commercial
ƒ Improved Access and Distribution
ƒ Low cost data, Landsat for $50/scene
ƒ More distribution over networks
ƒ Shorter turn around from acquisition to availability
ƒ Seamless presentation (http://seamless.usgs.gov)
ƒ The National Map
Questions?