Transcript Satellite Remote Sensing for Environmental Advocacy

Satellite Remote Sensing for
Environmental Advocacy
Presented to
Earthworks
Washington, DC – March 26, 2004
John F. Amos, SkyTruth
What Is SkyTruth?
• A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
– exemption in March 2002
• Based in Shepherdstown, West Virginia
• A distributed network of remote sensing
and GIS experts and partner organizations
• Providing remote sensing and GIS
assistance and training to environmental
advocates and government agencies
Sand waves, Bahamas
Burning oil wells, Kuwait
Owl Creek Mountains, Wyoming
What Is Remote Sensing?
• Collecting information from a distance, by
measuring energy coming from the target
– Energy reflected off the target from a
natural source (sunlight)
– Energy reflected off the target from an
artificial source (examples: sonar, seismic,
radar)
– Energy emitted by the target
(example: infrared “heat”)
REFLECTED ENERGY, NATURAL SOURCE
Visible – Infrared Image
Landsat ETM
satellite image
Northern
California
180x180 km
REFLECTED ENERGY, NATURAL SOURCE
Visible – Infrared Image
Aster
satellite image
US – Mexico border
REFLECTED ENERGY, NATURAL SOURCE
Visible – Infrared Image
Probe
airborne scanner
image
Santa Barbara,
California
REFLECTED ENERGY, ARTIFICIAL SOURCE
Radar Image
RADARSAT
radar satellite
image
Natural oil
slicks
Gulf of Mexico
EMITTED ENERGY
Thermal Image
Landsat ETM
thermal infrared
satellite image
Wildfire (yellow
line) and burned
area (dark red)
Kazakhstan
Trends in Remote Sensing
Decreasing Data Cost
Landsat, 1990s: $4,400
Landsat, today: $ 600
Desktop Mapping
Improved GIS software
Powerful desktop PCs
Demonstrated applications
Rapid Internet distribution
New Platforms/Sensors
High-resolution, Radar,
Hyperspectral
High-Resolution Imagery
Ikonos
high-resolution
satellite image
1 meter detail
(50 cm in 2004?)
Precision mapping,
monitoring
Tanker salvage operation, Brazil
Ikonos high-resolution satellite image
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
Upper Green
River valley,
Wyoming
Pinedale BLM
jurisdiction,
black
Jonah natural
gas field, red
Landsat TM
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
Well pad with
working drill rig
Pad ~4 acres
Jonah gas field
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
Jonah field – aerial view looking west, June 2001
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
7 miles
1986
Landsat TM
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
7 miles
1999
Landsat ETM
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
7 miles
2001
Landsat ETM
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
7 miles
2002
Landsat ETM
Products
• Poster-size maps, images, image
collages
• Page-size information handouts
• Digital graphics
– Slide shows
– Web publishing
– Brochures and flyers
Products
• GIS Data Layers
– Map oriented, enhanced imagery
– Analyses derived from imagery
• Land use / land cover
• Change detection
• Pollution detection
• Forward-looking simulations
Brochure
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Gas Field Infrastructure – Jonah, WY
Elk and Pronghorn migration corridor
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining - Rudnyi, Kazakhstan
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining - Rudnyi, Kazakhstan
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining - Rudnyi, Kazakhstan
Tailings pond
dimensions
calculated onscreen
Length (E-W) is
5.4 km
Area is 950 ha
Tailings volume
is 190M m3
(assuming 20m
thickness)
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining – Mountaintop Removal, WV
Valley fill
operation
Kayford Mtn
West Virginia
1987
Marfork complex, WV
2000
Marfork complex, WV
Washington DC
Washington DC
Marfork complex
1987 – View to west, future Marfork mining area.
Image draped on topography data.
2000 – View to west, Marfork mine complex.
Topography data modified to average elevation
calculated within mining area.
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining – Mountaintop Removal, WV
Regional
impact of
mining
practices
Marfork
complex in
upper right
Other MTRM
areas pink
APPLICATION EXAMPLE
Mining – Carlin Trend, NV
Betze-Post Mine
Largest gold mine
in U.S.
3rd largest in
world
Surface and
underground
operations
Cyanide heapleaching
1984
Betze-Post
gold mine
2 years after
surface ore
discovery
(Post deposit)
Total surface
area impact:
3,226 acres
1991
Betze-Post
gold mine
4 years after
acquisition by
Barrick and
discovery of
Betze deposit
Total surface
area impact
6,812 acres
512 acres/yr
2000
Betze-Post
gold mine
4 years after
Barrick opens
underground
Meikle deposit
Total surface
area impact
14,036 acres
803 acres/yr
1984
2000
What if?
San
Francisco
Hmmm…
20 years
after gold is
discovered
in Mission
District
VIEW TO WEST FROM PROPOSED ROCK CREEK MINE
MINE SITE
WHAT IF…? CARLIN-SIZED MINING COMPLEX
New Perspectives