Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geographic Investigations Land Remote Sensing Subactivity Uncontrollable cost increases for this subactivity total $237, of which $108 will be budgeted and $129 will be absorbed through increased efficiencies. Program changes for this subactivity total include a reduction of $12 for travel and transportation and -$117 in streamlining savings resulting from organizational restructuring and workforce balancing. Current Program Highlights The Land Remote Sensing (LRS) subactivity maintains a core nucleus of skills and resources to support the use of land remote sensing data for the science programs of the bureau, the Department, and the Nation. Earth science research and applications scientists and map-makers have for many years been avid users of remotely sensed data, acquired by either land-based cameras and other sensors or by airbome cameras designed to collect photographic imagery for mapping or other scientific applications. The initiation of satellite-based Earth observation in the late 1950s and early 1960s further advanced the field of remote sensing for global applications. More recently, the adaptation of more complex remote sensing sensors that exploit other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum has further enhanced the potential of remote sensing for the Earth science missions of the USGS, the Department of the Interior, and other users in Government, academia, and the commercial sector. USGS responsibilities for the population and preservation of a long-term National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive and, more recently, the responsibility for land satellite mission operations place the USGS in a position of national leadership in applying land remote sensing technology to Earth science. Data acquired by the Land Remote Sensing subactivity, including real-time acquisition of Landsat images, contributes visual content and context to the National Map by providing an image reference layer for National Map data, source material for data revision and multispectral and radar data for analysis and application. In coordination with our Federal, State, and private sector colleagues, we develop partnerships and policies that promote the use of Landsat and other remotely sensed data through The National Map. USGS research projects, and operational applications. Remote sensing technology has great potential for monitoring and assessing the impacts of natural disasters, aiding in management of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources, and enhancing the quality of life for U.S. citizens-all core elements of the USGS's science mission. The goals of the LRS program are carried out by three major components: Satellite Mission Operations; Long-Term Data Preservation and Access; and Remote Sensing Research and Data Utilization. The primary objectives are (1) collecting, processing, and archiving scientifically relevant global land and near-land observations, (2) ensuring that these data are applicable and easily accessible to USGS cooperators and customers, (3) conducting and sponsoring research in land remote sensing data collection, accessibility, distribution, and 110 Land Remote Sensing Subactivity application, and (4) investigating future remote sensing missions, sensors, and data relevant to the preceding objectives. Satellite Mission Operations Component (estimates for FY 2001, $5.0 million; FY 2002, $8.0 million; FY 2003, $8.0 million) The successful launch of the Landsat 7 satellite, in April 1999, marked the beginning of a new global mapping era for the Landsat program, and also a new era for the USGS in its support of the national Landsat program. For the first time, a satellite system is now able to routinely acquire seasonal data sets of the Earth's entire landmass (poles excepted). Also for the first time, the USGS has overall responsibility for operating land-observing satellites that are consistent in purpose with its overall mission. In October 2001, Landsat 5 operations were returned to the U.S. Government from the private sector company that had operated the satellite since 1985. Previous Landsat satellites captured vast amounts of land-surface data across 3 decades, but flight and ground systems technology had not yet reached the point where U.S. scientists studying natural and human-induced global change phenomena could be assured of current snapshots on a recurring basis of forest, coastal, wetland, cropland, or other study sites worldwide. Landsat 7 provides this capability. Clouds present the primary limitation to acquiring an "Landsat 5 has given us a continuous fifteen-year view of the Earth from a single sensor. This archive of high quality data is invaluable to the scientific community. One recognized advantage of having two operational (US) Landsat satellites is to allow timely tracking of land surface change, particularly vegetation change world wide, whereas a one-satellite configuration is less reliable because of cloud cover." Kuuipo Burleigh designed lifetime, USGS flight engineers have a better chance to capture cloud-free scenes, as this satellite's orbit is offset from Landsat 7 such that any specific site worldwide has a Landsat satellite passing overhead every 8 days. centers located in Greenbelt and Lanham, Maryland, are operated under USGS contracts to ensure reliable acquisition and delivery of Landsat data to ground receiving stations. U.S. receiving stations located in South Dakota, Alaska, and Norway acquire daily observations and deliver those data to the U.S. archive. International agreements provide Landsat data to 16 international ground stations. Cooperative agreements with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) maximize the costeffectiveness of flight operations and associated network communications infrastructure, and minimize risks involved in command and control of on-orbit satellite assets. Mission management requirements are coordinated with international cooperators to ensure maximum success in global data acquisition. Once acquired, Landsat data is characterized and processed to ensure compatibility and consistency of application with data provided by previous missions. Data is pre-processed for long-term archiving by converting the signals received from the spacecraft to data formats that are amenable to long-term preservation. Data continuity is ensured through operational assessment of the quality of these data to detect anomalies in instrument, spacecraft, or ground processing systems performance. Processing systems are periodically modified to prevent system obsolescence and to improve efficiency in data reception and processing operations. Key Areas of Recent Satellite Mission Operations Activities The USGS manages flight operations for the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 land remote sensing satellites. In the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Committee Conference Report (House Report 106-914) for FY 2001, Congress endorsed the concept that USGS is the appropriate agency to manage the Landsat program. The Conference Report (House Report 106-914) for FY 2001 states, "The managers endorse the concept that the Department of the Interior, as primary steward of the Nation's public lands, is the appropriate agency to manage the Landsat program in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration." 112 Land Remote Sensing Subactivity Landsat Operations - In the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Committee Conference Report (House Report 107-234) for 2002, Congress provided $3,000,000 for Landsat 5 operations (estimates for FY 2001, $0.0 million; FY 2002, $3.0 million; FY 2003, $3.0 million). Presidential Decision Directive NSTC-3, revised October 2000, transferred Landsat 7 operations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to USGS, effective October 1, 2000 (estimates for FY 2001, $5.0 million; FY 2002, $5.0 million; FY 2003, $5.0 million). Also, regarding funding for the combined operations of Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 funding, FY 2002 Conference (House) Report 107-234 appropriation language specified: "$8,000,000 shall remain available until expended for satellite operations." Long-Term Data Preservation and Access Component (estimates for FY 2001, $13.4 million; FY 2002, $13.6 million; FY 2003, $13.6 million) Through the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 Satellite Data Archive Advisory Committee Membership Academia University of Maryland Government USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service Texas Natural Resources Information Industry MacDonald-Dettwiler EarthWatch EarthSat Crowsey Inc. Other UMS/National Remote Sensing and ECS CCRS Space Imaging Services The National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive (NSLRSDA), truly a national treasure, is funded and maintained under the Land Remote Sensing subactivity. While initiated to ensure preservation of the Earth's natural history captured by the Landsat program, the authorizing legislation mandated that the archive should include other valuable land data acquired by satellite. To fulfill that mandate, the archive has been augmented with data from a number of sources, including declassified images acquired by national reconnaissance systems long before the inception of the Landsat program. Although substantially different from the first Landsat images, these reconnaissance images nevertheless provide the single source of images of many parts of the world acquired in the decade before Landsat began, thus extending the content of the archive to more than 40 years of worldwide observations. These data are valuable simply because the opportunity to revisit that time and place will never again be Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geographic Investigations presented. In a similar vein, each subsequent observation takes its place as a unique and valuable element, never again to be captured under those exact environmental and geographic conditions. As the content of the archive is enhanced through selective addition of images from the Landsat program, as well as those from other national and international land observing systems, the collective archive becomes Increasingly more valuable to scientists who endeavor to revisit a particular time and place in their aim to understand and monitor the Earth's environment for Mace strane eilne for land remote caneinn rata natural hazards, resources, and long-term changes. Consequently, long-term preservation of these historical data, and ensuring that these data are retrievable for scientific analysis today and into the foreseeable future, constitute a fundamental national mission, to ensure their preservation for future generations. This component encompasses those activities designed to archive and monitor the quality of these data, and to make these data visible to the user community and available in the form of usable products. Data access services are managed to ensure that these archives are accessible to the land remote sensing user community and that they support customer services, Web sites. The National Map, and outreach activities. Customer demographics and interests are analyzed to assess requirements for satellite data products, formats, distribution media and methods, and training opportunities. Ultimately, this Irreplaceable asset is managed to ensure longterm data preservation and access to support resource management, hazards mitigation, and environmental and global change monitoring. "Landsat 5 has been providing fantastic imagery Dr. Urs Frei University of Zuerich-Irchel Since monitoring change over time can only be accomplished by analyzing multipie observations over many years, long-term remotely sensed data preservation is critical to The National Map requirement for the production of a national status and trends report. 114 |