Eyes on Earth Episode 15 – Burn Severity Mapping

EROS Geographer and Senior Scientist Birgit Peterson

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Summary: Scientists at EROS have spent years refining their approach to mapping burn severity using remotely-sensed data from satellites like Landsat, but Landsat comes with limitations. Landsat data cannot see the vegetation below a thick tree canopy, for example. In this episode, we learn about a project in South Dakota’s Black Hills that seeks to leverage 3D data gathered using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to improve burn mapping and help land managers.

Guests: Birgit Peterson, Geographer and Senior Scientist, EROS; Gail Schmidt, Software Engineer, EROS contractor

Host: Steve Young

Producer: Brian Hauge

Release date: Jan. 27, 2020

More on Burn Severity: 

• EROS Fire Scientists Look at Potential Use of Lidar for Operational Burn Mapping
• USGS, EROS Offer Insights to National Fire Strategy Discussion
• Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity
• LANDFIRE