NASA Releases Visual Tour of Earth's Fires

by Staff WritersWashington DC (SPX) Oct 25, 2011

Fire observations from around the world taken over nearly 10 years are shown in this visualization of NASA satellite data. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center). Download the visualization from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio.

NASA has released a series of new satellite data visualizations that show tens of millions of fires detected worldwide from space since 2002. The visualizations show fire observations made by the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, instruments onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites.

NASA maintains a comprehensive researchprogram using satellites, aircraft and ground resources to observe and analyze fires around the world. The research helps scientists understand how fire affects our environment on local, regional and global scales.

"What you see here is a very good representation of the satellite data scientists use to understand the global distribution of fires and to determine where and how fire distribution is responding to climate change and population growth," said Chris Justice of the University of Maryland, College Park, a scientist who leads NASA's effort to use MODIS data to study the world's fires.

One of the new visualizations takes viewers on a narrated global tour of fires detected between July 2002 and July 2011. The fire data is combined with satellite views of vegetation and snow cover to show how fires relate to seasonal changes. The Terra and Aqua satellites were launched in 1999 and 2002, respectively.

Better use of Global Geospatial Information for Solving Development Challenges

New York NY (SPX) Oct 24, 2011

Some 350 participants in Seoul will aim to bring countries together to share their experiences in how they organize their geospatial information infrastructure; what are their policy priorities; and how do they deal with crowd-sourced information versus those produced by national authorities.

Representatives from 90 United Nations Member States and more than 50 international and civil society organizations and private sector entities will gather in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 23 to 27 October for a series of high-profile meetings to improve the global management and coordination of geospatial information and in the application of geospatial technology to solve global socio-economic challenges.

The use of geospatial information (location-based information) goes beyond national borders. Many natural disasters and pandemicdiseases are cross-border in their impact and tackling them requires information located and displayed globally.

There is a need therefore for common frameworks and standards for national data to be used regionally and internationally and to harmonize definitions and methods that will enhance the use, accessibility and application of geospatial information globally.

"Over the last decade, new technologies have deeply transformed the availability and accessibility of geospatial information and its potential uses," said Mr. Sha Zukang, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

"After recent earthquakes in several countries, there was great demand for quick and comprehensive geospatial information, from all sources. There is still much fragmentation in national institutional arrangements, as geospatial information entities are often scattered across ministries. The same could also be said for the UN. Thus there is a great need for a thorough discussion on the geospatial policies and institutional arrangements," he said.

The power of pooling high-resolution satellite imagery, geospatial information, and particularly census and statistical information for decision making and policy formulation has now been fully recognized; while accessibility to such information is seen as an important development tool.

STRATCOM urges for single GEOINT processing authority

US: The US Air Force General C. Robert Kehler, Commander of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), called for a single authority to help intelligence processing capacity. “To help, close the growing gap between the nation’s ability to collect intelligence data and the capacity to use it effectively, creation of a single focal point of authority over the processing, exploitation and dissemination (PED) of intelligence information is needed,” said Kehler during GEOINT 2011 Symposium. The new PED authority—which Kehler said could but did not have to be located within STRATCOM—also needs to be combined with greater use of automation in managing intelligence information, he added. Kehler noted that the volume of data collected has grown by some 1500 percent in the past five years, while the nation’s PED capacity has increased by only 30 percent. “How we process, exploit and disseminate the massive amounts of data we generate and the resulting information is where the real challenge lies,” Kehler said. “We need to think hard about how we sort through the growing volume of raw data we collect to find the critical information—not just the information we seek, but the information that indicates an unanticipated event or strategic event that could take us by surprise. How do we turn collection into focused knowledge, and eventually into action?” The dilemma is especially pressing at a time when the nation is grappling with difficult fiscal issues, Kehler stressed. “Automated capabilities may be able to reduce the data to a manageable level for exploitation, but we need to remember that we will always require a human being to make sense of the data and convey its relevance,” he continued. “The gap between collection and PED capacity is a reflection of strength, not weakness. Instead of reducing collection, we need to grow our PED capacity. First, in the long term, we have to pursue innovative methods of automation that will generate unprecedented levels of effectiveness. In the short term, we should take steps to reduce the gap through globally integrated, locally focused integration, and by managing the PED the way we manage the collection platforms—in short, in a unified structure.” In order to achieve a unified structure, however, there needs to be a unified authority, he argued. “A key question is who would have the authority to quickly direct a shift in PED capacity in the interests of the nation? What command or agency exists to manage PED, the way we manage platforms? That unifying authority does not exist, but it should and must. We should be able to synchronise under such an authority, and do so in the interests of all.” “The PED needs a single focal point, which has the authority to allocate resources and drive the effort from a global perspective— not ignoring local needs, but massing all the capability to do what’s needed. Our PED synchronisation must include both service and agency assets. In addition, where such assets exist, they should include PED capabilities in other parts of government,” Kehler stated. Such a global PED synchronisation capability could be located in STRATCOM’s Joint Functional Component Command for ISR, he suggested, while acknowledging that there could be other solutions. Source:

http://geospatialworld.net