Technology from 'Landsat Imagery: A Unique Resource'
Landsat satellites provide high-quality, multi-spectral imagery of the surface of the Earth. These moderate-resolution, remotely sensed images are not just pictures, but contain many layers of data collected at different points along the visible and invisible light spectrum.
![Earth from space](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Earth_NASA%20image.jpg?itok=6MtnUh6j)
Landsat and the Private Tech Sector: Direct and Complementary Uses of Imagery
Landsat is a key data input for many products developed and used in water resources, agricultural monitoring, land use and land cover monitoring, forest management, and development planning. Yet, Landsat’s contribution goes beyond its use solely as a primary data input.
![geological map of Ethiopia, drawn in 1972 by V. Kazmin, United Nations](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure%2041%20thumbnail_0.jpg?itok=_A66IOQM)
While working in Africa, Dr. Alain Gachet of RTI saw a need for new maps of the continent, particularly inland maps. Almost all geological maps of Africa were created during the 1960s before some African countries became independent.
![Maps based on Landsat images created by Radar Technologies International’s WATEX System to identify potential sites to drill for](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure_34.png?itok=8gQS6AjZ)
Radar Technologies International: Water Explorations in Darfur
Amid the Darfur Crisis in 2004, more than 250,000 Sudanese refugees were forced to relocate to the desert landscape of eastern Chad. In a disaster situation, medical treatment and basic necessities become priorities for survival. Above all, the greatest need for survival was water.
![Example of a cloudless image of the western states in the U.S., composed using Landsat. Courtesy of Mapbox.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/MapBox%20Figure%201.png?itok=f3Yrz-D0)
Mapbox: Innovating with Landsat
Mapbox* is a cloud-based map platform startup that creates custom maps with open source tools. The team at Mapbox consists of over fifty cartographers, data analysts and software engineers, located in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, California.
![Landsat 5 thermal image processed in METRIC (Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration) of cen](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure%203.jpg?itok=QbNl4sqe)
The Colorado River provides water to seven states as well as the Republic of Mexico. The seven states which receive water from the river system are Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Water is divided between these entities primarily based on three documents.
![An astronaut suited up. NASA image.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Space_Policy.png?itok=dFNdhurA)
The USGS is required by the Federal government to provide and archive remotely sensed data such as Landsat imagery. The National Space Policy of 2010 states that:“The Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), shall: conduct research on natural and human-induced changes to Earth’s land, land cover, and inland surface waters, and manage a global land surface data national archive and its distribution; and determine the operational requirements for collection, processing, archiving, and distribution of land surface data to the United States Government and other users…”
![Monthly actual evapotranspiration (red is low evapotranspiration and blue is high evapotranspiration).](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure%2022.jpg?itok=Gz-oDt2k)
Morocco Irrigation Efficiencies Improvements: Riverside Technology, Inc.
Morocco’s irrigation systems and water-allocation methods. Eighty-five percent of the water in Morocco is consumed by irrigated agriculture. Increases in population and drought seasons have made it difficult for Morocco to use reservoirs and irrigation infrastructure.
Landsat satellites provide high-quality, multi-spectral imagery of the surface of the Earth. These moderate-resolution, remotely sensed images are not just pictures, but contain many layers of data collected at different points along the visible and invisible light spectrum.
![Earth from space](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Earth_NASA%20image.jpg?itok=6MtnUh6j)
Landsat and the Private Tech Sector: Direct and Complementary Uses of Imagery
Landsat is a key data input for many products developed and used in water resources, agricultural monitoring, land use and land cover monitoring, forest management, and development planning. Yet, Landsat’s contribution goes beyond its use solely as a primary data input.
![geological map of Ethiopia, drawn in 1972 by V. Kazmin, United Nations](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure%2041%20thumbnail_0.jpg?itok=_A66IOQM)
While working in Africa, Dr. Alain Gachet of RTI saw a need for new maps of the continent, particularly inland maps. Almost all geological maps of Africa were created during the 1960s before some African countries became independent.
![Maps based on Landsat images created by Radar Technologies International’s WATEX System to identify potential sites to drill for](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure_34.png?itok=8gQS6AjZ)
Radar Technologies International: Water Explorations in Darfur
Amid the Darfur Crisis in 2004, more than 250,000 Sudanese refugees were forced to relocate to the desert landscape of eastern Chad. In a disaster situation, medical treatment and basic necessities become priorities for survival. Above all, the greatest need for survival was water.
![Example of a cloudless image of the western states in the U.S., composed using Landsat. Courtesy of Mapbox.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/MapBox%20Figure%201.png?itok=f3Yrz-D0)
Mapbox: Innovating with Landsat
Mapbox* is a cloud-based map platform startup that creates custom maps with open source tools. The team at Mapbox consists of over fifty cartographers, data analysts and software engineers, located in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, California.
![Landsat 5 thermal image processed in METRIC (Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration) of cen](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure%203.jpg?itok=QbNl4sqe)
The Colorado River provides water to seven states as well as the Republic of Mexico. The seven states which receive water from the river system are Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Water is divided between these entities primarily based on three documents.
![An astronaut suited up. NASA image.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Space_Policy.png?itok=dFNdhurA)
The USGS is required by the Federal government to provide and archive remotely sensed data such as Landsat imagery. The National Space Policy of 2010 states that:“The Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), shall: conduct research on natural and human-induced changes to Earth’s land, land cover, and inland surface waters, and manage a global land surface data national archive and its distribution; and determine the operational requirements for collection, processing, archiving, and distribution of land surface data to the United States Government and other users…”
![Monthly actual evapotranspiration (red is low evapotranspiration and blue is high evapotranspiration).](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Figure%2022.jpg?itok=Gz-oDt2k)
Morocco Irrigation Efficiencies Improvements: Riverside Technology, Inc.
Morocco’s irrigation systems and water-allocation methods. Eighty-five percent of the water in Morocco is consumed by irrigated agriculture. Increases in population and drought seasons have made it difficult for Morocco to use reservoirs and irrigation infrastructure.