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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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