Daily Average = 3,125 scenes of web-enabled data
delivered
• Over 2.4 million images available today• Seven fold increase in scientific and educational users • Data delivered to 180 countries• Exceeded 1 million scenes delivered on August 17, 2009
Total Landsat Scenes Delivered Since October 1, 2008
Worldwide Usage of Landsat
Bryant CramerAssociate Director for Geography, USGS
U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey
• A Long View Landsat provides the longest continuous record of global land surface conditions. The Landsat archive is an objective, comprehensive chronicle of the land.
• Appropriate technology for the missionLandsat is designed to provide the scientific data and tools necessary to support decision-makers in selecting wise land management strategies.
• Building for the Future Landsat data continuity is required by law (Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992).For future missions, an operational strategy rather than a research approach is most efficient.
Outline
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“… the time is now right and urgent to apply space technology towards the solution of many pressing natural resource problems being compounded by population and industrial growth.”
Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, 1966
Origin of Landsat
Bolivia Deforestation
These images show the progression of deforestation in Bolivia from 1975 to 2003. This area lies northeast of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in an area of tropical dry forest. Since the mid-1980s, the resettlement of people from the Altiplano (the Andean high plains) and a large agricultural development effort (the Tierras Baja project) has led to this area’s deforestation.
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Landsat 7Enhanced Thematic Mapper
Plus (ETM+) 30/15 meter
Landsat 4 - 5Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) 79 meter
Thematic Mapper (TM) 30 meter
LandsatInternationalCooperatorStations
37-year Archive of Global Data
Department of the Interior is a Center of Expertise in Satellite Imaging and Land Science
The World’s Model for International Collaboration in Earth Observation
The World’s Most Sophisticated Optical Observatories of the Earth
Landsat 1 - 3Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) 79 meter
Return Beam Vidicon (RBV) 80/40 meter
LandsatInternationalCooperatorStations
Modern Digital SiloEROS Center Sioux Falls, SD
Landsat program: since 1972
Agriculture & Forestry
Wildlife & Public Lands
Commerce & Industry
Regional, State, and Local Government
Disaster Management
International Economic Development
National Security / Homeland Security
Global Change Policy & Research
Uses of Landsat Imagery
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Worldwide Use of Landsat Imagery
Medium Resolution: A broad but thorough perspective
This figure shows all major land use changes and ecosystem disturbances between 1985 and present. Detected and mapped using Landsat imagery.
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Land cover and disturbance year
Persisting Nonforest
Persisting Forest
Water
Pre-1985
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
National Land Cover Dataset
NLCD 2001 landcover.usgs.gov
Role in Global Change Research • Impacts of land use and land cover change
– Carbon cycle dynamics– Changes in ecosystem services, e.g., deforestation
• Monitoring climate-driven land dynamics– Changes in snow and ice extent, e.g., glaciers– Changes in fire frequency and severity– Drought cycles
• Climate studies– Human dimensions of global change– Land-atmosphere interactions– Land use modifications of weather and climate
• Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) - Terrestrial– River discharge, Water use, Ground water, Lake levels,
Snow cover, Glaciers and ice caps, Permafrost and seasonally-frozen ground, Albedo, Land cover (including vegetation type), Fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR), Leaf area index (LAI), Biomass, Fire disturbance, Soil moisture
Landsat Remote Sensing of Global Change
Landsat 7: Lena Delta The Lena River, some 2,800 miles long, is one of the largest rivers in the world. The Lena Delta Reserve, the most extensive protected wilderness area in Russia, is an important refuge and breeding grounds for many species of Siberian wildlife. Image taken 7/27/2000
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Status of Landsats 5 and 7
Landsat 5 Launched in 1984; more than 26 years old Operating on several backup subsystem components Items of concern: Transmitters, Solar Arrays, Batteries… etc
Landsat 7 Launched in 1999; suffered key sensor degradation in 2003 Each scene retains 75% of high-quality data Scenes are still good for some uses “as is”
(with 25% missing along edges)Scenes filled in by ground system processing Items of concern: Gyroscopes
Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)
NASA and USGS cooperation to ensure continuous availability of Landsat data.
• NASA:• Procures satellite, instrument, and launch services• Manages mission integration and post-launch system checkout• Transfers satellite to USGS after on-orbit checkout• Cooperates with USGS in ongoing data calibration/validation
• USGS:• Procures ground station network, ground data archive and processing systems,
and flight operations facility• Coordinates with NASA on mission integration and system checkout• Operates satellite and manages data archive and distribution• Sponsors Landsat Science Team co-chaired by USGS and NASA• Manages ongoing data calibration/validation
• Launch scheduled for December 2012
Continuing the Landsat mission to understand the earth
landsat.usgs.gov
The Earth behaves as a system in which oceans, atmosphere and land, and the living and non-living parts therein, are all connected.
Global Change and the Earth SystemSteffen et al. 2005