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5. Mapping of ancient glacial tongues in the midwest - James Lucas
and James Taranik (1977) of the EROS Data Center have succeeded in
mapping the margins and extent of glacial lobes or tongues that extended
over large areas of our midwestern states more than 10,000 years ago.
This task required the selection of Landsat images acquired in early
spring when there is little or light snow or vegetation and sun angle is
low, compilation of a mosaic of some 54 images, and optical enhancement
of these images to improve contrast between the glacial features and
their surroundings. Several glacial lobes are visible; the most promi-
nent is the Des Moines lobe extending from Winnipeg, Canada, across
parts of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska, to the vicinity of
Des Moines, Iowa. Scientists have spent literally hundreds of man years
in the field mapping the extent of the glacial features, the regional
aspects of which are clearly visible and easily measurable and mappable
from this one mosaic. The result will benefit the search for sources
of sand and gravel, and increase the understanding of the distribution
of ground water.
6. Intégration of thé concepts of "land systems" mapping with
computer-aided interpretation procedures - Demonstration that land
Systems mapping is in fact an integration of all components of the
Earth's surface and that remote sensing likewise integrates all com-
ponents of the surface (soils, vegetation, moisture, etc.) has led to a
direct approach for determining land capabilities, at least for some
uses, and may be one of the outstanding contributions to the science of
remote sensing. To take advantage of existing land mapping systems (on
the ground and from aircraft) the experiment using Landsat data was
originally undertaken in Australia and now has been successfully
extrapolated to arid regions of the western United States, according to
C. J. Robinove (oral communication, 1977).
7. Phytoplankton detection - The probability is being tested that
band 4 of the Landsat system permits recognition of phytoplankton in the
Gulf of Mexico and in oceanic areas near Iceland, a capability which
would have high potential for guiding fishing operations.
8. Data relay investigations - The successful testing of Landsat
and GOES convertible data collection platforms in Bolivia and Chile has
extended in-situ monitoring capability in the western hemisphere.
Argentina, Brazil, and Peru are also planning to evaluate these capa-
bilities to enable better documentation of satellite images especially
with regard to snow and rainfall distribution, water run-off, and
Storage for better management of electrical generating and irrigation
systems.
9. The Bangui anomaly - Data derived from both Russian (Cosmos 49)
and United States Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (POGO) satellite
missions have led to the discovery of a large magnetic anomaly in west-
central Africa that has minerals potential. Follow-up investigations
are now underway. Although more meaningful data could be acquired from
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