CAPABILITIES OF THE DMC CONSTELLATION AND APPLICATIONS OF ITS IMAGERY FOR TROPICAL FOREST MAPPING AND MONITORING

摘要

The paper presents the examples and ability of the DMC Constellation to cover vast areas in the tropical regions with cloud free imagery, such as Amazon and Indonesia. The new capability of UK-DMC2 satellite, near-real-time acquisitions and direct delivery to any given ground station, is now used by INPE in Brazil, for the near-real time illegal logging tracking. With approximately 130 times as many pixels per hectare as the MODIS images currently in use, the data will detect much smaller clearings and provide more detailed maps of deforested areas. The UK-DMC2 satellite will image the entire Amazon basin every two weeks, so that the authorities are alerted as soon as possible after logging is detected. In a unique agreement, the data covering Brazil will be made freely available on open licence through the INPE website so the general public can follow progress against deforestation. The new satellites, that joined the DMC Constellation in 2011, NigeriaSat2 and NigeriaSatX, enhanced the spatial resolution of the Constellation to 2.5m, at the same time providing the medium resolution data continuity. Now it is possible to monitor the forest at the individual tree level.