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One example is the use of digital terrain data. These data are
available for the conterminous U.S. in digital form as a matrix of
X, ÿ, and z values compiled from 1:250,000 scale maps. These terrain
data can be manipulated to produce elevation, slope, and aspect as
individual or combined parameters of terrain. When registered to the
Landsat data, they can be used to improve spectral classification
results, especially for vegetation applications. When combined with
the registered spectral classification data, terrain parameters provide
an additional valuable input to a geographic data base.
For geophysical exploration, our geologists are encoding airborne
magnetometer survey data as shades of gray, registering these easily
interpreted images to Landsat data, and comparing them in a flicker
display mode of presentation for interpretation.
For data from Landsat, we are looking forward to the development of
digital, as well as analog, techniques for merging the lower resolution,
emitted thermal data of band 8 with the reflectance data from the
multispectral scanner system (MSS). We are also planning to exploit
the high spatial resolution of the return beam vidicon (RBV) data by
merging the RBV images with the spectral data of the MSS to produce a
higher resolution color composite.
We have just begun the exploration of the technology of analyzing and
applying data from space. We look forward to sharing our work with the
world community of users and the experience of, together, learning to
benefit from the information available.
June 1978