Culture, Climate Science & Education
SECTION ONE
A Brief History of Remote Sensing
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A. Introduction
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From Jhon Goes In Center’s essay “Native American and First Nations' GIS”. 2000 Dec 7.
A view from above has always been useful. People have long sought a vantage point to see their surroundings—maybe a tall tree to scout a travel path, or hilltop to see game, approaching enemies, or the next encampment site.
From this perspective, we can see big areas all at once and observe patterns not visible from the ground.
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B. From Kites to Satellites
Over the years, technology has allowed us to better communicate the view. Soon after cameras were invented, people were discovering ways to take images from above—first from balloons and kites, later from aircraft.
With photographs, we can describe an aerial view more accurately and to a bigger audience, than by drawings or word of mouth. Images also capture attention and imagination. Kite photographs captured the ruin of San Francisco after an earthquake & fire; in 1906 the 2,000 foot perspective created a worldwide sensation and drew attention to the tragedy.
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"Boston, as the eagle and wild goose see it” is the oldest surviving aerial photograph. Taken by James Wallace Black in 1860 from a hot air balloon.
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George R. Lawrence 1906 May 28
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C. Wartime Technology to Peacetime Benefit
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Cameras were even mounted on birds. Julius Neubronner toyed with the idea of equipping birds with automatic cameras to trace their paths, after one of his pigeons went lost for 4-weeks (Neubronner 1910).
During the First World War, aerial photography developed beyond a novelty. Aerial photo interpreters could give military planners not only positions of the enemy, but also predictions of activity, based on number of train cars, size of supply depots, construction, etc.
Many current image analysis techniques were developed in wartime and later adapted for peacetime use. During the Second World War, color infrared film was developed to see camouflage apart from vegetation. The British developed radar to detect incoming German air raids. Afterward, hundreds of trained aerial interpreters were put to work in applications such as forest inventory, archaeology, geology, and civil engineering.
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Pigeon photography is an interesting footnote in military history but probably without much wartime impact.
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D. Space Age Developments
German V-2 rocket technology was quickly adopted by Americans and Soviets, to launch the first spy satellites in the early 1960’s.
In 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts captured a brilliant color image of earth, rising above a desolate lunar surface. The image helped spur the environmental movement—depicting the fragility of our planet surrounded by the emptiness of space—and has been called “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken” (Galen Rowell).
The “Blue Marble” image captured in 1972 by Apollo 17 is possibly the most reproduced, famous photograph ever taken. It too provokes a sense of earthly connection and responsibility.
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Earthrise. William Anders/NASA, 1968 Dec 24
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No human has since been so far from the earth, to capture its sphere in a single frame. NASA 1972.
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E. "We set out to explore the moon and instead discovered the Earth."
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Applications Technology Satellite 3 (ATS-3), a weather & communications satellite, captured the first full view color image of the earth in 1967. Decommissioned in 1978, yet imaging capability was used in Mt. St. Helens eruption and other disaster responses. Until 2001, it was the oldest working communications satellite (Glover 1997).
Progress in earth observations was initially a byproduct of testing imagery to identify landing sites on the moon—lunar orbiter cameras were tested and field validated on earth surfaces. The value of these earth images was recognized and helped in establishing the USGS Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) program in 1966.
Earth observation funding struggled to compete with charismatic extra-terrestrial NASA missions and resources for global conflicts, yet communication and earth imaging satellites continue to provide the most impactful economic and societal benefits (Aronoff 2005).
On the 50th anniversary of his “Earthrise” photo, William Anders observed, "We set out to explore the moon and instead discovered the Earth" (Anders 2018).
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F. Remote Sensing & Geospatial Science
Remote sensing refers to gathering information of the earth’s surface from aircraft or satellite. Remote Sensing is a kind of geospatial science—the information is tied to geographic locations. Imagery is frequently used in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), computer programs used to store and analyze spatial data.
The usefulness of remote sensing is illustrated with NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which in 2000 gave us a global terrain map, freely available to the public at 30 meter resolution. In 11 days, the Endeavor space shuttle mission accomplished what cartographers had been unable to produce over hundreds of years.
Satellites provide coverage of remote areas, difficult or dangers to study from the ground, like Arctic or Antarctic ice.
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Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. NASA JPL
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G. Geospatial Science and Indigenous People
Remote sensing and geospatial technology are used by tribes—as with other groups—to sustainably manage natural resources. Geospatial science can also protect cultural sites, preserve culture, pass cultural knowledge to new generations, and support tribal sovereignty.
There can be a tradeoff between spreading & perpetuating cultural knowledge and protecting private information; each tribal government is challenged to choose an approach. For example, a tribe’s Preservation Department documents a historic site on a grazing area. Will the tribe’s Rangeland managers be notified as to protect the site, or not?
Visit this website and read the essay by Jhon Goes In Center about native use of GIS, and briefly write down a reaction you had while reading.
Visit this website and read the other four articles (links 1 – 5 at bottom of website)
Mapping to Advance Indigenous Sovereignty
Visit this website and read the article about using geospatial technology to strengthen indigenous sovereignty. Write a short response to these questions:
Using Geospatial Technologies to Enhance and Sustain Resource Native Lands
Read the article below and give short responses to the questions:
Visit this website for a “story map”, created by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR). Pictures tell a thousand words, as the saying goes. Maps can help tell a story and give a sense of place. Read this story of South Wind, and let the story map take you for a journey. Question: Do you think combining stories with locations and maps can perpetuate cultural knowledge?
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H. Remote Sensing and Climate
OCO-2: A Breathing Planet, Off Balance
Watch the video below and write short answers to these questions:
Visit this website and explore three articles or videos of you choice. When you're done, write down the three you chose and one thing you learned from each.
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I. Remote Sensing & Change
With repeat global imagery since the early 1970’s, remote sensing is very useful for showing earth change over time.
Landsat 8 Swath Animation
Landsat 8 is the latest in a series of NASA “Landsat” satellites that have captured continuous images of earth since 1972—the longest satellite image set in history. Watch the video.
Question: How many days does it take Landsat 8 to repeat a picture of the same place (i.e. the image capture interval)?
Visit this website and and take the Tour by clicking next after reading the screen. Question: How might the change you see here be related to climate change?
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J. Earth as Art
With repeat global imagery since the early 1970’s, remote sensing is very useful for showing earth change over time.
In addition to their scientific value, images of the earth can be stunningly beautiful. Visit this website and explore the five sets of imagery. For each set, write down your favorite image, what it depicts, and what sensor captured the image.
Visit this website for the USGS Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) program gallery and explore the galleries and interactive features such as: State Mosaics, Image Comparison Sliders, Image of the Week, & NED Elevation.
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K. Resources: Supplemental Materials
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L. References
Anders, Bill (December 24, 2018). "50 Years After 'Earthrise,' a Christmas Eve Message from Its Photographer". Space.com.
Aronoff S. 2005. Chapter 2: A brief history of remote sensing for earth observation. In: Aronoff S. Remote Sensing for GIS Managers. Redlands CA: ESRI Press. p. 9-52.
Glover, Daniel R. (1997). "Chapter 6: NASA Experimental Communications Satellites, 1958–1995, SP-4217 Beyond the Ionosphere". In Butrica, Andrew J. Beyond The Ionosphere: The Development of Satellite Communications. NASA.
Neubronner, Julius (1910), "Die Photographie mit Brieftauben", in Wachsmuth, Richard, Denkschrift der Ersten Internationalen Luftschiffahrts-Ausstellung (Ila) zu Frankfurt a.M. 1909 (in German), Berlin: Julius Springer, pp. 77–96.
Petsko, Gregory A (2011). "The blue marble". Genome Biology. 12 (4): 112. doi:10.1186/gb-2011-12-4-112.
Rowell, Galen. 1999. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.abc.net.au/science/moon/earthrise.htm