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Areas of interest identified during the system planning 
phase included: emergency and disaster detection, 
assessment, response, and prevention; climate change; 
environmental emergencies and protection; dam safety; 
crop, forest, and rangeland inventories; productivity 
assessments, disease and pest control; energy and 
minerals resource assessment; geologic mapping; 
wetlands inventories. 
Federal civil agencies with an interest in remote 
sensing applications now include: 
Department of Agriculture 
Department of Commerce 
Department of Energy 
Department of the Interior 
Department of Transportation 
Environmental Protection Agency 
Federal Emergency Management Agency 
National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration 
National Science Foundation 
National Transportation Safety Board 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
Smithsonian Institution 
Studies and projects proposed for the program include: 
Exploring the use of remote sensing systems 
and analysis techniques to identify and detect 
possible precursors to geologic disasters such 
as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 
Providing rapid assessment of a natural 
disaster's severity; for example, to verify 
personal, industrial and governmental 
assistance claims. The flooding in the 
Midwest last spring and the Northridge 
California earthquake of this year are the 
most recent examples of the need for such 
assessment. 
Exploring the application of remote sensing 
systems to detecting environmental 
emergencies such as oil spills and 
underground fires in landfills and coal mine 
refuse piles. The United States currently has 
no effective system for detecting and 
monitoring environmental emergencies. 
Investigating the utility of remote sensing 
systems in inspecting dams and reservoirs for 
signs of potential failure or collapse. Most of 
the nation's dams are inspected only every 3 
to 6 years. Techniques for increasing this 
frequency will be investigated. 
Investigating techniques for the identification 
and inventory of crop, forest, and pasture 
lands along with techniques for detection and 
support in the control of pest infestations. 
Investigating techniques for geologic mapping 
through obscuring forests, vegetation, and 
clouds as well as techniques for the 
automation of geologic mapping. 
CONCLUSION 
The concept of an integrated production system is 
bringing together the functions of photogrammetry, 
image processing, and the geographic information 
system in a common workstation environment. Such 
systems are a logical development given the continuing 
growth in the demand for georeferenced data by earth 
scientists, resource managers, and urban planners. As 
NARSAP demonstrates, these systems are becoming 
commercially available. Systems such as this one that 
supports the NARSAP provide users with a versatile 
set of tools and should promote the development of 
new techniques in using data from remote sensing 
systems. Within the U. S. Government scientists and 
administrators are finding them of tremendous value 
for investigating and managing a wide variety of 
environmental, resource, and emergency response 
management activities. 
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