08 Feb 2008 09:00:00 +1000
From February this year, Australia will have access to a new source of Earth observing satellite information from India's remote sensing satellite, Resourcesat-1, also known as IRS-P6. More...
12 Feb 2008 09:00:00 +1000
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has announced that Landsat-5 resumed imaging on the 10 January 2008. While some imaging has been resumed, the USGS is continuing to closely monitor power levels of the space craft.
For more information please visit the USGS Landsat-5 update.
Geoscience Australia has been acquiring passes for calibration and validation purposes. Initially this data collected was not suitable for ordering because we did not have the correct ancillary files from USGS for processing the acquisitions to normal quality standards. Information regarding the CPF files can be found in the ACRES news archive.
Beginning in February, Geoscience Australia received CPF files and can now make Landsat-5 products. However, Geoscience Australia will not receive every pass as listed in the Landsat-5 calendar due to a limited duty cycle resulting from the reduced battery capacity. Landsat-7 is undertaking business as usual.
For more information please email earth.observation@ga.gov.au or phone (02) 6249 9779.
08 Feb 2008 09:00:00 +1000
ACRES is currently developing protocols to streamline acquisition, processing and delivery of information in support of disaster management. As part of this process, techniques for semi-automatic extraction of flood extents from satellite images are being developed and implemented. Shown below are some of the initial results, from analysis of Landsat-5 TM images acquired before and during the recent flooding in Emerald.
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| Landsat-5 TM image acquired before the flooding (12 July 2007) |
Landsat-5 TM image acquired during flooding (21 January 2008) |
Flood extent maps for the recent flooding events in Queensland which are similar to the example shown here were derived using data from Landsat, the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) and Terra satellites. Flood extent information was delivered in a GIS-ready format to Emergency Management Australia and State government authorities in Queensland. Alternative sources such as data from satellite based radar are being considered also to address the issue of cloud cover in optical satellite images. The flood extent information and associated images can be accessed from the ACRES FTP site using the details given below:
FTP URL: ftp://acres.ga.gov.au/
Username: anonymous
Password: your email address
Directory: /download/QLD_FLOODS/
The satellite data has been sourced through the ACRES remote sensing facilities of Geoscience Australia and any use of the images and associated information should be acknowledged with Australian Government, Geoscience Australia.
30 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +1000
The Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) instrument on ALOS captured an image of Rockhampton city and surrounds on Tuesday 29 January which coincided with the previously expected flood peak for the city and was requested ahead of time by Geoscience Australia.
The images below are a subset of a full AVNIR-2 scene, showing before and after images over the city centre, the nearby barrage on the Fitzroy River and flood areas to the north-west.
AVNIR-2 satellite images over Rockhampton showing before and during the January 2008 floods. The image on the left was acquired on 3 May 2007 while the image on the right was acquired on 29 January 2008 near the peak of the floods. ? JAXA
22 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +1000
Geoscience Australia has acquired a Landsat-5 image of the January floods which inundated Emerald, Queensland.
Captured on 21 January 2008 while testing Landsat's imaging capabilities, the image shows the effects of flooding in Emerald and surrounding areas. Emerald is in the centre of the image, while overflowing Lake Maraboon and the Fairbairn Dam are to the lower left. To the north swollen creeks are seen flowing into the Nogoa River which eventually flows east into the Fitzroy River system and on to Rockhampton.
Information on the status of Landsat-5 can be found at the USGS website.