Nothing Brings the Big Picture into Focus like Remote Sensing
One of the roles of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center is to help coastal managers make effective use of remote sensing in terms of dollars, applications, and time. This assistance is accomplished in a variety of ways, including technical training classes, Web sites, and publications filled with information.
Another important service involves technology. The Center works to customize some of the standard computer programs and data delivery systems to help coastal managers get the most out of their remotely sensed data. Some examples from the Center's coastal remote sensing program follow.
C-CAP Data Handler
The C-CAP (Coastal Change Analysis Program) Data Handler facilitates the use of satellite-derived C-CAP land cover and change data within a geographic information system (GIS). With this tool, users can isolate classes, clip and buffer data, and learn what changes occur within a particular region of C-CAP land cover and change data. To learn more, visit www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/av_dh.html.
LIDAR Data Handler
This collection of tools is designed to help manipulate and display gridded raster data. Although it was designed with digital elevation models and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data in mind, this data handler could be used with other kinds of grid data. To obtain this tool, visit www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/tcm/lidar_handler.html.
Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletins
The Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Bulletins provide near-real time information on the location and potential movement of HABs in the Gulf of Mexico region. You can be added to the electronic mailing list by contacting csc.info@noaa.gov. A sample bulletin is available at www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/habf/bulletin.html.
Dune Hazard Assessment Tool
Using remotely sensed elevation data and traditional ground survey data, the Dune Hazard Assessment Tool helps coastal managers identify the relative risk to properties in Oregon from coastal erosion. Information on acquiring and using this tool is available at www.csc.noaa.gov/beachmap/html/dune_model.html.
To find out more about remote sensing, visit www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/.
Use of Remote Sensing on the Rise in the Coastal Management Community
For many people, remote sensing means satellite imagery, but in reality, it is much more than that. Measuring something without touching it is considered "remote sensing." A camera, a satellite, even your eye can be considered a remote sensing device.
This technology has a lot to offer coastal resource managers, yet remote sensing is probably one of the most underused tools in the coastal resource manager's toolbox. There are several good reasons for this situation, most of which include the terms "cost" and "scale." But things are changing. More and more coastal managers are turning to remote sensing to get the information they need.
To see how remote sensing, specifically satellite-derived land cover, is being used, the Center interviewed several state coastal management officials. To see their stories, visit www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/.
The remote sensing training course is the newest product in the Center's suite of services designed to increase the understanding of remote sensing. The two-day course helps technicians understand remote sensing basics and, through hands-on computer training, illustrates how remote sensing data can be used in coastal resource management. Visit www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/rs_training.html for course details.
