Eyes on Earth: Natural Disasters
Earth observation satellites capture the big-picture view of natural disasters on the ground. Satellites can help identify risk, capture the incident, and determine post-disaster recovery actions. EROS plays a key role in an international effort to rapidly assess disasters.
Episode 125 – The LANDFIRE Program at 20
In this episode, we talk about the Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) project, which is commemorating its 20th year of providing geospatial data to support natural resource management and wildland fire planning. LANDFIRE brings a lot of data together, over 30 data products, into one place. The publicly available, consistent data maps disturbance to the landscape and vegetation condition, which can be useful to virtually any application that deals with what’s occurring on the landscape. LANDFIRE has now been doing this for 20 years, and we talk with some of the people who have been working on LANDFIRE that entire time.
Guests:
Jim Smith, The Nature Conservancy
Brian Tolk, KBR, contractor for USGS EROS
Brenda Lundberg, KBR, contractor for USGS EROS
Deborah Lissfelt, KBR, contractor for USGS EROS
Host: Tom Adamson, contractor for USGS EROS
Release date: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Episode 118 – Preparing for Landsat Next, Part 2
In this episode, we talk with several people involved with the next Landsat mission, targeted for launch around 2030. While that may seem like a ways into the future, it takes a lot of work to prepare for such a big mission. In Part 2 of this two-part series on Landsat Next, we’ll hear about what needs to be done before launch to prepare the ground system, data processing and data calibration. Be sure to also listen to Part 1, where we talk about how different Landsat Next will be from previous Landsat missions, and what scientists are really looking forward to with this mission.
Guests: Brian Sauer, USGS Landsat Next Project Manager at EROS; Chris Engebretson, USGS Acting Ground System Manager for Landsat Next at EROS; Cody Anderson, USGS EROS Calibration and Validation Center of Excellence Project Manager
Host: Tom Adamson (contractor for USGS EROS)
Release date: Monday, May 6, 2024
Episode 117 – Preparing for Landsat Next, Part 1
In this episode, we talk with several people involved with the next Landsat mission. In Part 1, we’ll hear about how different Landsat Next will be from previous Landsat missions and how its additional spectral bands, higher resolution, and 6-day revisit will benefit science and society. Addressing the needs of the Landsat user community was a high priority in developing the mission, so we talk about what scientists are really looking forward to with Landsat Next. The Part 2 episode shares details about technical preparations, such as the ground system and data processing and validation.
Guests: Tim Newman, USGS Program Coordinator for National Land Imaging; Zhuoting Wu, USGS Earth Observation Applications Coordinator for National Land Imaging; Chris Crawford, USGS Research Physical Scientist
Host: Tom Adamson (contractor for USGS EROS)
Release date: Monday, April 22, 2024
Episode 113 – EROS Science Leader’s Vision
Terry Sohl helped develop the National Land Cover Database, NLCD, when he first arrived, and now he’s overseeing significant improvements to the widely used product. But that’s just one part of his new role. In this episode, Sohl provides an overview of the science efforts at EROS and how artificial intelligence and machine learning help scientists focus more on the work that helps society. He also shares his vision for the future.
Guest: Terry Sohl, Chief of the USGS EROS Integrated Science and Applications Branch
Host: Jane Lawson (contractor for USGS EROS)
Release date: Monday, February 26, 2023
Episode 110 – Geospatial Information Response Team
First responders need reliable, accurate mapping capabilities as quickly as possible in the wake of a disaster—and they don’t have time to download and organize it. In this episode, we learn how the USGS Geospatial Information Response Team draws data from multiple sources to show what an area looked like before an event as well as after, creating accessible, usable maps and data sets for those bringing relief.
Guests: Lance Clampitt and Alexandra Fredericks of the Geospatial Information Response Team
Host: Sheri Levisay (contractor for USGS EROS)
Release date: Monday, December 18, 2023
Episode 84 – Hurricane Disturbance Mapping
In this episode, we learn about the effort to map disturbances in Florida from Hurricane Ian in near real time. When disaster strikes, near-real-time images of its effects can be invaluable. In this episode, we learn about how a newly developed system using the Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 dataset and artificial intelligence was put to the test when Hurricane Ian tore through Florida in late September 2022. By comparing pre-storm and post-storm imagery, the system quickly flagged anomalies statewide such as brightness, which could indicate exposed sand or bare land after a hurricane. Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 data is available through the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center, or LP DAAC for short, located at EROS, which is also home to the entire Landsat archive.
Guest: Zhe Zhu, University of Connecticut’s Global Environmental Remote Sensing Laboratory and Landsat Science Team
Host: Jane Lawson
Release date: Monday, November 21, 2022
Episode 36 - International Charter Turns 20
In this episode, we get a rundown on the International Charter Space and Major Disasters.
When a disaster like a hurricane, flood or major wildfire hits a remote part of the world, the International Charter Space and Natural Disasters springs into action. The Charter’s members collect and distribute satellite-derived data that documents the damage, as well as derived products like as fire perimeter or structural damage maps – all at no cost to national emergency management agencies. In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we learn about the Charter and EROS’ involvement on the occasion of the collaborative organization’s 20th Anniversary.
Guest: Mike Budde, USGS
Host: Tom Adamson
Release date: October 19, 2020
Episode 9: Famine Early Warning
In this episode, we learn how remote sensing helps the world respond to hunger. Nearly 85 million people around the world are currently considered “food insecure,” and that figure continues to grow. Remote sensing technology enables scientists to feed data into the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), which in turn can issue alerts that guide the distribution of humanitarian aid. In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we hear from an EROS climate scientist who works with the Network to predict drought and famine.
Guest: Chris Funk, USGS EROS Research Geographer
Host: Steve Young
Release date: Nov. 18, 2019