USE OF COMMERCIAL REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE DATA IN SUPPORT OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE

摘要

Natural disasters are constant reminders of the how powerful nature can be. The effects of these disasters can be devastating. The Emergency Response team from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) has provided remote sensing data to support disaster operations for hurricanes, earthquakes, and recently, the Southeast Asia tsunami. Landsat data are helpful for wide-area damage assessment and recovery. With the arrival of new-generation, high-spatial-resolution satellite imagery from commercial data providers, 1 meter spatial coverage is available to provide more detailed planning and recovery efforts. Unfortunately, the cost and licensing of commercial data makes the use cost prohibitive for large disasters. The U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Space Policy has enabled the use of commercial remote sensing data for civilian government agencies. The broad licensing of the data through USGS contracts enables the sharing of commercial satellite data for a greatly reduced cost. The recent tsunami disaster enabled the sharing of data among relief organizations to determine the extent of the damage and to aid in recovery efforts. This disaster also highlighted the need for better coordination of Earth observation data provided by countries and organizations. The lack of coordination resulted in discussions at a Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) meeting as to how best to respond to the next disaster.