The Data Paradox: InformatIon SharIng Incongruities In the IntellIgence CommunIty

Fall 2010 Vol. 25 No.4

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for SEcurit y

EnErgy and

thE EnvironmEnt

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RapiDeye GeoSS uSeR RequiRemeNtS

aeRial CameRaS

with all this

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contents

Fall 2010

49 24 12

c o l u m n s>>

9 publisher’s letterMore Data: Challenges anD Benefits

By Myrna James Yoo

10 Secure World Foundation Forum

assessing the Power of Citizen sCienCe

By Leonard David

12 earth ScopeCrs in the floriDa Keys

By Tim Foresman, PhD

F e a t u r e s>>

15 Disappearing GlaciersresearCh ProjeCt of sPot iMage’s Planet aCtion

By Kevin Corbley

19 iGaRSS 30th anniversaryProMise anD Challenges for reMote sensing

By Leonard David

24 Sustainable Development

forestry, hyDroPower anD Mining

By Pierre-Philippe Mathieu, PhD, ESA

28 user Requirement Registry

for geossBy Hans-Peter Plag, PhDUniv. of Nevada, Reno

35 Data paradoxinforMation sharing Challenges

By Richard Heimann, ITT and NJOIC Pentagon

40 RapideyeDelivering the worlD

By Kim Douglass and Markus Heynen

49 aerial CamerasfoCus shifts to ProDuCtivity

By Matteo Luccio

15


cover>image

Western Sahara

This image is of the north- eastern portion of Western Sahara, about

200 km east of the town of Semara.

The Western Sahara is mostly desert, located

in Northern Africa, with the North Atlantic Ocean

to the west, Morocco to the north, Algeria to the

northeast, and Mauritania to the east and south.

The land is some of the most arid, inhospitable

and sparsely populated in the world.

Western Sahara is a disputed territory that

has been on the United Nations list of non-self-

governing territories since 1963, when it was a

Spanish colony. The Kingdom of Morocco and the

Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario

Front, through the Sahrawi Arab Democratic

Republic (SADR), dispute control of the territory.

Major powers such as the United States and

Russia have taken neutral positions on each side’s

claims, and have pressed both parties to agree on

a peaceful resolution.

The center point coordinates of the image are:

26°34’19.20”N / 9°50’45.60”W. Image courtesy

of RapidEye. Image taken Aug. 12, 2010.

This and more RapidEye imagery, including

nearby Morocco, appear in the feature article

beginning on page 40.

fall 2010 / vol. 25 / no. 4

our missionImaging Notes is the premier publication for commercial, government and academic

remote sensing professionals around the world. it provides objective exclusive in-depth reporting that demonstrates how remote sensing technologies and spatial information

illuminate the urgent interrelated issues of the environment, energy and security.

Imaging Notes has a partnership with secure world foundation

(www.secureworldfoundation.org).

Imaging Notes is affiliated with the alliance for earth observations, a program of the institute for global

environmental strategies (www.strategies.org).

publisher/managing editorMyrna james yoo

[email protected]

editorray a. williamson, [email protected]

Copy editorBette Milleson

advertising Director Colleen gormley

Creative Directorjürgen Mantzke

enfineitz llC [email protected]

www.enfineitz.com

editorial advisory board

Mark e. Brender, geoeye

anita Burke the Catalyst institute

nancy Colleton institute for global

environmental strategies

timothy w. foresman, PhD international Centre for remote

sensing education

william B. gail, PhD Microsoft

anne hale Miglarese Booz allen hamilton

Kevin Pomfret, esq. leClair ryan

editorial Contributions

Imaging Notes welcomes contributions for feature articles. we publish articles on the remote sensing industry, including applications, technology, and business. Please see

Contributor’s guidelines on www.imagingnotes.com, and email proposals to [email protected].

Subscriptions

to subscribe or renew, please go to www.imagingnotes.com, and click on ‘subscribe.’ if you are a current subscriber, renew by locating your account

number on your address label to enter the database and update your subscription.if you cannot go online, you may write to the address below.

Imaging Notes (issn 0896-7091) Copyright © 2010Blueline Publishing llC, P.o. Box 11519, Denver, Co 80211, 303-477-5272

all rights reserved. no material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. while every precaution is

taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher and the alliance for earth observations cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of information or for any opinions or views

presented in Imaging Notes.

although trademark and copyright symbols are not used in this publication, they are honored.

Imaging Notes is printed on 20% recycled (10% post-consumer waste) paper. all inks used contain a percentage of soy base. our printer meets or

exceeds all federal resource Conservation recovery act (rCra) standards.


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The DSS (Digital Sensor System) is a complete airborne digital imaging system fi eld-proven in the front lines of emergency response and the modern battlefi eld:• Ultra-fast images – complete mapping-grade datasets within hours of landing, individual orthos within seconds• Centimeter-level resolution from safe fl ying heights • Mapping-grade results – meets rigorous USGS certifi cation and NASA standards• Rapid, fl exible deployment – rugged, lightweight system can be installed within one hour

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The Trimble DSS is built upon Applanix’ GNSS-aided inertial technology, systems integration and innovative engineering expertise, and is a key part of Trimble’s aerial mapping product line.

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Tactical Mapping imagery: when you need to know where … and when.

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www.digitalglobe.com

400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100

In many ways, the full capabilities of 8-band imagery are still to be exploited: from mineral identification, to automated change detection, to wildfire modeling, and much more.

The DigitalGlobe 8-Band Research Challenge, currently underway, has gathered over 500 researchers to study the impact of using this data for a broad range of applications. Watch for the results of this research to be posted on our website www.digitalglobe.com/8band.

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• More detailed vegetative analyses • Creation of accurate shallow-water bathymetry maps • Improved land use/land cover classifications

Download our free whitepapers and learn more: www.digitalglobe.com/8band

What can you do with 8-band imagery?

Clockwise from upper left: Vegetative analysis of wine grape vineyards highlighting crop health; feature extraction map of Bangkok Thailand, focused on man-made feature classes; false color composite imagery (Red-Edge, NIR1, NIR2) in Hawaii, depicting wave refraction through reef channels; 1 meter bathymetry contours of Aitutaki Lagoon extracted from 8-Band imagery.


Publisher’s>letter

XX imaging NotesX

editorialXstaffX

atXtheXWelcomeX

ReceptionXofXIGARSS:X

myself,XEditorXRayX

Williamson,XBarbaraX

DavidXandXwriterX

LeonardXDavid,X

formerlyXofXSpace

News.

Geoint Coverage in this

issue: the Data paradox

This Fall issue includes focus, as always, on security and

intelligence, in conjunction with the

GeoInt Symposium. An issue rising to the

surface in the past few years is the

question of having too much data – so

much so that processing it and using it

are major challenges. Rich Heimann, a

researcher at ITT and officer of NJOIC,

looks at what could be done to ease this

burden, on page 35.

Paul Smits of the European Commis-

sion Joint Research Center in Italy and

co-chair of IGARSS 2010 stated at their

recent meeting that, “Data management

and applications have profoundly changed

the way we do research... Data is driving

the foundation of new hypothesis.” This is

indeed an important subject.

iGaRSS meeting in Hawaii

The IGARSS annual meeting is not one

we normally attend (see photo), but we

believe that the new science and technolo-

gies should be published for a broader

audience than the scientists themselves.

IGARSS is a symposium of GRSS (Geosci-

ence and Remote Sensing Society), itself

under IEEE, and includes many of the

world’s top scientists, who gather to report

on their most recent discoveries. Their

plenary theme is one we have written on

rather extensively in the past year: Commu-

nity Remote Sensing (CRS). We are thrilled

to bring just a glimpse of this gathering and

of CRS in three articles: “IGARSS 2010,” a

summary on page 19, “Assessing the Power

of Citizen Science” on page 10, and “CRS

in the Florida Keys” on page 12.

We report on CRS in each issue, and

that data contribution from the community

(often from cell phones), plus the power

of social networks and the infrastructure

that many professionals are pulling

together, is creating very powerful tools

for emergency response and ongoing

projects like the one highlighted in

Florida after the oil spill (page 12). The

increased use of CRS data, however,

does admittedly contribute to the problem

of managing too much data.

Rich Heimann shows on page 35 how

the more information we have, the more

confidence we have in the correct answer,

but accuracy actually decreases with more

items of information. Also, the paradox of

choice shows that having too many choices

creates paralysis of the analyst. We assume

that having more data is good, but this is not

inherently the case.

Sustainable Development

We ask you on page 28 to provide

input for the GEOSS User Requirement

Registry, so that the creators of GEOSS

worldwide can put together the most

useful program possible for addressing

climate change. ESA’s Pierre-Philippe

Mathieu provides three examples of

using EO for sustainable development on

page 24. We also report on the important

work of Dr. Mauri Pelto at Nichols College,

who has made significant discoveries on

how better to measure and predict glacier

melt for societal benefit.

Join our Social media

We have joined the Social Media

Revolution, of course, so please join us

on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Group

photos are posted on Facebook, and I

normally tweet a lot from conferences,

so tune into twitter.com/imagingnotes for

those live comments.

—Myrna James [email protected]

Join Imaging Notes on linkedin

on facebook, find and “like” Imaging Notes to see great photos!

follow Imaging Notes on twitterwww.twitter.com/imagingnotes

Too Much Data?Dare I Say It?


secure>world>Foundation>Forum

Citizen ScienceaSSeSSIng the Power of crS

Indeed, harnessing the power of CRS

as a global vision for local action was

highlighted at this year’s 30th Interna-

tional Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Symposium (IGARSS) gathering in July.

At this conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, it

became increasingly obvious that the data

provided from people and sensors “on

the ground” will be instrumental in seeing

a much fuller picture for projects around

the world, be they for disaster manage-

ment or for measuring the possible

impact of climate change. Still, there are

challenging – sometimes thorny – issues

ahead for increased acceptance and

adoption of CRS.

technology tools

Following on the heels of the IGARSS

gathering, Secure World Foundation held a

special workshop in September in coop-

eration with the Department of Homeland

Security on CRS, citizen science and social

networks. The day-long workshop included

overviews by Scott Madry of the International

Space University, who provided a tutorial on

CRS. Stuart Gill of the World Bank outlined

disaster risk management and CRS.

John Musinsky of Conservation Inter-

national (CI) detailed the purpose of CI’s

Fire Alert System, showcasing its ability to

deliver near real-time satellite observations

of fires to the government agencies, NGOs,

and community organizations responsible

for management of natural areas and fire

suppression in countries where CI works.

Musinsky noted that data are being used for

active fire suppression, as educational tools

for fire control and prevention in villages,

for prioritizing resource management and

outreach activities, for improving protected

areas and plantation forest management,

for assessing the extent of burnt areas, as

an indicator of effective forest management,

and for studying the influence of climate

change on fire frequency. Furthermore, Fire

Alerts have also helped to expose, as well as

to stop, illegal logging operations.

CrisisCamp

The powerful role of hybrid barcamp/

hackathon events was explained by Heather

Blanchard, founder of CrisisCommons. She

detailed her organization’s “CrisisCamp,”

which brings together people and communi-

ties who innovate crisis response and global

development through technology tools,

expertise, and problem solving. For instance,

the impact of CrisisCamp in shaping

disaster relief efforts after the catastrophic

Haiti earthquake brought home the utility of

CRS.

CrisisCamp volunteers, Blanchard said,

have created crisis response and learning

events in over 10 countries with volunteers

of all backgrounds who collaborate in an

open environment to aggregate crisis data,

develop prototype tools, and train people on

how to use technology

Similar in message, Carolyn Lukens-

meyer of AmericaSpeaks underscored

the engagement of citizens in the public

decisions that impact their lives. Ameri-

caSpeaks has developed and facilitated

deliberative methods, partnering with

regional planning groups; local, state and

national government bodies; and national

and international organizations. Issues

tackled by AmericaSpeaks have ranged

from the redevelopment of ground zero in

New York following the horrific terrorist

attacks to rebuilding New Orleans after

hurricane Katrina. See FigureX1.

eDitoR’S Note � a summary of the igarss meeting begins on page 19, and a feature on the challenges of having so much data begins on page 35.

The Earth information needs of our society are enormous. In the past we have relied on government-sponsored satellites and

observing systems as the foundations for gathering this data. But there is a rapid

emergence of citizen science and social networks that yield an exciting new means to

become better stewards of our planet.

Imaging Notes has taken a lead role in gauging Community Remote Sensing, or

CRS, a new field that combines remote sensing with citizen science, social networks,

and crowd-sourcing to enhance the data obtained from traditional sources. It includes

the collection, calibration, analysis, communication, or application of remotely sensed

information by these community means.

by leoNaRD DaViD � research associate secure world foundation www.secureworldfoundation.org


figurE 1. HurricaneXKatrinaXsurvivorsXarriveXatXtheXHoustonXAstrodomeXRedXCrossXShelterXafterX

beingXevacuatedXfromXNewXOrleans.XTheyXwereXmovedXtoXtheXAstrodomeXafterXtheXSuperdomeX

becameXunsafeXfollowingXtheXleveeXbreaksXinXNewXOrleans.XCommunityXRemoteXSensingXtoolsXareX

becomingXpartXofXtheXtoolkitXinXrespondingXtoXnaturalXdisasters.XCredit:XFEMAXphoto/AndreaXBooher.X

Distributed Democracy

The use of the Internet and social

media technologies was discussed by Tina

Nabatchi of Syracuse University’s Maxwell

School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Tapping these communication advances

can promote distributed democracy and

create digital neighborhoods, she added,

dubbing it “Participation 2.0.” It’s the view

of Nabatchi that the current thrust of the

White House Open Government Directive

has encouraged federal agencies to be more

transparent, collaborative, and participatory…

and many states are following suit. However,

it is at the local level where citizens and

government generally have the most direct

interactions. That being said, it is likely that

more innovation and more use of Participation

2.0 technologies can be expected in years

to come.

A number of challenges with managing

CRS data are emerging, as pointed

out by Raja Rajasekar of the School

of Information and Library Sciences at

University of North Carolina, Chapel

Hill. With social networking tools and

crowd-sourcing technologies, Rajasekar

emphasized that the data collected by the

CRS systems can grow exponentially, and

that community-driven data collection can

produce large amounts of environmental

data (such as rainfall, temperature,

humidity, water shed level, crop yields,

etc.), including sensor-based point

measurements, textual data capturing

information in free form, photographic

images and video. Therefore, one of the

challenges of the CRS community is the

problem of how to manage such data in a

coherent manner such that it can enable

new science and aid decision making.

Rajasekar advised that the CRS system

should deploy a cyber-infrastructure –

CRS-CI – that is scalable and can support

organic growth to meet the needs of

an expanding CRS community. Several

challenges need to be addressed, he

added, such as scalable federated data grid

architecture, semantics-enabled discovery

and access, user-friendly workflow systems

for analysis and synthesis, and social

consensus on collection properties. He

proposed that the CRS system needs to

be based on a cyber infrastructure that is

robust and extensible and that can meet the

multiple challenges posed by the diverse

data gathering and usage models.

Cautionary Flag

Given the birth of Google Earth in

2005, in addition to other web mapping

services, there has been an explosion of

interest in spatial data and the power of

community remote sensing. Unfortunately,

the legal and policy communities have not

kept pace with the rapid adaptation of this

technology for commercial and societal

purposes. That cautionary flag was waved

by Kevin Pomfret, Executive Director of

the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy

(and member of the Imaging Notes Edito-

rial Board), who said that a wide range of

issues is associated with the collection,

distribution and use of spatial data, and

that the law with respect to spatial data is

often confusing and uncertain.

These issues – which include privacy,

liability, intellectual property rights and

national security – become even more

complex when associated with community

remote sensing. This uncertainty already

impacts the cost and ease of collecting and

sharing spatial data for both governmental

and commercial entities. In addition, unless

an informed and cohesive legal and policy

framework is developed for spatial data,

there is a growing risk that community

remote sensing will ultimately be under-

utilized. Pomfret concluded that “Legal and

policy issues need to be addressed in order

to maximize success.”


earth>scoPe

CRS: Citizens AwakenflorIDa KeyS envIronmental ProtectIon

Both accurate news and serious

misinformation flowed consistently

from the media, and this combination of

responsible and irresponsible reporting

resulted in alarming the public while

muddying the waters regarding the

consequences of the disaster. Early

victims of poor communications included

the fishing and tourism industries along

the gulf states, who suffered significant

economic and psychological losses. On a

positive note, the gulf oil disaster sparked

activity across a spectrum of locations

and interest groups, creating actions and

collective interest by citizens concerned

with the health and well being of the

ecosystems around them. One interesting

story is that of the citizens living in the

Florida Keys and their concerted actions

to address the immediate and residual

impacts from the oil damage.

Alarmed last spring by the ensuing reality

of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and

dissatisfied by the lack of clear information

regarding the fate of the oil and oil-disper-

sants heading towards the Keys, citizens and

groups began a dialog. Leading environ-

mental groups like Reef Relief, a respected

organization with over two decades of reef

monitoring experience (FigureX2), were early

leaders in asking critical questions of BP

representatives and the federal government:

How do we best measure the health of the

ecosystems and assess any impacts from

the oil disaster? How can we take charge

of our environment so that we know what is

really going on?

Reef Relief (www.reefrelief.org), working

with other groups, formed the Florida Keys

Environmental Coalition (www.fkec.org),

which includes business and academic

leaders. This coalition formed a Science and

Technical (S&T) Task Force under the lead-

ership of Dr. Patrick Rice, Dean of Marine

Sciences at the Florida Keys Community

College, to seek an approach for citizen-led

environmental monitoring and assessment.

The S&T recognized early on that satellites

and social network tools would be needed

to meet the demands for environmental

stewardship for the Florida Keys.

Early on, the S&T discovered the early

involvement of ESRI (Redlands, Calif.) in

mitigation of the disaster. The GIS firm had

created web site workspaces for volunteer

geographic information (VGI) to enable

web-mapping of oil-response activities

and incident reports that could be viewed

in near-real-time (FigureX3). Dr. Rice’s Task

Force believed that the VGI approach might

work well with their goal of harnessing

citizens’ passion to contribute.

As part of their background, the

S&T team was provided copies of

the Imaging Notes article by Natalie

Cutsforth (Summer 2010, Vol. 25, No. 3),

which emphasized a similar technology

approach for coral reef mapping and

studying marine environments. Thousands

of Florida Keys citizens had signed up as

volunteers for beach and mangrove oil

clean up and for monitoring activities and

were waiting for leadership instructions.

A series of meetings and workshops in

Key West was scheduled to define the

technical and managerial foundations for

a long-term monitoring and assessment

strategy. This strategy will incorporate

citizen-scientists as the keystone

component of the VGI approaches to

environmental protection and monitoring

in the wake of the gulf oil event.

Because the coalition leadership devel-

oped consensus that an Earth-observation

perspective was the best approach to build

eDitoR’S Note: � the esri vgi is an excellent example of a corporate-led Community remote sensing (Crs) project, bringing citizens into an important role contributing datasets that would be otherwise missing in monitoring the oil spill.

The April 20, 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (FigureX1), the result of an unprecedented cluster of human errors and mechan-

ical failures, has led ultimately to a hopeful result. The disaster and the resulting national

and international press coverage, including a real-time underwater camera for 24/7

monitoring of the oil gushing from the extraction pipes and catastrophic projections for

the damage inflicted, has sparked much-needed activity by citizens, NGOs, businesses,

educators, and government agencies.

DR. tim FoReSmaN � is president of the international Center for remote sensing education.


figurE 1. XW NASA’sXAquaXsatelliteXcapturedX

thisXimageXofXtheXGulfXofXMexicoXonXAprilX25,X

2010XusingXitsXModerateXResolutionXImagingX

SpectroradiometerX(MODIS)Xinstrument.

figurE 3. XT ESRIXArcGISXvolunteerX

geographicXinformationX(VGI)XapplicationXforX

theXGulfXoilXdisaster.

figurE 2 . XW ReefXReliefXvolunteersXmonitoringXcoralXreefsXinXtheXFloridaXKeys.

1

32

a monitoring and assessment program,

web-supported tools and web-based data

collection methods have been the preferred

mode for creating citizen-friendly technolo-

gies. The VGI methods will focus on mobile

data collection devices, primarily using market

leading phones and GPS units. Commercially

available technology represents a robust set

of proven solutions for citizens and scientists.

K-14 education institutions along the

Florida Keys will also be included in the

final design components to help ensure

that students can integrate their field data

collection activities into their educational

agenda. Data collection protocols will be

reviewed not only by the scientific members

of the S&T but with city, county, state, and

federal environmental representatives.

Inclusiveness of all these environmental

protection and management professionals

is essential to the long-term success of the

VGI proposed strategy.

Critical questions will drive the final

design of this grass-roots monitoring

program. Raised by citizens as the

alarm and uncertainty of the oil disaster

loomed on the horizon, these questions

have alerted the S&T team to selecting a

prudent design that will serve the citizens,

scientists, and government decision-

makers in the coming decades in light of

both natural threats and human disasters:

how do we measure the health of º

the florida Keys ecosystems?

what should we measure and º

how do we measure it?

how can we take charge º

and maintain charge of our

environment?

how will our data collection º

efforts provide for legally valid

applications of data?

how can a community best º

sustain the needed long-term

monitoring regimes?

can multiple generations and º

the education system be fully

incorporated into this new digital

democracy for environmental

stewardship?

Positive outcomes from disasters are

always a welcome relief. A new chapter

in environmental democracy will be

discovered, should the citizens of the

Florida Keys manifest their concerns for

their ecosystems using the VGI approach

based on satellite data and web-based

spatial tools.


Copyright © 2008 ESRI. All rights reserved. The ESRI globe logo, ESRI, ArcGIS, ESRI—The GIS Company, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

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figurE 1. TheXWindXRiverXRangeXinXWyomingXisX

capturedXbyXSpotX5XonXAug.X29, 2007. ThisXimageX

wasXusedXwithXothersXbyXDr.XPeltoXtoXstudyXglacierX

meltXinXtheXarea.XImageXcourtesyXofXSpotXImage.

Dr. Mauri Pelto, a geologist and glaciology professor in the Environ-mental Sciences Department at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass., has studied alpine glaciers throughout the world for 26 years. After watching the slow retreat and eventual disappearance of

several glaciers, Pelto recognized that significant societal value could be gained by devising a method to forecast which glaciers are holding their own and which are heading toward extinction.

Pelto believes that satellite imagery holds the key to accurately predicting the futures of alpine glaciers and could ulti-mately serve as the centerpiece of auto-mated forecasting techniques. In 2008, Pelto applied for and received assistance in the form of satellite imagery from Planet Action, a climate research initiative of Spot

Image in partnership with ESRI. Early results of his project indicate the glaciolo-gist has developed an entirely new means of monitoring glaciers and interpreting their reaction to climate change.

“We felt that Dr. Pelto’s research was at the cutting edge of developing a practical, automated mechanism for monitoring glacial disappearance worldwide,” said Antoine de Chassy, President of Spot Image Corp.

Weather impacts GlaciersPart of the impetus for Pelto’s desire to

establish a scientifically based forecasting mechanism has been the well-publicized, yet erroneous, predictions of glacial demise across large geographic regions. Exaggerated reports on the imminent deaths of all glaciers in the Himalayas

alpinE glaciErS worldwidE arE rEtrEating, and SomE will

disappear in coming decades. Because the behavior of glaciers results di-rectly from local weather conditions, they are considered reliable gauges of climate change and are undergoing intense scrutiny. Often lost in the midst of this scien-tific examination is the fact that glaciers also serve practical purposes. They are vital sources of fresh water, and their disappearance can have devastating local economic and environmental effects.

by KeViN CoRbley � geospatial Business Consultant Corbley Communications Denver, Colo. www.corbleycommunications.com

Glacial Disappearance ForecastPlanet actIon reSearch Project


figurE 2 . MilkXLakeXGlacierXhasXcompletelyX

disappearedXfromX1984XtoX2009.

figurE 3. IceXWormXGlacierXisXdisappearing;XitXhasXlostXallXofXitsXsnowXcoverX

inXsixXofXtheXlastX10Xyears.XTheXtopXisXretreatingXasXfastXasXtheXbottom.

2

3

and Glacier National Park over the next 15-25 years are two examples.

“They are not going to disappear by the year 2035,” said Pelto. “Some glaciers are doing just fine there…they aren’t growing, but they are shrinking very slowly, while others are shrinking very fast.”

Confusion over the fate of glaciers in a given area stems from a misun-derstanding of the complexity of these dynamic geologic features. A single mountain range may contain hundreds of glaciers, and it is tempting to assume that localized weather and climatic conditions are influencing them all identically. But in reality, different internal factors, such as the altitude of the snow accumulation zone, are at work in different glaciers. One glacier may be retreating, while another imme-diately adjacent to it is stable.

“Glaciers right next to each other are doing different things,” said Pelto, noting that one glacier’s shrinkage and potential disappearance is no indication that its neighbors are in trouble.

The value of monitoring both alpine and continental ice sheets as part of climate change research is indisputable. The behavior of glaciers over the course of a year depends largely on one external factor – the weather. As climate indica-

tors, glaciers are quite different from other proxies for measuring historic temperature. Tree rings and coral reefs, for instance, can be impacted by many outside variables aside from weather and are therefore less reliable climate indicators.

“There is nothing else that matters to the glacier (besides climate),” said Pelto.

The status of a glacier is typically measured by its mass balance, a ratio of the new snow accumulated over the winter versus the snow that melted during the summer. A positive mass balance means there has been a net increase in snow over the year, and the glacier is growing or advancing. But a net loss of snow indicates the ice sheet is thinning or retreating. Glaciers can go through many periods of advance and retreat over the course of their existence.

Glaciologists like Pelto can calculate the mass balance of individual glaciers by measuring their snow pack every year. They can also make historical estimates of snow pack changes by measuring the thickness of annual ice layers found in the stratigraphy of deep glacial crevasses, in much the same way foresters measure the thickness of tree rings.

Assessing mass balance on an annual basis is the best way to track the current status of the glacier – whether it is stable,

retreating or advancing. However, the problem with mass balance calculation is that it requires onsite observations and measurements of the snow pack. More importantly, because glaciers are inher-ently difficult and dangerous to visit in person, only a limited number of glaciers can be actively monitored at one time.

monitoring Glacial ChangePelto concluded that for glacial moni-

toring to have significant value for either climate change research or fresh water supply assessment, glaciers have to be monitored individually. Given the fact that hundreds of thousands of glaciers are carving the Earth’s surface at any given time, this seemed like an impossible chore. But Pelto began experimenting with other means of measuring glacial conditions.

On visits to glaciers around the world, the scientist began photographing the snow lines of specific glaciers repeat-edly at the same time of year. He photo-graphed or directly measured the eleva-tions of the snow line on the glaciers at their tops, bottoms, and at other land marks in between. He tried pinpointing the snow lines in 30-meter resolution Landsat imagery but found it too coarse for accurate measurement on smaller alpine glaciers. In-person visits were


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theXnumberXofXannualXhorizonsXexposedXonXAugustX1,X2005.XThisXisXtheXthirdXconsecutiveXyearXofXX

significantXnegativeXannualXbalances,XandXfollowsX2004XwhenXtheXAARXdroppedXbelowX20.

4

still the best method of collecting data.In the course of his studies, spanning

two and a half decades, Pelto discovered that the conventional method of assessing glacial disappearance was incorrect. First-year geology students are taught that alpine glacial activity, and therefore its health, is best monitored at its leading edge, or terminus. If a glacier suffers from a net loss in mass, its lower terminus will begin to recede back up the mountain from one year to the next.

While this observation is true, a receding glacier is not necessarily a disappearing one, Pelto realized. In fact, the speed of recession at the lower edge has little bearing on whether the entire ice mass will disappear completely, and some that lose ground at the lower terminus one year may gain it the next. The real sign that a glacier is in jeopardy is found at its upper reaches, known as the accumulation zone.

“Glaciers that were disappearing were retreating at the top, not just at the bottom,” said Pelto, noting that a mass balance number just can’t reflect this situation.

A constant recharge of snow into the accumulation zone is crucial for its survival. If there isn’t enough new snow-fall over the accumulation zone during the winter or if too much snow consistently melts from that upper-most area during the summer, the glacier has crossed a critical threshold and is usually doomed to disappearance. This absence of snow or increase in melt rate can be caused by long-term warming in temperatures.

planet action Fills the Data GapOnce a glacier had disappeared,

the researcher reviewed his field notes, photos and measurements and saw the telltale signs of accumulation zone losses exhibiting themselves years before. One of the most visible signs was the emer-gence of rock outcrops in the upper parts of the glacier. The other was the retreat of the glacier perimeter in the accumulation zone. “You could see that in Spot satel-lite imagery,” said Pelto. He explained

that once bedrock peeks through the ice sheet, the heat balance changes irrevers-ibly because the rocks absorb so much thermal radiation from the sun.

Since 2007, the Planet Action program initiated by Spot Image has put satellite imagery into the hands of scientists and students working on projects studying the impacts of climate change. After submitting a proposal, Pelto received pairs of Spot images acquired during different years over parts of the North Cascade Moun-tains in Washington and the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Each image included about 30 glaciers in areas he

had been studying. See FigureX1.The images had been acquired by the

Spot 4 and 5 satellites, which collect both panchromatic and multispectral data. Working in ArcGIS, Pelto found that viewing imagery datasets comprised of visible and near-infrared bands at 10-20 meter spatial resolution had the best

combination of regional coverage and feature detail. For some glaciers, these images clearly showed the presence of rock outcrops that had not been visible in images from just a few years before.

Pelto also used the GIS software to manually draw perimeter lines around the margins of the glaciers in the imagery. By overlaying these perim-eters on USGS topographic maps, he recorded the separation of the lines from one year to the next.

As expected, the Spot imagery enabled Pelto to identify the two key indicators of future glacier disappearance – emerging rock outcrops and falling snow line

elevation in the accumulation zone. In the Northern Cascades and Wind River Range, the research indicated that two-thirds of glaciers in the study areas are disappearing and will not survive the current warming period. The other third represents a consistent accumulation zone with no apparent changes. See FiguresX2-5.


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ofXtheXglacier.XVisibleXareXsubstantialXmarginalX

retreatXinXtheXaccumulationXzoneXandXnewXrockX

outcroppingsXinXtheXaccumulationXzone.

5 automating the process“With some glaciers disappearing in the study areas and others remaining

stable, Dr. Pelto’s Planet Action project confirmed the importance of monitoring the ice masses individually,” said Spot Image’s de Chassy. It also verified that disappearance indicators can be found in multi-temporal Spot scenes.

Pelto says the next step is to automate the glacier monitoring process. Automated change detection algorithms can be written to continually monitor Spot scenes over mountainous regions to pinpoint emerging outcrops and thinning upper margins. Once enough disappearing glaciers have been studied, scientists will be able not only to identify those with no future, but also to forecast how long until they’re gone. This will be a crucial advantage for areas that depend on glaciers for fresh water.

“For glacier disappearance, we’ll make water management decisions 20-30 years out,” said Pelto.

Currently, temperate alpine glaciers in the Andes, European Alps, Himalayas, Norway, Iceland, Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest supply fresh water to drainage basins at lower elevations. In these areas, glaciers provide vital summer run-off that supplies up to 30 percent of river water upon which fish hatcheries, agricultural irrigation, hydroelectric power plants and drinking water reservoirs depend.

Knowing a decade or more in advance that a third of the water supply will disap-pear will give these areas significant advantages to take management steps that will minimize the impact on the local economy. “Loss of glaciers can be forecasted accu-rately and inexpensively with automated change detection methods and Spot satel-lite imagery,” concluded Pelto. This prediction can be accomplished with routine GIS algorithms using multi-temporal imagery as inputs.


figurE 1. XS ShownXhereXareXDr.XAlbertoX

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recognizedXforXbeingXtheXfirstXGRSSXMemberXinX

theXIEEEXHeritageXCircle;XDr.XKarenXSt.XGermainX

andXDr.XPaulXSmits,Xco-chairsXofXIGARSSX2010;X

Dr.XJohnXVig,XIEEEXPresidentX2009.

IGARSS, a symposium under the umbrella of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), covered a myriad of technical areas, from deci-phering satellite data about Earth’s land, oceans, atmosphere and cryosphere to advanced image processing and design of sensors and missions. The challenges of data continuity and the formatting of satellite data were also discussed, as well as how best to push forward on an inter-national basis for all nations to become better stewards of planet Earth.

“In the year 2000, we speculated that remote sensing and geoscience would be spreading far beyond its technical home…to become a part of national and international policy-making and enforcement, land use planning and real-time disaster management, and education,” noted Karen St. Germain, General Co-Chair of IGARSS 2010, and NOAA’s Chief of the Data Products Division at the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program

Office. “The reality since then has far exceeded even our most optimistic predictions,” St. Germain added in her opening remarks at IGARSS 2010.

Casting his eye out over the next decade, Paul Smits of the European Commission Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, and General Co-Chair for IGARSS, noted, “Data management and applications have profoundly changed the way we do research and design, build, and test new systems and applications. In fact, we are witnessing a silent revolu-tion called ‘E-Science’ which has brought about a paradigm shift to the scientific method…where data is driving the foun-dation of new hypothesis.” See FigureX1.

movement for ChangeParticipation via a special webcast

from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was a first-day highlight of the IGARSS meeting. Addressing participants were Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer and Assistant to the President, and Sherburne Abbott, OSTP’s Asso-ciate Director for Environment.

Earth observations are a priority for the White House, Abbott emphasized, with a clear commitment to strengthening the monitoring of our planet and to beefing up weather forecasting skills, essential elements of gauging environmental science and the work of public policy formulation.

“We live in an unprecedented era of stress on our planet,” Abbott pointed out. “That stress stems from a combination of popu-lation growth, climate change, resource demand and the continuing development of coastal areas,” she said, noting that these tensions create unparalleled chal-lenges for public health, economic well-being, natural resource management and national security. Echoing the challenges and opportunities ahead for Earth obser-vations, Chopra flagged collaborative tech-nologies and applications to help contribute to “a national movement for change.”

open access to DataAnother IGARSS 2010 special

feature was a space agencies panel. Officials took the stage representing the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and NASA - all reviewing past and future national and international directions in Earth observations.

IGARSS 2010PromISe anD challengeS In worlD-claSS SatellIte remote SenSIng

at thE iEEE gEoSciEncE and rEmotE SEnSing SympoSium (igarSS, a

symposium of GRSS, the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society), international satellite remote sensing, and how it has become tied to helping solve a growing roster of Earth environmental and societal woes, took center stage. The 30th IGARSS meeting was held July 25-30 in Honolulu, Hawaii. This seminal gathering drew over 2,100 partici-pants, with the significance of the symposium also reflected by a record number of ab-stract submissions. The event spotlighted the work of world-class scientists, engineers, and educators.

by leoNaRD DaViD � research associate secure world foundation www.secureworldfoundation.org www.igarss10.org

eDitoR’S Note: � see stories on pages 10 and 35 about challenges of dealing with so much data, including that from Crs.


3 42

figurE 2 . Yves-LouisXDesnos,XHeadXofXR&DX

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andXFutureXTechnologiesXDept.XofXESA

figurE 3. MasanobuXShimadaXofXtheXJapanX

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Directorate

figurE 4. MichaelXFreilich,XDirectorXofXNASA’sX

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“ESA has 30 partner missions,” said Yves-Louis Desnos, Head of the Research and Development section and a Senior Advisor in the Science, Applica-tions and Future Technologies Depart-ment. He updated the audience on ESA’s philosophy on free and open access to data. Making use of a suite of Earth observing missions now in orbit, data from these spacecraft are being distrib-uted to 4,000 projects across the world. See FigureX2.

“No difference is made among public, commercial or scientific use of satellite data,” Desnos said. “We are going to launch 20 new satellites in the next 10 years,” he added, pointing out ESA’s dedi-cation to satellite services for a diverse range of Earth observing applications, from farming to better monitoring of air quality. “There are so many results in the last 20 years,” the ESA official reported. Given the huge datasets now archived, including new applications of that data to come, what’s ahead? “A lot of data, a lot of surprise…a lot of new discovery,” Desnos responded in a follow-up session.

Masanobu Shimada of JAXA’s Space Applications Mission Directorate also advocated increased sharing of satel-lite remote sensing data. “Coordination

is very important,” he said, but he also underscored the complexity of doing so due to differences in satellite capabilities. See FigureX3.

international Satellite ConstellationGlobal exchange of satellite data was

backed by NASA’s Michael Freilich, Director of the Earth Science Divi-sion within the space agency’s Science Mission Directorate. “The key thing that we need to attack – and that the

coordinating groups are working very hard on – is to allow for data to be freely, openly available, well character-ized, and then analyzed together.”

Freilich warned against falling into the silo of analyzing measurements from indi-vidual missions, “…but rather combining and analyzing all of the relevant measure-ments to attack the problems that we want to solve, both scientific and societal.” Simply because multiple agencies are making similar measurements does not mean that there is unnecessary duplica-tion, he remarked. See FigureX4.

Additionally, Freilich backed a coor-dination of Earth observing programs, “…so that we come up with an inte-grated program for the species…all of us that live on the planet.” This capacity is

already resident, he pointed out, with the series of spacecraft now circling the Earth, dubbed the “A-Train.” This international satellite constellation brings together a rich array of instruments to better under-stand Earth’s changing climate and envi-ronment. The A-Train uses multi-sensor measurements structured along four themes: atmospheric composition and chemistry; aerosols, clouds, radiation, and the hydrological cycle; atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial components of the

carbon cycle and ecosystem; and weather and other operational applications.

“The A-Train is international coor-dination with a low level of paper-work,” Freilich said. “There is science being done, measurements that are being acquired that are the result of rather substantial international coor-dination…much of it sort of from the working level up, unencumbered by management mischief.”

puzzle piecesPutting all the puzzle pieces together

for a coordinated, multi-national program for Earth observing is not easy. “Sometimes, not all the pieces fit,” said Shelby Tilford, a noted consultant on Earth observations and space science


remote sensing from Seneca, South Carolina. He is a former NASA Acting Assistant Administrator for Mission to Planet Earth and is internationally recognized as a key influence in estab-lishing the study of Earth system science and in developing today’s global, space-based Earth observation capabilities. Moreover, Tilford led the establish-ment of a comprehensive, long-term national program to study variations in the Earth’s environment due to natural and human-induced changes.

Several factors are pulling together the resolve to move Earth remote sensing into a viable, long-term national and interna-tional pledge. A melding of budget and knowledge of political implications, as well as the personalities of those engaged in program development, are necessary to the effort, Tilford told Imaging Notes. “It all depends on so many different factors…the budget, the political situa-tion, and the individuals,” Tilford said. Not only do all those cylinders have to be firing at the same time, “…they’ve also got to be in the same mode.”

Tilford observed that so many other countries have improved in the last two decades, compared to where they were 20 years ago that, “I think it’s going to take an international consortium for measure-ments – both satellite remote sensing and in-situ – in order to make a real impact on understanding the long-term viability of the globe…and we still have issues of earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, hurri-canes – those monster things.”

As for data-sharing among nations, Tilford said it has gotten better, “…but it is still not absolute.” Other areas that demand focused attention, he added, include improved data modeling and a far better handle on that planetary ingredient that makes up two-thirds of our world – the ocean, along with wind, cloud and precipitation measurements over water on a continuous basis. See FigureX5.

Global Vision for local actionThe rapidly evolving power of

Community Remote Sensing (CRS) was

a singular conference topic recognized at this year’s IGARSS confab. To that end, Remote Sensing: Global Vision for Local

Action served as a theme for the meeting.Community remote sensing – or CRS

for short – is a fresh field that combines remote sensing with citizen science, social networks, and crowd-sourcing to enhance the data obtained from tradi-tional sources. It includes the collec-tion, calibration, analysis, communica-tion, and application of remotely sensed information by these community means. Several speakers and specially prepared posters detailed the emergence of these technologies, which are yielding an exciting new means to become better stewards of our planet.

“The energy in the citizen commu-nity out there…if you make it easy for them to do, they come to the table with information,” suggested St. Germain. She painted a high-tech picture of the CRS tools now available for commu-nity use: a blend of iPhones, GPS, the Internet, digital photography, and Google Earth – instruments that will allow for real-time uploading of data and “…worldwide collaboration in ways that we never dreamt they would.”

This entire CRS capability sparks a new approach to what it means to collect “truth data,” St. Germain said. “There’s a lot of power in harnessing the time and the energy and the interest of the commu-nity…in many cases leveraging the hobbies and things they want to do anyway.”

Indeed, the data provided from people and sensors “on the ground” will be instrumental in seeing a much fuller picture for projects around the world, from vehicles collecting road and weather data to disaster management for emergency responders – just to name two examples.

For examples of Community Remote Sensing, IGARSS 2010 provided the venue to detail several ongoing activities, such as:

web tools for wheat farming in º

mexico’s yaqui valley

virtual disaster viewer from º

imagecat, inc.

fire alert & fire risk Systems º

geospatial technologies and º

human rights programs

digital Earth watch and picture º

post network

a world forest observatory º

An expansive list of these efforts can be found at: www.igarss10.org/ Com mu n it yRemoteS ens i ng .a sp # Projects

What Next?In the closing hours of IGARSS 2010,

St. Germain turned her attention to what the next decade could look like, in terms of Earth observing capability. For one, she speculated that there could be a boom in the area of microsatellites. “Will we be moving away from big government-funded satellite programs,” St. Germain questioned, “with a lot of smaller satel-lites making observations? I think that most of the change in the last decade has really been driven by the private sector. So where are they going to go in the next 10 years?”

We are coming out of an era where scientists held tight their data and they owned that information, St. Germain said. “I don’t think we’re going to be living in that place anymore. Everyone will have access to the data and there will be no capital in holding onto it. What are the possibilities for moving forward?”

It was clear from the IGARSS gathering that the power of CRS and E-Science is, indeed, a paradigm shift. These tools enhance our ability to sharpen global policy-making and to take sensible and enforceable actions for the betterment of all.

There are unlimited possibilities with the massive amounts of remote sensing data now available at our finger tips, both assembled by professional entities and information gleaned by citizen-directed efforts. With CRS filling in key data gaps, everything on our planet can be mapped and analyzed, with the end result of saving lives, better preparing for natural calamities, and taking a firmer hand in assuring and sustaining our precious ecosystems around the world.


Trimble® ®


Over the last decades, the principles of SD were progressively adopted by world leaders on the occasions of a series of Earth Summits (Stockholm, 1972; Rio, 1992; Johannesburg, 2002). Following the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Develop-ment (WSSD), world leaders called upon business and civil society to contribute to the implementation of SD through “Agenda 21.” SD goals and targets, such as the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, were defined and agreed upon by various inter-national organizations in order to improve our quality of life, protect the environ-ment, and fight global poverty and hunger. This agreement in turn led to the develop-ment of a set of quantifiable indicators to

measure progress towards SD, and to the emergence of reporting guidelines such as the Global Reporting Initiative reporting framework (www.globalreporting.org).

The private sector also committed to the implementation of SD. Following increasing pressure from stakeholders, a series of large businesses (www.wbcsd.org) implemented SD principles within their business practices and adopted a new type of reporting along the “triple bottom line” (i.e. economic, social, environmental), which is now routinely used by large corporate players as a benchmark to offer guarantees of trans-parency and accountability.

One of the key challenges to imple-

menting SD, however, lies in one’s ability to measure it. As already stated by Lord Kelvin, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” The chal-lenge is further compounded by the inherent global nature of the problem, which calls for global data sets.

Earth Observation (EO) satellites can play a key role in this endeavor, as they are uniquely placed to monitor the state of our environment, in a global and consistent manner, ensuring suffi-cient resolution to capture the footprint of man-made activities. Such capability of space assets has been recognized in the WSSD statement calling for wider use of EO technologies to support water and disaster management, but their operational use to implement SD remains limited. A few examples illustrating the potential of EO for implementation of SD and reporting are provided below, with a particular focus on the private sector.

earth observation in Support of Sustainable Development

Results from a set of EO pilot proj-ects are presented in this section to illus-trate the potential of EO information across a variety of thematics related to SD, ranging from the management of the production of energy from solar plants to the sustainable exploitation of forests and mines. The trials have been performed in partnership with users

pieRRe-pHilippe matHieu, p � hD european space agency, esa/esrin frascati, italy www.esa.int/eomd

accountIng from above for foreStry, hyDroPower anD mInIng

Sustainable Development Using Earth Observations

thE viEw from SpacE haS forEvEr changEd humanity’S viSion

of our home planet, revealing its beauty while highlighting at the same time its inherent fragility. This new perspective from above contributed to the emer-gence of the concept of Sustainable Development (SD) by convincing us of the need to manage our rapidly depleting resources in a sustainable manner that would “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future genera-tions to meet their own needs.” (This is a widely used definition of Sustainable Development from the report Our Common Future of the World Commission on Environment & Development, headed by Harlem Brundtland in 1987.)

eDitoR’S Note: � see article on page 28 about how you can contribute your user requirements to geoss for global sustainability.


from the private sector and the geo-information service industry within the framework of the Earth Observa-tion Market Development (EOMD) program of the European Space Agency

(ESA), which aims to foster the use of EO data in business activities by supporting demonstration projects.

(1) assessing the impact of large Hydropower plants

The energy of moving water has been harnessed for millennia for a variety of purposes, ranging from powering mills that produce flour from grain to pumping water into irrigation networks. Today, hydropower is mainly used to generate electricity, supplying up to 20% of the production of the world’s elec-

tricity, mainly through large dams. One key advantage of hydropower over other types of “intermittent” renewable energy is its ability to store energy and therefore to manage peak load demand. However, one major drawback of large dam infra-structures is often their large impact on the environment (creation of large flooding areas, damaging of ecosystems, fragmentation of wildlife habitat), and on local communities (displacement of population). This makes the construction of some dams a very controversial issue, as stakeholders have begun to question whether their positive effects (electricity, availability of water, control of floods) outweigh their negative social and envi-ronmental impacts.

To address this question, it is impor-tant to assess the environmental impact (negative and positive) of large hydro-power infrastructures, not only prior to the construction of the dam (to get a building permit), but also after construction on a continuing basis.

In this context, a pilot project has been set up at the Cana Brava hydro-power plant in Brazil, in partnership with international industrial groups, such as GDF SUEZ, Tractebel Engi-neering, and Tractebel Energia, to explore how EO-based SD indicators can help to assess the cumulative envi-ronmental impact of the dam. Based on requirements from users, four SD indi-cators derived from optical EO data (FigureX 1) were quantified to address issues related to land use change, biodi-versity, socio-economic dynamic, and risk of erosion. These SD indicators were shown to be quite useful in under-standing changes induced by the dam, revealing new regions of economic devel-opment (inducing land-use changes) where people have been displaced or where people were attracted.

Tony Moens de Hase, Sustainable Development Officer for Tractebel Engi-neering (Belgium), says, “There are two main reasons why we want to explore the potential of EO in the monitoring of hydroelectricity infrastructure. One

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is technical accessibility: large reservoirs have a big area of influence and you do not have any other way to survey it all. Second is objective data over time: there is a demand for spatially and temporally homogeneous data on all infrastructures owned by the company to form a sound basis for reporting on SD actions not influenced by local contingencies.”

(2) towards Sustainable management of Forests

Tropical forests are among the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet, providing vital resources to millions of people. Unfortunately this precious ecosystem is rapidly disap-pearing. One reason is the rapid growth of industrial logging for timber produc-tion. Another big pervasive problem, causing enormous damage to forests and poor local communities, is “illegal logging,” whereby timber is harvested and sold in violation of national regu-lations protecting the forest. This problem has now reached a large scale and is very difficult to halt due to the technical difficulty in identification of illegally logged or traded timber.

An alternative way to slow down degradation of forests is through Sustain-able Forestry Management (SFM), whereby only a few groups of trees within the concession (and outside protected areas) are selected to be harvested, up to a level of yield that allows the forest to

naturally regenerate. This process needs to be certified by independent accredita-tion organizations like the Forestry Stew-ardship Council (FSC, a leader in setting standards, principles and guidelines for SFM) if logging companies want to get public and consumer recognition for SFM practices. Three EO pilots of forest mapping were performed in partnership with timber companies: York Timbers Organization Ltd, Congolaise Interna-tionale du Bois, and Orsa Group. These companies, leading producers of timber or pulp and paper, implemented sustain-ability practices and got accreditation from FSC.

In the framework of the pilot, timber companies were provided with a set of basic forest mapping services, which allowed them to identify and select “hot spots” requiring special attention, such as clear cut, and illegal road networks poten-tially pointing to illegal logging activities. This service helped the companies to opti-mize their field work and thereby reduce the cost to demonstrate that the forest is managed according to the SFM principles and national regulations.

Hubert de Bonafos, ASI accre-dition services (Germany), says, “For FSC certification, EO data can provide an additional and innovative reliable source of information to be used by certificate holders for better demonstra-tion of compliance with FSC principles and criteria over time. EO analysis can

help FSC certification bodies to be more effective in evaluating and monitoring compliance with certification require-ments in set aside areas.”

(3) Supporting Sustainable mining operations and Rehabilitation

Many large mining companies are now taking significant steps in the direction of SD, and in particular regarding the pres-ervation of biodiversity during and after operations. In order to reduce the negative impact of mining, these companies now rehabilitate sites when they are no longer used, either by regenerating habitats such as growing forest and vegetation, or by transforming the site to support local communities, such as creation of recre-ation areas or protected parks.

In this context, several pilot projects have been performed in partnership with Rio Tinto Alcan and Lafarge across five sites in Africa, the U.S. and Australia. For each site, the project aimed to deliver a variety of EO products in order to assess conformity of mining operations with engagement and environmental rules and to check progress of rehabilitation activi-ties. The EO products from RADARSAT (MDA Corporation, Inc., Vancouver, B.C.) and IKONOS (GeoEye, Dulles, Va.) helped the mining companies to manage operation and also to provide data for reporting on sustainability, in particular in regions like Africa where in-situ data are sparse.

Ms. Sharon Lee, Corporate Tech-nical Services of Lafarge (Canada), says, “EO solutions show all-in-one spatial information of impacts and how they are managed. Elevation data and the incorporation of other multidisci-plinary information ease interpretation. So, the use of EO solutions is undoubt-edly time effective.”

EO also demonstrated its value as a tool of communication to support dialogue with stakeholders about sustain-able mining operations. For example, FigureX2 shows a 3D virtual scene of the current mining and rehabilitation plan at the Awaso site based on EO. As Mr.

Such capability of space assets has ��been recognized in the WSSD statement calling for wider use of EO technologies to support water and disaster management, but their operational use to implement SD remains limited. A few examples illustrating the potential of EO for implementation of SD and reporting are provided below, with a particular focus on the private sector.


Mark Annandale, Community Relations Manager at Rio Tinto Alcan (Australia), says, “EO solutions provide essential tools to share views among multidisciplinary stakeholders and to communicate on social responsibility efforts and achieve-ments. EO helps to visualize a site evolu-tion in a very realistic and reliable way and to detect anomalies to be further analyzed on the ground. This vision complements traditional methods. Also, EO solutions ease stakeholders’ dialogue as they allow visualizing of several thematics on a sole 3D topography map. Multidisciplinary experts get to exchange on a shared basis

all together, to determine the best solution through dialogue.”

ConclusionMonitoring from space provides a new

tool to manage SD, as it provides a cost-effective source of global, consistent, and verifiable environmental data, which nicely complements and sometimes enhances traditional local in-situ measurements.

EO pilot projects focusing on the private sector and addressing some of the key themes of SD, such as the sustainable exploitation of energy and natural resources, have highlighted the value and limitations of EO data to objectively assess changes in the envi-ronment and the cumulative footprint of global business activities.

These projects provide stakeholders with rapid “third party” checks on sustainability of operations, even in the most remote or difficult-to-access regions. They also help SD managers to opti-mize resources and deployment of in-situ surveys by identifying “hot-spots” of change, where more detailed information is needed. Also, the consistency in time and space of EO data, associated with a transparent processing, offers a useful guarantee of quality of the data, which is critically needed as stakeholders (some-times with diverging interests) across the globe can have different views on the posi-tive or negative impact of business activi-ties. Finally, satellite imagery provides a powerful communication tool to support dialogue with stakeholders by putting environmental issues in a spatial context.

For the future, the availability of operational services will be improved through projects such as the ESA Sentinel missions to be launched from 2012 under the EC-ESA joint initiative for Global Monitoring of Environment and Security (GMES). This and other systems bode well for the considerable potential of space-based remote sensing to assist SD monitoring. With the new generation of satellite missions providing enhanced spec-tral, temporal, and spatial capabilities, the potential is likely to grow significantly.

figurE 2 . XS DevelopmentXofXtheXAwasoX

miningXsiteXinXGhanaXasXseenXfromXspace,X

radarXimageXofXtheXtopographyXofXtheXwaterX

shedXbasinX(fromXRadarsat),XoverlaidXwithX

aX3DXperspectiveXofXtheXsiteXderivedXfromX

IKONOSXimagesX(acquiredXonXJuneX28,X2006).X

TheXhigh-resolutionXopticalXimageXhighlightsX

aXvarietyXofXfeatures,XlikeXtheXactualXpit,X

roads,Xbasin,XandXaXrehabilitatedXareaXinX

theXplaceXofXtheXoldXmineXwithXaXgolfXcourseX

andXvegetationXcover.XServiceXprovidersXareX

VIASATXGeotechnologies,XMIRXTeledetectionX

andXMEDIALAND.XCourtesyXRadarsatXandX

GeoEye.


Then in June 2003, representatives of 33 governments participated in the first Earth Observation Summit (EOS) in Washington, D.C. and established the ad hoc Group on Earth Observations (ad hoc GEO) with the mandate to develop a ten-year implement-ation plan for a Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). Guided by the urgency of improving our knowledge about the Earth system and the global

change challenging sustainable develop-ment, they gave the ad hoc GEO only 18 months to prepare this plan. The second EOS held in 2004 in Tokyo identified nine societal Benefit Areas (SBAs, see BoxX1 on page 33) of Earth observations and asked the ad hoc GEO to ensure that the imple-mentation plan would address the needs of these nine SBAs as well as the cross-cutting needs. By the time the third EOS in February 2005 came together in Brus-sels to endorsed the 10-Year Implementa-tion Plan (10YIP), which had been iterated in six international plenary meetings and numerous meetings of working groups, the ad hoc GEO had grown to more than 50 Member Countries and nearly 50 Partici-pating Organizations.

For the benefit of HumankindThe 10YIP states that “The vision

for GEOSS is to realize a future wherein decisions and actions for the benefit

of humankind are informed by coor-dinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations and information.” Bridging the gap between science and technology on the one side and end users in many societal areas on the other side is crucial for progress towards this vision. The 10YIP requests that GEOSS is implemented as a user-driven system responding as far as possible to the needs of end users and decision makers. GEO is asked to establish mechanisms to collect user needs, and to use this information as a driver for the development of GEOSS.

a truly Global effortAt the 2005 Brussels EOS, the

ministers decided to establish the GEO with the mandate to implement GEOSS. Since then, GEO has grown continuously and has today more than 80 Member Countries, and more than 55 Participating Organizations. During the last five years, four Committees, more than 70 Work Plan Task teams, and a number of Communities of Prac-tice have worked intensely to build the infrastructure that would help to realize the full benefits of Earth observations in the nine SBAs. Annual plenary meetings bringing together high-level representa-tives of the governments of the Member Countries and the Participating Orga-nizations give guidance and direction to the work of these components of GEO.

The “Capetown Declaration” adopted by the Ministerial Summit on Earth

by HaNS-peteR plaG, p � hD research Professor nevada Bureau of Mines and geology and seismological laboratory reno, nev. http://geodesy.unr.edu

GaRy Foley, p � hD earth observations systems executive environmental Protection agency washington, D.C. www.epa.gov/osa

GReG oNDiCH, p � hD senior environmental engineer

JuStiN KauFmaN � web/Database Developer the scientific Consulting group, inc. gaithersburg, Md. www.scgcorp.com

The GEOSS User Requirement RegistrySuPPortIng a uSer-DrIven global earth obServatIon SyStem of SyStemS

thE world Summit on SuStainablE dEvElopmEnt hEld in 2002 in

Johannesburg, South Africa re-emphasized the need to know the state and the trends of the Earth system in order to support decision making that would lead to a sustainable course of the environment and our societies. At their annual meet-ing in 2003 in Évian-les-Bains, the Group of Eight (G8) took up the challenge in the G8 Action Plan “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development” and agreed to “Strengthen international cooperation on global observation.” Increas-ing interoperability of existing infrastructure and closing gaps in the observations systems were seen as key steps towards more coordination.

eDitoR’S Note: � see related story on page 24 about ways that eo is used for sustainable Development.


1

2

FIGuREX2XS . GEOSSXisXaddressingXtheXinformationXneedsXinXnineXSBAs.

FIGuREX1XS . InterferogramXshowingXtheXsurfaceXdisplacementXduringXtheXdevastatingXJanuaryX12,X

2010,XearthquakeXinXHaiti.XTheXimageXisXavailableXonXtheXSupersiteXWebXPageXofXGEOXwithXlinksXtoX

theXHaitiXwebXpageXmaintainedXbyXJAXA.

Observations in 2007 in Capetown, South Africa, recognizes the importance of Earth observations for sustainable development and confirms the view of the Member Countries that sustained Earth observa-tions are crucial for sustainable develop-ment. Currently, GEO is preparing for the mid-term review of GEOSS by the next EOS, which will take place in November 2010, in Beijing, China.

Meeting the many challenges to sustainable development requires more comprehensive, timely, and accessible Earth observations. The challenges to sustainable development in the nine SBAs are many, and for most of them, coping with the challenges depends heavily on environmental informa-tion. For example, land use planning aiming to reduce the degradation or loss of ecosystems and to halt the rapid extinction of species and reduction in biodiversity requires information on the distribution of ecosystems, habitats of species, and changes over time in these, and it depends on detailed information on land use. Likewise, land use planning for sustainable agriculture and reduc-tion of food shortages needs environ-mental information, including climate and weather conditions. For the plan-ning of adaptation to climate change and the reduction of climate change impacts such as sea level rise, accurate informa-tion about current trends and reliable estimates of future trajectories have to be provided to decision makers.

Risk management and disaster reduc-tion for geohazards such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis depend on the understanding and monitoring of the hazards, for which, for example, accurate observations of the deformations of the solid earth are manda-tory (FigureX 1). Mounting water scarcity, particularly of potable water, in many parts of the world necessitates improved water management, which depends on information about water quantity, usage, and quality. Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, and droughts pose a severe and growing threat

to society and early warnings are crucial for impact mitigation and loss reduction.

Reducing the impacts of many infec-tious or chronic diseases, such as malaria, meningitis, cholera, dengue, asthma, and rhinitis depends on understanding the relationship between environmental parameters and the occurrence of these diseases, and monitoring of outbreaks and early warnings are crucial steps for meeting these challenges. Mapping the availability of renewable energy sources

such as geothermal, wind, wave, and solar energy is a crucial input for the develop-ment of reliable and sustainable supplies of energy. Changes in our environment, such as chemicals, dust, and other contami-nants in our water and air, also have nega-tive impacts on humans that can be under-stood and reduced only if these changes are sufficiently monitored and assessed.

GEO is comprehensively considering all these challenges and with GEOSS aims to provide Earth observation data


3

and decision-support tools to a wide variety of users, particularly in the nine SBAs (FigureX 2). The GEO Portal provides a unique entrance point to a global network of services, data sets and products (FigureX3).

the Core of GeoSSAt the core of GEOSS is the GEOSS

Common Infrastructure (GCI), which informs users in the nine SBAs about available Earth observations, data sets, models, and products (see FigureX4). The GCI includes four registries that enable users of Earth observations to search, discover, access, and use the data, informa-tion, tools, and services available through GEOSS (see FigureX5). Three of these four registries, the GEOSS Components and Services Registry, the GEOSS Standards and Interoperability Registry, and the Best Practices Wiki, collect information related to the available services and products, as well as information needed to ensure

interoperability among all the different services contributing to GEOSS.

The Components and Services Registry, which was developed and is maintained by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provides essential details about the components and services contributed to GEOSS by governments and orga-nizations. The Standards and Interop-erability Registry is a reference data-base of interoperability arrangements that enables contributors to GEOSS to configure their systems so that they can share information with other systems. The GEOSS Best Practices Wiki was created for the aggregation and commu-nity review of best practices in all fields of Earth observation, and it is provided by the IEEE Committee on Earth Obser-

vation. These first three registries focus primarily on the contributors to GEOSS.

The fourth registry, the User Requirements Registry (URR) is the newest addition to the GEOSS regis-tries and it is a unique place for users to publish their needs in terms of Earth observations and derived informa-tion. The URR also makes available tools for the analysis of value chains and networks from Earth observations to end users and thus informs both the providers and end users about the connections between observations, applications, and societal benefits.

user Needs and GeoSSThe 10YIP emphasizes the intention

for GEOSS to be user-driven in order to serve the needs of users in a wide range of SBAs. To build GEOSS as a truly user-driven system, the development must be guided by a set of explicitly known user needs in the nine SBAs, as

well as by the observation requirements corresponding to these needs. There-fore, a versatile infrastructure that could answer questions about what users need from GEOSS is a key element of the GCI. This versatile infrastructure is the URR, which connects users to GEOSS.

The URR contains information on user types, applications, requirements, and the links among these entities (FigureX 6). It links to the Components and Services Registry providing infor-mation about the available products. A fully populated URR and GEOSS Components and Services Registry will allow the identification of gaps between user requirements and available prod-ucts and thus provides a basis for the prioritizing of user needs.

a Versatile Component of GeoSSThe URR provides tools for the collec-

tion, sharing, and analysis of user needs and Earth observation requirements. At the core of the URR is a comprehensive database describing the User Types in the nine SBAs; the Applications that depend on Earth observations and products or information derived from Earth observa-tions; and the qualitative and quantitative Requirements in terms of Earth observa-

Bridging the gap between science and ��technology on the one side and end users in many societal areas on the other side is crucial.


4

FIGuREX3XW . TheXGEOXPortalXgivingXaccessXtoX

metadataXforXaXglobalXnetworkXofXservices,X

datasets,XandXproducts.

FIGuREX4XS . ConceptualXoperationalX

viewXdiagramXofXtheXGEOSSXCommonX

InfrastructureX(GCI)XandXitsXrelationshipX

toXobservationsXandXobservation-basedX

productsXandXendXusersXinXtheXnineXSBAs.

tions and derived information. The data-base includes an extendable Lexicon with the vocabulary used and Reference to literature with more background infor-mation. A new addition also allows the publishing of Research Needs, and the addition of a form for Technology Needs is under consideration.

The novel concept, which distin-guishes the URR from many, if not all, other registries of user requirements is the information captured in the Links form. Here, links between any pairs of individual entries for User Types, Applications, Requirements, Research Needs, and Lexicon can be published. Besides the source and target entries, information on the societal benefits associated with the link and the implementation status can be provided. As the URR evolves, the powerful nature of this concept is slowly becoming more obvious as it allows users to answer many questions, such as:

“who is using my data?” º

“on what applications do i º

directly or indirectly depend?”

“what requirements need to º

be met in order to make these

applications work?”

For a practical illustration of how the URR links user types, applications, and Earth observation requirements, we consider the example of a public health official (i.e., the user type), who may be interested in numerical weather prediction (i.e., the application) to provide wind fore-casts every three hours (i.e., the require-ment) to help prevent or reduce airborne diseases (FigureX 7). In this example, the GEO meningitis vaccination and control effort in Africa (the Meningitis Environ-mental Risk Information Technologies Project) is helping African health offi-cials link forecasts of drought and dry spells (i.e., a link between an application and requirements) in the Sahel zone with disease outbreaks in central Africa.

GEO is facilitating efforts to combine Earth observations with public health

data and information systems to improve strategies for the prevention and control of meningitis epidemics in Africa. The GEO data are helping to map the popula-tion at risk for meningitis, provide earlier and timelier warning of the occurrence of epidemics, monitor the efficacy of the vaccines, and predict changes in the distri-bution that may result from environmental or climate changes.

an open System inviting peer Contributions

The URR is designed to be popu-lated by peer contributions. Users in the GEO community and beyond have to contribute in order to make the URR a utility truly representing the Earth observation needs of society.

Initially, the URR is being populated using information collected in SBA-specific reports prepared by a GEO Work Plan Task (US-09-01a) based on published literature discussing user needs. During the development phase, the URR was

populated with the information extracted from reports for the two SBAs of Disasters (specifically landslides, earthquakes, and floods) and Health (specifically air quality and health, aeroallergens, and infectious diseases). After this initial population was completed, the URR was launched for testing by a broader audience.

Feedback from users revealed the necessity of extensive tutorials in support

of those who want to publish their needs, applications and requirements. These tutorials are designed to walk users through the various workflows and to explain the underlying concepts. User feedback confirmed considerable interest in a fully populated URR, and indicated a wide range of questions users would like to ask the URR.

many benefits of the uRR As mentioned before, the key innova-

tive element of the URR is the ability to link user types to applications, applications to


5

FIGuREX5XS . AnXobject-interactionXdiagramXdepictingXtheXmajorXrelationshipsXbetweenXtheXGCIX

componentXservicesXandXselectedXexternalXresourcesX(modifiedXfromXGEOXSecretariatX“PortalX

ProcessXDocument,”XFeb.X2008).

FIGuREX6XS . TheXuRRXprovidesXformsXtoXpublishXuser-relatedXinformationX(blueXboxes)XandX

vocabularyX(green).XSystem-relatedXinformationXisXinXtheXGEOSSXComponentXandXServicesX

registryX(schematicallyXindicatedXwithXtheXblackXboxes).XInXcombination,XtheXGEOSSXregistriesX

includeXcomparisonsXofXsystemXperformanceXtoXspecifications,XidentificationXofXgaps,XandX

prioritizationXofXrequirementsX(redXboxes).

6

requirements, requirements to products, products to observations, and all of these to system components. By introducing this simple but very flexible data model of “knots” and “links,” the construction and analysis of value chains, networks of value chains, dependency networks, and so on, are possible. The URR helps connect the processes, individuals, and dependencies that support decision making through Earth observations.

The system performance specifications allow the matching of the user- and system-related components against each other to facilitate a gap analysis. In the next stage of URR development, algorithms for gap analysis will be added to the registry, and the output of these algorithms can provide a basis for informing decisions on GEOSS development priorities.

linking GeoSS to the usersAs a user-driven system, GEOSS

needs to engage users. The URR is designed to be one of the key entry points for user engagement. GEO is discussing a registration system for users of GEOSS. Most likely, the registration will be global and scalable, so that any user can register in any of the GEOSS components and is then known globally in GEOSS. Combining this registration system with the URR will open many new opportunities for social and expert networking, which will further increase the versatility of the URR.

The best way to test the URR is by entering information. Thus, users can assist in the further development of the URR in two ways: (1) by publishing infor-mation in the various URR forms; and (2) by providing comments on the overall URR design and logic flow. A comments field is available on each URR form to provide feedback on individual entries and a questionnaire is available online to provide more overall comments.

The potential of GEOSS is signifi-cant for supporting sustainability and resilience, managing increasingly scarce resources, and saving lives and property. For example, GEOSS helps to improve


FIGuREX7XS . LinksXbetweenXuserXtypes,Xapplications,XandXrequirementsXforXtheXexampleXofX

infectiousXdiseases.

7

water management and reduce the number of people without access to clean and sufficient drinking water; enables early warning for diseases such as malaria, Rift Valley fever, and meningitis; improves forecasts for aeroallergens; supports the exploitation of renewable energy sources; and informs risk management to reduce disasters due to natural hazards. However, in its effort to build a GEOSS that utilizes the full societal benefits of Earth obser-vations, GEO depends on the input from users in all areas of society including you.

GEO needs your input and involve-ment not least as a user of Earth obser-vations or derived information who knows best what type of products would enable or support you in what-ever you do. Therefore, we reach out to individuals and communities and ask them to visit the URR at www.scgcorp.com/urr and publish relevant information they may have. Eventually, broad participation will turn the URR into a very powerful piece in the dialog between society and GEO.

box>1

Societal Benefit Areas of Earth Observations.

Disasters: reducing loss of life and >property from natural and human-induced disasters

health: understanding environmental >factors affecting human health and well being

energy: improving management of >energy resources

CliMate: understanding, assessing, >predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change

water: improving water resource >management through better understanding of the water cycle

weather: improving weather information, >forecasting, and warning

eCosysteMs: improving the >management and protection of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems

agriCulture: supporting sustainable >agriculture and combating desertification

BioDiversity: understanding, >monitoring, and conserving biodiversity


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figurE 1. XS ThisXchartXshowsXtheXrelationshipXbetweenXtheXamountXofXinformationX(ItemsXofX

Information),XaccuracyXofXtheXhandicappers’XpredictionXofXtheXfirstXplaceXwinnersX(AccuracyX

CorrectXFirstXPlaceXSelections),XandXtheXhandicappers’XconfidenceXinXtheirXpredictionsX

(Confidence).XMoreXinformationXleadsXtoXoverconfidenceXyetXdoesn’tXimproveXonXpredictabilityX

andXmayXleadXtoXbeingXclosedXoffXtoXfalsification.

It is logical to assume that this trend continues; the greater the number of people who use the data, the greater the utility of the data. Data, however, are not shared without the media-tion of people, if only through policy. Therefore, data sharing is both a hard interoperability challenge with tech-nical considerations to facilitate storage and transfer, and a soft (social) interop-erability challenge with considerations to the organization of data and people.

To a greater extent, the reforms within the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Intelligence Commu-nity (IC) have revolved around the 9/11 Commission Report’s recommendation to share information. The breakdown of the national security apparatus, the report explains, was due to failures of sharing information in “quick, imagina-tive, and agile” manners. The creation of the National Intelligence Director and of the Information Sharing Envi-ronment (Intelligence Reform Act of 2004) are clear steps to ensure standard

Data Paradox

InformatIon SharIng IncongruItIeS In the IntellIgence communIty

RiCHaRD HeimaNN � researcher, itt Corporation liaison officer & special Projects lead, njoiC Pentagon www.itt.com @rheimann (twitter)

thE ultimatE valuE of Spatial data iS in itS uSE , facilitatEd

by sharing. In other words, a piece of data used once has value to the ana-lyst or decision maker who took advantage of its accessibility. In a sense, the data has satisfied its purpose. Further to the point, if ten people were to use that same piece of data, its utility has effectively increased by a factor of ten.


figurE 2 . XS TheXParadoxXofXChoiceXisXaboutXtheXrelationshipXbetweenXtheXnumberXofXchoicesX

(NumberXofXChoices)XandXuserXsatisfactionX(Satisfaction).XTheXcurveXreflectsXtheXdecisiveXpointsX

whereXtheXincreaseXinXtheXnumberXofXchoicesXnoXlongerXhasXtheXexpectedXeffect.XTheXstationaryX

pointXisXwhereXtheXgradientXofXtheXcurveXisXzero.XNoticeXthatXasXchoiceXincreases,XsatisfactionXandXinX

manyXcasesXdecisionsXflattenXandXultimatelyXweaken.X

information sharing throughout the Intelligence Community and to institu-tionalize a culture of sharing.

However, in the midst of all the enthusiasm, few seem concerned with the somewhat darker implications of such measures for analysts and deci-sion makers alike. Information sharing as an end, instead of a beginning, over-looks key elements: how analysts and decision makers consume data, and the cognitive processes that are involved in acquiring situational awareness; the social processes of data sharing; the psychological and behavioral obstacles that exist when the number of choices

reach a critical mass; and how problems of induction limit our ability to predict unexpected events of large magnitude.

The 9/11 Commission’s emphasis on information sharing, either spatial or aspatial, consigns users to passive consumption, which can have cata-strophic results. The passive consumer is systematically decoupled from data production. It is no coincidence that the CIA, as well as many other intelli-gence organizations, often houses data production with data consumption. It is in this paradigm that context is securely and reliably transferred from producer to consumer; in other words, it is trans-ferred from person to person. This inti-mate connection is representative of the organic nature of information sharing.

The dilemma faced with system-atic decoupling is the decontextualiza-tion of information. American scientist Warren Weaver, a pioneer in machine translation, studied the statistical struc-ture of language, namely the influence of context. Warren Weaver has “…

the vague feeling that information and meaning may prove to be something like a pair of canonically conjugate variables in quantum theory, they being subject to some joint restriction that condemns a person to the sacrifice of the one as he insists on having much of the other.”

The excessive increase in the number of information choices soon becomes untenable and intractable. The increase in choice becomes a data paradox; contrary to the conventional wisdom, more data choices do not always lend themselves to better decision making or more accurate predictions. The more data choices one has, the slower one performs, or at least the harder one has to perform to keep pace and to prevent overload.

Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen, from Alice in Wonderland, proclaims, “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” So it is in managing data, though this seems true only when information sharing is

the goal. When context is transferred and the selection of information sources facilitated, good analysts tend to want more data to complement and even falsify the data that already exist within an analytical framework. When an analyst operates in the new information-sharing environment, the data paradox is real. Without context, users of such a system have difficulty reducing data to a dimensionality that is manageable and are quickly overrun with choice.

Probabilistically, it is reasonable to assume that a decision maker could choose the correct resources or make the correct inferences when there are few choices. If five variables are being considered, there is a 20% chance, if only by luck, that a correct choice will be made. However, as the number of choices increases, the probability of making the correct choice decreases. This doesn’t account for the often several interpretations of the intelli-gence data. In many cases, users natu-rally know the key variables, but when asked to make better predictions with more, albeit unfamiliar data and ignore the implicit rules of parsimony, users do not perform as well.

One such experiment serves to illus-trate the point. Dr. Paul Slovic (1973) demonstrated this phenomenon in the Behavioral Problems of Adhering to a Deci-

sion Policy with experienced horse race handicappers. With only five variables to

The social layer should be built into the ��infrastructure to improve information sharing, with special considerations to the psychological, behavioral, and cognitive processes of information consumption and analysis.


figurE 3. XS HaitiXimageXfromXuSAID.XTheXeventXoftenXoutpacedXbothXauthoritativeXdataXandX

analysisXandXexpectantlyXsearchXandXdiscovery.XXTheXbestXlaborsXatXcarefulXestimatesXcouldX

notXbeXconsumedXinXtime.XAsXWinstonXChurchillXrecalledXofXtheXhecticXdaysXofXspringX1940X“...XsatX

almostXeveryXdayXtoXdiscussXtheXreports...XandXconclusionsXorXdivergencesXwereXexplainedXorX

re-explained;XandXbyXtheXtimeXthisXprocessXwasXcompleted,XtheXwholeXsceneXhadXoftenXchanged.”X

(Source:XChurchill,Xthe Gathering Storm,X1948.)

predict horse performance, the handicap-pers were confident and promptly cali-brated their accuracy, but they became overconfident as additional informa-tion — 10, 20, and 40 variables — was required to make their predictions. In fact, some of the eight experienced horse race handicappers performed worse when more variables were offered to make predictions. All, however, were increas-ingly confident in their judgments as more variables were incorporated, likely resulting in the exclusion of diverse view-points. See FigureX1.

Analysts cannot accurately under-stand the environment when overrun with choice, let alone make accurate predictions. The 9/11 Commission accurately summarized the inability to connect the dots. The Paradox of Choice (Schwartz, 2004) and the undressing of context both became formidable obsta-cles and eventually resulted in fewer decisions, perhaps even no decisions being made. See FigureX2. It is clear that information sharing increases choice, but does it help with decisions?

The 9/11 Commission’s own report suggests that failure to grasp the significance of information was more important than the lack of information sharing. Therefore, data consumption, not data production, appears to be the greatest challenge facing the DoD and IC and the challenges seem to be getting larger. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the “Digital Universe” will expand to 1.8 zettabytes (ZB) by 2011, or almost two billion terabytes. The IC is publishing over 50,000 intelligence reports each year and the nearly 900,000 personnel with top-secret security clearances produce more and more data every day.

Moreover, the U.S. intelligence budget was publicly announced last year as $75 billion, 2 1/2 times the size it was on Sept. 10, 2001. This expansion has enabled the creation of new sensors, data centers, collection methods, and more personnel to create even more data. Willmoore Kendall, author of the decisive The Func-

tion of Intelligence writes of the practical effect of this extreme growth for analysts

as “…a matter of somehow keeping one’s head above water in a tidal wave of docu-ments, whose factual content must be processed.” Kendall cautions readers of Sherman Kent’s The Theory of Intelligence warning that there is limited “ability of our science to supply the sort of knowl-edge which Mr. Kent and his clients needed.” The job of analysts quickly becomes that of passive consumers of large stockpiles of data. Sharing decon-textualized data, however, produces a negative network externality.

In other words, the action of sharing data without context eventu-ally imposes a negative side effect on others in the network; as more and more data are shared, more data must be processed and reprocessed over and over by every user. The problem for one analyst quickly becomes the problem of many. The IDC reports that by 2020 the “Digital Universe” will be an estimated 35ZBs. That is growth by a factor of 44. Will the DoD or the IC see a 44 times increase in the number of analysts or decision makers? It is unlikely. The logic of information sharing requires some serious review and skepticism.

To be clear, this article does not argue against information sharing; analysts and decision makers need access sometimes to large volumes of information and should have access to the data wherever it resides, whenever it is needed. The synthesizing of these data in rapidly developing environ-ments requires a community effort.

Challenges of HaitiDuring the Haiti earthquake, the

paradox of choice and the need for building a conceptual framework for the data paradox became apparent. The dynamic nature of the Haiti earth-quake and similar events poses partic-ular obstacles, and highlights the larger deficiencies of information sharing. The event often outpaced analysis and sometimes even search and discovery.

The construction of an accurate common operation picture (map) proved


increasingly difficult. The accessibility of geospatial resources was relegated to a number of poorly developed and imple-mented portals and search instruments that often stored duplicative data and/or returned fewer resources than would

have otherwise been discovered had users simply used their traditional means of social networking. See FigureX3.

The issues with many of the existing portals are twofold: first, these systems deliver only one message; second, they are inadequate at stimulating conversa-tion. These platforms lack the promise to improve communication, as they neglect

self-organization of people and data.The uniform message is not appropriate for all users, and the recipients of the message do not contribute to its creation and cannot provide feedback, despite their knowledge.

What is required is the ability for users to self-organize around data, and for the data to be reduced. Social media have effectively reduced data to manage-able dimensions, whether photos, news feeds, or geospatial data. A remarkable benefit of these forms of media is their capacity to exploit weak ties. Weak ties allow reaching portions of the intelligence

community that are not accessible via our strong ties and may conceptually be the interagency solution. The inability to bridge structure holes within and among networks can contribute to some of the shortcomings in “connecting the dots.” When nodes are unable to bring two different groups together, the commu-nity is left with isolated groups, unhinged from the rest of the network.

the Strength of Weak tiesMark Granovetter’s (1973, 1983)

seminal work The Strength of Weak Ties and later A Network Theory Revised demonstrate the strength of weak ties to complement our knowledge rather than replicate it. Strong ties tend already to possess the same interests and qualities that we possess. They have expected benefits but fail to deliver in critical ways. It is imperative to understand the creation of these networks and to allow users the ability to organize without constraints. Humanizing connectivity in ways that

The increase in choice becomes a data ��paradox; contrary to the conventional wisdom, more data choices do not always lend themselves to better decision making or more accurate predictions.

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Bagram Airfield, located in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan

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support decision-making and sense-making is required. See FigureX4.

The ability to engineer a system that reduces the complexities of both data sharing and data interpretation is needed. Furthermore, analysts should be assisted in sense-making, which has been rather ignored in the rush to execute a culture of sharing. To accomplish these tasks, a larger emphasis should be placed on the natural way users share and analyze data. The placement of geographers should play a prominent role in the construction of such a system.

Geographers are already acutely aware of the special nature of spatial data (Anselin, 1989) in both presenta-tion and analysis. Furthermore, geog-raphy is firmly placed within the realm of the social sciences, which should be considered in all aspects, but particularly in aspects of social structure, mental processing of information, and organiza-tional culture. The problems that face the community are too large and broad for a

single discipline.The design and implementation of large

enterprise systems that exclude a social layer is to a large extent a demonstration of technological determinism. The argu-ment that technological development will change the social structure and organi-

zational culture may be without founda-tion. Instead, the social layer should be built into the infrastructure to improve information sharing, with special consid-erations to the psychological, behavioral, and cognitive processes of information consumption and analysis.

SPOT Image_ImagingNotes: 8.375 x 5.4375” 5.6.10

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2009/10/22Bagram Airfield, located in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan

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Movements of vehicles

Movements of vehicles

Movements of runway construction vehicles

Helicopter in flightHelicopter shadow

Aircraft Activity

Aircraft Missing (19)

New Aircraft (28)

Aircraft Moved (8)


RapidEyE may not bE thE firSt namE that comES to mind whEn you thinK of Earth

Observation (EO) imagery and services. However, the company has been around as a business concept for close to fifteen years, and by name for over ten. That still makes it the ‘new kid’ in this industry, or maybe even the underdog. Either way, the next year will prove to be a crucial time for RapidEye as it intensifies marketing efforts through every channel to get noticed, builds its brand recognition, and

continues to demonstrate the quality and reliability of its products and services to generate a broader customer base.

Born out of interest by the DLR (the German Space Center) to explore commercializing satellite-based Earth Observation in Germany, RapidEye has grown from a small core group of ten in Munich to a dynamic team of over 130 professionals from over 20 countries. It has called the German city of Brandenburg an der Havel, just outside Berlin, its home since 2004.

Classifying RapidEye as a company is challenging. Calling itself a “Geospatial Information Provider,” which is an accurate though general way to describe it, you may not pick up on some of the more important aspects of the company and what it really does.

Kim DouGlaSS � Marketing executive

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eDitoR’S Note: � Imaging Notes strives to cover the worldwide commercial remote sensing companies equally and objectively. other companies are featured regularly.


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While the business plan has been altered over the years to accommodate a changing industry, one of the key components has been static. RapidEye provides, and is dedicated to its service concept of supplying customers with decision-making tools that provide rele-vant information that can enhance the bottom line of the client.

In order to provide these services to the several industries that it targets, RapidEye naturally uses EO imagery. This is where it gets interesting. RapidEye owns and operates its own satellite constellation

and utilizes the imagery as the main data source for its services. As an additional revenue generator, it also markets and sells its imagery.

Building two businesses under one roof is never an easy undertaking, but with an enthusiastic and dedicated team, RapidEye is facing the challenges head-on, and progress abounds on both fronts.

party of FiveIf you find yourself at the front door

of its headquarters in Germany, you can’t miss the S-Band antenna that graces the top of the prominent red brick building RapidEye occupies in the city center. From the outside, the antenna is the most visible part of the ground segment, which is used to communicate with its constel-lation of five identical satellites.

The RapidEye system was conceived, designed and developed based on the limitations of other commercially opera-tional satellite systems to collect, process

and deliver large areas through remote sensing. MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Ltd (MDA) was the prime contractor for the RapidEye system and held the responsibility for all system engineering and program management tasks. SSTL (Surrey Satellite Tech-nology, Ltd) and Jena-Optronik were subcontracted by MDA to construct the satellites and handle sensor assembly and delivery, respectively.

Launched in August of 2008 with a shower of media attention locally and abroad, RapidEye’s five satellites were sent

into space inside the cone of a DNEPR-1 rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A picture-perfect launch led to a successful faring separation, releasing the constellation into space. Over the next weeks the satellites, which are about the size of a household dishwasher and weigh just 150 kg (330 lbs) each, found their home in an orbit equally spaced 650 km (~400 miles) above the Earth.

Five satellites with the collective capacity to image over 4 million km² (more than 1.5 million square miles) and the ability to revisit any area on Earth daily, can obviously cover a lot of ground in a very short time frame. This gives RapidEye imagery customers volumes of data from which to choose. Many areas around the globe have been imaged several times, providing options to acquire imagery from different seasons or the opportunity to purchase a time series of images.

To give you an idea of the sheer quantity of data that can be collected by RapidEye’s

system on a daily basis, four million km2 is equal to the land mass east of the Missouri River in the contiguous United States. RapidEye’s collection capacity is more than four times what can be imaged by its nearest competitor, and after only fourteen months of being officially “open for business,” the RapidEye Library had already amassed over one billion square kilometers of imagery. This is seven times the land mass of Earth, and there’s more

While it cannot compete with very ��high resolution (sub one-meter) image providers, that was never the intention. A different kind of niche market is served by RapidEye, one that can derive the information needed from images with a slightly lower spatial resolution, which is accompanied by lower imagery costs.


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imagery to choose from every day.Supplying five-meter pixel size imagery

in five spectral bands (blue, green, red, near infrared and red-edge), the RapidEye system falls into the high-range resolu-tion category and is suitable for a myriad of monitoring tasks for a wide range of industries. While it cannot compete with very high resolution (sub one meter) image providers, that was never the intention. A different kind of niche market is served by

RapidEye, one that can derive the informa-tion needed from images with a slightly lower spatial resolution, which is accom-panied by lower imagery costs. With GIS systems finding their way into more and more businesses and with new applications being explored, this market is expanding.

China in your HandsAs with many aspects of life, our

proudest moments come after hurdling

an obstacle or two. More than likely, RapidEye’s largest imagery project to date would be described by the team that executed and delivered it as a great success preceded by a series of challenges.

The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) for the People’s Republic of China has been utilizing remote sensing and satellite imagery to map and monitor their country for over ten years. For a ministry overseeing a country with a land mass stretching 9.6 million km², it would surprise no one that the MLR had never been able to acquire imagery of the entire area within one year. They were looking for a system that could deliver, and RapidEye nego-tiated through their Chinese distributor Beijing Earth Observation (BEO) to be able to take on the project.

RapidEye’s Head of Operations would tell you that the challenges of taking on a task of that magnitude were not even apparent when the contract was signed to cover China. The contract was renegotiated over a matter of months, and eventually stipulated that the MLR wanted 80% of China (7.8 million km²) delivered within a 6-month time frame with a maximum of 10% cloud cover. Of course there were also specific areas that the MLR needed absolutely cloud free.

For a satellite imagery and solutions company that had been commercially operational for only six months when the project began, this requirement can be described only as an ambitious under-taking. As many who have worked in this business will tell you, theoretical applica-tion always has a tendency to leave out a little bit of reality when applied practi-cally, especially when your biggest chal-lenge is Mother Nature.

Historical cloud cover data and cloud forecasting played a primary role when deciding where to image in China. Originally, the Ministry of Land and Resources requested that RapidEye begin collecting imagery on a county-by-county basis. However, after attempting to fulfill this request, the under-utilization of the system


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and unfavorable weather conditions thwarted this plan and the idea was eventually scrapped in favor of a more opportunistic approach.

Once the weather situation was more or less sorted out, then came the challenges of quality control, cata-loging and delivering large chunks of data, which RapidEye hadn’t dealt with

at this early stage. Luckily, the team worked diligently to solve these steps in the delivery process, and an in-house software tool was designed to generate a semi-automated shape file to accom-pany the data delivery. This helped the MLR to visualize quickly the imagery

they were receiving on a daily basis.When the imaging campaign hit full

swing and it was time to test the capa-bilities of the system, a team of RapidEye operators found themselves knee-deep in imagery. After only one month, almost one-quarter of the project was delivered; at the 60-day mark, the MLR had received 40% of their requested area, and by the

end of the third month, over 75% of the imagery had been collected (5.85 million km²). Having never pushed the system for such a large area collection for a customer, the operators found that the experience was a little like taking a Ferrari for a test spin that promises enormous horse power

and the ability to reach a top speed of 185 mph, and finding out that it really does do what the manufacturer promised.

The satellites found themselves repeatedly covering China whenever weather conditions were good and other orders did not conflict in the planning schedule. Getting the low or no cloud covered image of an area that needed to be obtained occasionally required three, four or even five passes to capture an acceptable image.

As one would suspect with the preceding statistics about the RapidEye system delivery, the project exceeded everyone’s expectations (including those of the team that created the initial collection plan). One month before the end of the collection window, the MLR had received 99.8% of their requested area with an average cloud cover of less than 6%.

The Ministry of Land and Resources was suitably impressed by the RapidEye collection and delivery approach and will find themselves over the next months deciding whether it is necessary and within their budget to repeat the project. If so, RapidEye expects to be at the top of the list of considered providers, hoping that having completed the collection of China so well the first time will make them a shoo-in for round two.

making a DifferenceEarly in the morning of Saturday,

February 27, 2010, an earthquake and resulting tsunami hit the western coast of South America. With the epicenter south of the capital of Santiago, Chile, the quake measured 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale (MMS), causing the deaths of over 530 people near the epicenter, which included the town of Concepción.

Knowing that this would prove to be a large natural disaster and that rescue, recovery and future rebuilding efforts could benefit from the use of RapidEye’s imagery, planning was immediately altered for the daily collection from the satellites to include the area around Concepción. Less than 8 hours after the earthquake hit, RapidEye had its satel-


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lites over the area getting fresh imagery of this suddenly devastated region.

As the resulting images were being processed, the archive was searched for images over the same region to see if base imagery was available for comparison with the current imagery taken only hours before. By a stroke of luck, the exact area had been imaged on January 22, only four weeks earlier.

By the time business resumed on Monday morning in Europe, RapidEye imagery was available for download to emergency agencies to assist in relief efforts over the area; by noon, an internal team was beginning to analyze imagery from before and after the quake.

The analysis of Concepción clearly shows how satellite imagery can be used to illustrate spatial distribution of an area

hit by an earthquake. Changes in vegeta-tion are clear in rural areas, flooding is seen in urban areas and oceanic distur-bances can be observed. These before and after images can also give the humani-tarian aid community an idea of where the most destruction has occurred and, in turn, where more help may be needed.

an ambitious agendaSince commercial operations of the

constellation commenced in February 2009, RapidEye has undergone some significant changes, including the addi-


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tion of 50 employees and an office in Washington D.C. under the name RapidEye USA, LLC.

Its distribution network, respon-sible for selling RapidEye imagery and promoting its service business, has grown to over 20 companies worldwide and is continuously expanding.

Additionally, the company has invested in the power of the Internet by launching its Geodata Kiosk, an e-commerce plat-form that allows for instant ordering and delivery of RapidEye’s satellite imagery. Over 20 million km² of data, including a vast majority of North America and Europe, are available for download to anyone at any time.

‘eyeing’ the FutureWhile RapidEye has not always had

an easy road and money hasn’t always been plentiful, it will be a company to keep your eye on (no pun intended). Plans are in the works to expand its business partnerships to include some additional respected names in the industry; at least

ten more distributors will be signed on, and RapidEye is expected to prepare a framework contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency this fall.

Since a satellite system has a finite life-time, plans to work on a second-genera-tion system have already been discussed, even with the “wiggle room” that may be available due to the extended lifetime of the system, which the latest telemetry suggests. However, contract negotiations with a supplier look to be about two years away, likely to occur after decisions are made regarding system requirements.

With all of the irons currently in the fire, this company is ready to shake its ‘start-up’ status and move to the next level of being a profitable business.


November 1 - 4, 2010 • Ernest N. Morial Convention Center • New Orleans, Louisiana

www.geoint2010.comWhere Our National Security Begins…

Not a Member? Join Today to Save on Registration & Exhibit Space! www.usgif.org

John C. (Chris) InglisDeputy Director, National Security Agency

Gen. Bruce Carlson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)Director, National Reconnaissance Office

LTG Ronald L. Burgess Jr., U.S. ArmyDirector, Defense Intelligence Agency

The Honorable James R. Clapper Jr.Director of National Intelligence

Lt. Gen. John C. Koziol, U.S. Air ForceDeputy Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) for Joint and Coalition Warfighter Support; Director of the Department of Defense, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force

Letitia A. LongDirector, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Kevin P. MeinersActing Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Portfolio, Programs & Resources), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence

Cheryl RobyActing Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration; and DoD Chief Information Officer

Dawn MeyerriecksAssistant Director of National Intelligence for Acquisition and Technology, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

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The established premier LIDAR event, attracting professionals from around the world with one focused objective of sharing information on LIDAR technologyand Mobile Mapping applications.

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Exhibitors include:

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Organized by: In partnership with:

1855 IX ILMF10_Ad_EIJ.eps 15/9/10 13:19:35


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FIGuREX1XX . LeicaXADS80X

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The increased footprint saves users money by allowing them to fly fewer lines. While resolution has skyrocketed – for example, medium-format sensors have grown from 16 MP (megapixels) to 60 MP in just five years – manufacturers are focusing more and more on automating the workflow — that is, on providing their customers with more efficient ways to extract, process, analyze, store, and distribute the massive amounts of data that the latest generation of sensors capture.

In the future, some components, such as storage, will continue to shrink in size, while the swath width will continue to increase. The next big tran-sition, however, will be to real-time, in-flight processing — which is espe-cially important for rapid response, emergency management, and intelli-gence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. The military has been experimenting with the ability to off-load and process image information in near real-time for situational aware-ness, and this capability is beginning to expand to the commercial world.

Likewise, video, which has been important in the military and intelligence markets, will eventually make its way to the commercial airborne photogrammetry market. “With the performance of many frame cameras today, the step to video is probably relatively small and there will probably be more activity in this regard

going forward,” says Ruediger Wagner, product manager of airborne imaging sensors for Leica Geosystems AG.

FormatsThe line between small, medium,

and large format sensors has shifted over time and will continue to shift or even blur. Some companies advertise

medium format cameras that have a larger footprint than their previous large format cameras. The definition was originally based on the size of the sensor: 24 millimeters x 36 millime-ters was small format, between that and 60 millimeters x 90 millimeters was medium format, and everything bigger was large format. In the world of digital airborne photogrammetry and “virtual images,” however, often

manufacturers do not fully adhere to those original definitions.

Larger format cameras are typically used as stand-alone sensors for tradi-tional wide-area mapping applications, while medium format cameras are often used to augment lidar data. “This could be in the form of an ancillary dataset to confirm lidar classification accuracy or to create colorized RGB (red, green, blue) point clouds,” explains Michael Sitar, airborne products manager for Optech. “Alternatively, they could be delivered as classic orthomosaics, but with lidar providing the digital surface model (DSM) information directly.”

manufacturersLeica Geosystems, based in Heerbrugg,

Switzerland, specializes in airborne imaging and lidar sensors, making metric, large and medium format cameras that are predominantly used in photogram-

Aerial CamerasfocuS ShIftS to ProDuctIvIty

by matteo luCCio � , writer Portland, ore. www.palebluedotllc.com

EvEry aErial or SatEllitE imagE you SEE on googlE Earth,

on The Weather Channel, or in the pages of this magazine was taken with a camera made by one of a handful of manufacturers that specialize in the sensors used for photogrammetry, remote sensing, and mapping — three growing markets that are rapidly converging. Five years ago, the aerial imaging industry was focused mostly on the transition from analog film cameras to digital ones. Since, manufac-turers have increased the productivity of their cameras, making significant im-provements in area coverage, image quality, and workflow — covering larger ar-eas, at higher resolution, in less time.


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metry, remote sensing, and all mapping applications, says Wagner. The company’s large format camera works on the “push-broom” principle used in imaging satel-lites: it records a continuous strip, rather than single frames. “The sensor features a single rigid lens system (one optical path), very close integration with the GNSS/IMU (global navigation satellite system/iner-tial measurement unit) system, and thus has very high radiometric and geometric accuracy. Through the use of a tetrachroid prism, it produces co-registered bands

at equal resolution, so that our imagery does not require pan-sharpening (which combines the color information from a multi-spectral file with the geometric infor-mation from the panchromatic band). It serves both the remote sensing market and the photogrammetric mapping market.” See FiguresX1-3.

Leica Geosystems, according to Wagner, is one of the few manufac-turers that offer a complete “in-house” aerial mapping solution — including flight management and post-processing software, GNSS/IMU processing, and mounts. “We test our cameras very rigor-ously for airborne applications,” he says. “We maintain and grow a very global support network and offer an upgrade path, so that our customers can take advantage of new technology and at the same time protect their investment.”

Trimble, based in Sunnyvale, Cali-fornia, has a portfolio of medium format cameras designed for aerial

mapping. They include the Trimble Aerial Cameras and Trimble Digital Sensor System (DSS). The former are mapping-grade, metric medium format cameras for collection of high-resolu-tion visible and near-infrared imagery (NIR, RGB and CIR – color infrared). They come in one-, two-, and four-head configurations and can be used stand-alone or integrated with lidar. “The Trimble Aerial Camera is precise and compact, and in fact has the best ratio of MP to weight and size in the

industry,” says Adam Evans, product manager for Trimble Applanix.

The Trimble DSS is a complete, turnkey aerial mapping system that is certified as mapping grade by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Trimble DSS consists of a camera, an inertial navi-gation system (INS), a GPS receiver, a flight management system, and a complete post-processing workflow. The DSS Rapi-dOrtho workflow, which is designed for rapid response applications, can deliver imagery within only a couple of hours of landing, according to Evans. The DSS DualCam captures both RGB and NIR data simultaneously and the DSS Tactical Mapping system is used to acquire centi-meter-level imagery from very high alti-tudes. See FiguresX4-5.

Vexcel Imaging GmbH, Microsoft

Corporation’s photogrammetry division,

based in Graz, Austria, specializes in frame-based, large and medium format cameras for aerial mapping and surveying. The large format cameras are called UltraCamXp and UltraCamXp Wide Angle; the photogrammetric medium format camera is called UltraCamLp. The company’s large and medium format cameras differ in price and footprint size, thereby addressing different segments of the market, says Jerry Skaw, marketing manager for Microsoft’s photogram-metry products. See FigureX6.

According to Pat McConnell, the company’s North America sales manager, Vexcel Imaging’s cameras feature leading PAN footprint size and offer radiometric dynamic, forward motion compensa-tion by TDI (time delay integration) in all cones, and fast frame rates. “We provide a removable storage system that enables pilots to maximize their flying time,” says McConnell. “Together, these features give the best price per pixel.” His company, he adds, offers a more complete line of cameras than other manufacturers, including loaner cameras, and enables its customers to either trade a camera in or have it upgraded.

Optech, a manufacturer of laser-based survey and imaging instruments based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, recently purchased DiMAC, a company that specializes in the design and manu-


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FIGuREX6XS . Vexcel’sXultraCamXfromXMicrosoft

facture of medium and large format cameras. “There is industry recognition that the strong height accuracy available from lidar, combined with the excellent planimetric accuracy of imagery, creates a high-quality end product,” says Sitar. “We are now in a position to offer our clients the benefit of both active and passive imaging solutions in either stand-alone or fully-integrated sensor products, all fully supported by a single vendor. We also incorporate small format inter-line cameras in many of our products requiring higher frame rates.”

“Our DiMAC cameras,” Sitar adds, “utilize a patented approach to the imple-mentation of forward motion compensa-tion (FMC) to minimize pixel smearing, or image motion blur, caused by the move-ment of the sensing platform across the target. As charge-coupled device (CCD) pixels get smaller, the percentage of pixel smear increases when flying at speed, all other factors remaining equal. You can use faster shutter speeds to compensate, but this requires a larger aperture to ensure commensurate lighting of the CCD array, which can negatively impact image quality radially. DiMAC cameras allow users to fly faster, lower, and for a longer period of time, because they can utilize slower shutter speeds, which produce better lighting conditions, at the same time as a tighter aperture, which produces better image quality.” See FigureX7.

Geospatial Systems, Inc. (GSI), based in West Henrietta, New York, special-izes in airborne survey and mapping (ASM) cameras — specifically, for lidar augmentation, corridor mapping, and natural resources — as well as solutions for ISR for defense and homeland secu-rity. “In the ASM market, rather than competing with Vexcel Imaging and Intergraph in the large-format space, we operate in the small- and medium-format niche, where our cameras are typically used in conjunction with lidar,” says Barry Cross, the company’s director of sales and marketing. “In addition to color and panchromatic sensors, we also provide multi-spectral, mid-wave, and

long-wave IR (infrared) sensors, which can be deployed alone or integrated in multi-sensor solutions. We build true metric systems on the leading edge of the price/performance curve. Performance and productivity features include our

kinematic mounting design, a-thermal lenses, field-replaceable shutters, and DGX control and processing architec-ture, which integrates with various iner-tial navigation systems and pre-processes imagery for the photogrammetric work-

flow. Also, our selection of sensor modules can be combined into solutions for nadir and oblique imaging.” See FigureX8.

Z/I Imaging — now part of the Secu-rity, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I) business unit of Intergraph, which is based in Huntsville, Alabama and was just acquired by Hexagon — has developed, manufactured, and sold digital aerial cameras for nearly ten years. The first generation was the DMC, first sold in 2003, which is still flying, with small investment for enhancements, says Klaus Neumann, the company’s product manager for sensor systems. “We are the market leader in the United States, China, and Japan. Our latest digital mapping


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camera, the DMC II, is the dream of every surveyor because it has a single, monolithic, ultra-large CCD.” This, he explains, means that image data post-processing does not require CCD stitching or image mosaicking, which requires finding enough features and structures

to stitch together seamlessly and compen-sating for each CCD’s different geometry. “In photogrammetry you want to measure directly from the image.”

The DMC II 140 has 140 MP and the DMC II 250 has 250 MP and a pixel size of 5.6 microns. “Our strategy is to protect the customer’s investment as long as possible. The DMC II has a very high frame rate, an extra large footprint, and the ability to fly at 5,400 feet with a GSD (ground sample distance) of 10 centime-ters.” Its main application is large area mapping with engineering precision.

Z/I Imaging’s CCD was custom-manufactured by DALSA using optics custom-developed by Carl Zeiss. This results in extremely good image quality, says Neumann, and can compensate for inaccuracies, while other vendors have to compensate for pressure and other effects. “To complete the system you need good electronics and we have our own devel-opers,” he adds. See FigureX9.

improvements: larger Footprints, Higher Res, Faster processing

In the past five years, Sitar points out, larger CCDs have enabled increased image resolutions and larger footprints, which enable imagery to be collected more efficiently by flying at higher altitudes for equivalent resolutions. Floating hard drives that required pressurization have been replaced by cheaper, more compact,

and more reliable solid state disk storage. “Our core systems would not be possible without the advancements in the core sensor technology,” says Cross.

Two other important develop-ments, says Wagner, have been the international acceptance of direct geo-

referencing and increased reliance on distributed processing, both of which have greatly reduced the time it takes to, for example, produce orthophotos or extract DEMs and point clouds from the imagery. “The reliability of the components has improved,” he adds. “Cameras have fewer electronic components. Solid state drives (SSDs) and field-programmable gate arrays

(FPGAs) have helped in this regard.”According to Skaw, a key development

was Vexcel Imaging’s release of a fully metric “medium format” camera, at the July 2008 ASPRS conference. “It has the same radiometric and geometric accuracy of our large format camera, because it is based on the same camera design and uses a subset of the equipment and electronics that we use in our large format camera,

but for the same price that film cameras would have if they still existed.”

Challenges: Supporting Higher Res, improving Workflows

Opinions vary as to the remaining hardware, software, and workflow chal-lenges.

As Wagner sees it, most of the remaining bottlenecks are in basic things that are partially out of the control of the aerial photogrammetry companies — such as the cost of flight operations and aircraft, the weather, air traffic control, and flying height restric-tions. “So, our task is to develop sensor systems that are very effective despite that,” he says. “Of course, the invest-ment threshold for many companies looking to invest in digital technology continues to play a role. The IT infra-structure to process the data is as impor-tant as the type of camera. In an ideal world, the application or end-use of the data should drive the data acquisition, and in my view there is still opportu-nity. For example, improvements in the lower-priced medium format camera segment, such as four-band imagery, stable multi-head configurations, or lower-cost sensors for specialized niche applications, could help to close the gap to the high-performing, large-format segment and thus create better access.”

The increases in cameras’ resolutions, explains Evans, challenge manufacturers to supply lenses that will support those resolutions — because the shrinking pixel size requires commensurate improvements in optics. “As resolutions increase,” Sitar explains, “distortions or aberrations from the use of poorer quality lenses become much more apparent. Similarly, surveyors demand shutters with high reliability. It is not uncommon for users to collect more than 100,000 images during a survey season. Having the confidence to know your lens can support your client’s entire survey season is critical. The ultimate goal is to minimize the client’s down time.”

There is high demand, Evans points out, for imaging solutions with a tightly-

There is high demand for imaging ��solutions with a tightly-integrated flight management system and post-processing software, which significantly improves the workflow. –adam evans of trimble applanix


integrated flight management system and post-processing software, which significantly improves the work-flow. System flexibility is particularly important for small and medium-sized mapping companies, which are always looking for ways to cover more ground faster and reduce their oper-ating costs. “Many of these shops,” he says, “have told us that they need to be able to take on very different types of work with complementary sensors — such as 4-band, thermal, and lidar. They are asking us for sensors that provide interchangeable camera heads and focal lengths for different kinds of work. This means configurations with good base-height ratio for stereo work, others that are suitable for flying under clouds, and still others designed for matching the imagery footprint and resolution to a lidar swath.”

“It seems that right now much of the big money is being spent on satellite data,” says Cross, “and this will directly impact the growth of the aerial sector. In the ASM market, capacity for large format digital has been building and, at least domesti-cally, we will really have to see how the large programs such as Clear30 and the Imagery for the Nation initiative play out. The good news is that the value of ‘geospatial’ is now broadly understood and, therefore, continued investments will be more easily justified. This will not only apply to the update frequency on large programs but will also support growth in GSI’s niche sectors, such as lidar augmentation, high-value asset corridor mapping and natural resources, including precision agri-culture, forestry, and environment. In this sense, the biggest bottle-neck becomes the ability to process, manage, and extract value from the huge volumes of data coming from the variety of sensors. You could say it is increasingly a ‘last mile’ problem.”

By contrast, Skaw sees no tech-nical bottleneck. “Our systems,”

he says, “are not overwhelmed by the amount of data generated by the new hardware, because we poured in huge sums of money to accommodate the increases in data to be processed. The only real bottleneck is how much aerial mapping work is available because of the economic downturn. It has been a struggle and there is a lot of apprehension about using capital for upgrades versus creating jobs.”

Finally, Sitar points to the large investment in software, both desktop and in-flight, required for real-time processing for in-air evaluation and coverage verifi-cation as a challenge.

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Wish listIn the next three to five years, what

single technical development would help the aerial imaging industry the most? A “blue sky” button to eliminate cloud coverage, jokes Wagner! He then lists three more: in-flight, real-time data processing; continued increase in area performance at a lower cost, without a loss in photogram-metric and radiometric performance; and hardware-accelerated processing for data extraction, processing, classification, and data fusion. “There are also promising new technologies and platforms, such as UAVs,” he adds.

“Building real-time, mapping-grade ortho products will be critical to effec-tive emergency response and tactical

mapping,” says Evans. “High-accuracy aerial ortho imagery developed with direct geo-referencing does not require aerial triangulation or ground survey points, which can be time-consuming and often dangerous to acquire in rapid response situations.”

Sitar cites the effort to create larger single CCDs that don’t require stitching together multiple images, yet cover the same geographic footprint with similar resolutions or GSD. “Currently,” he points out, “many larger cameras use several CCDs (RGB and B&W) to compile a single large image. This requires stitching of the imagery, color balancing to remove CCD to CCD vari-ations in light sensitivity, pan-sharp-ening techniques, and very high quality lenses to minimize radial distortions in each sub-image. The end result can be a poorer quality image compared to that

which is collected using a single RGB CCD.”

“At the recent MAPPS conference, I heard that the community is hoping for more in-flight processing, so that you have a certain level of product when you land,” says Skaw. “Part of our value proposition is to tap into Microsoft’s software ambitions — e.g. its Dragonfly technology — so that we will have more and more software innovations.”

“With so much enabling technology in place currently — including sensors, computing power, and Internet communi-cations — the single technical development that would most help our industry would be technology emphasis and compliance with open geospatial computing stan-

dards and effectively managing and more efficiently deriving real value from the investments that are being made,” says Cross. “There are still huge inefficiencies, and we have yet to achieve real interoper-ability among the systems that house our investments. So, meaningful advancement of open geospatial standards remains a critical need in delivering maximum ROI, which, in turn, will justify continued investment and growth of the industry. This is a technology development that, unlike others, will require strong policy leadership.”

Space-based CamerasTwo U.S. companies build cameras

used on imaging satellites: ITT Corpo-ration, based in White Plains, New York, and Ball Aerospace & Technolo-gies Corp., based in Boulder, Colorado. Manufacturers elsewhere in the world include Elbit Systems Electro-Optics Elop Ltd. in Israel, EADS Astrium SAS (which just acquired Germany’s Jena-Optronik) and Thales Alenia Space in France, and Mitsubishi Electronics Corporation and NEC in Japan.

ITT Corporation currently has sensors or imaging cameras on all the high-resolu-tion commercial remote sensing satellites operating in the U.S. market. The company built the entire imaging cameras for GeoEye’s IKONOS and GeoEye-1 satellites and for DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 satel-lite, as well as the imaging sensors for Digi-talGlobe’s QuickBird and WorldView-1 satellites. WorldView-1, which contained the second generation of ITT Corporation’s space-based sensors, was launched in 2007 with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency as its “anchor tenant.”

In late 2007, GeoEye first contracted with ITT for long-lead items for GeoEye-2. In August 2010, DigitalGlobe awarded ITT a contract to build the imaging system, which will include a sensor subsystem and an optical telescope unit, for its World-View-3, high-resolution commercial Earth imaging satellite, anticipated to be avail-able for launch by the end of 2014.

How do space-based cameras differ from aerial ones? One difference is regu-latory: GeoEye-1’s resolution is 41 centi-meters and WorldView-2’s is 46 centi-meters. However, below 50 centimeters, GeoEye and DigitalGlobe are required to resample the imagery to 50 centimeters before selling it commercially. Therefore, much of the very high resolution imagery comes from aerial sensors. However, airborne imaging can’t be flown every-where because there are some denied environments. This is the primary reason why users of remotely sensed imagery typically choose a combination of satel-lite and aerial imagery.


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The Data Paradox: InformatIon SharIng Incongruities In the IntellIgence CommunIty

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