Cover ImageCover Image
After 25 years of continuous service, Landsat remains a standard in the remote sensing industry. The cover image shows a comparison of Landsat Thematic Mapper data on the right and a multipolarization, multifrequency Shuttle Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) image on the left of Death Valley National Park, California, USA. The TM color composite image (Bands 5, 4, 1 as RGB) has been enhanced using a saturation-stretch, a method used to enhance the purity of the image colors without changing the inherent color (hue). The Landsat image, georeferenced to a digital elevation model and map base using ground control points and Delaunay Triangulation, was used as the base image for geographic registration of the SIR-C data. The SIR-C image is a color composite of two L-band polarizations (L-HH and L-HV) and one C-band polarization (C-HV) displayed as RGB, respectively. These data are being used as part of an integrated remote sensing study of the geology of the Death Valley region. The TM data provide synoptic coverage and compositional information, while the SIR-C data provide information about surface morphology and roughness, and the distribution of surface moisture and vegetation. Both TM and SAR data ingest, all image enhancements, geometric corrections, and image output were accomplished using ENVI, the "Environment for Visualizing Images," distributed by Research Systems. For more information, contact Research Systems, Inc., 303-786-9900; envi@rsinc.com; www.rsinc.com.
Highlight Article
767 Visions of the Information Industry-Dreams or Nightmares? (Adobe PDF 1.4Mb)
Tina Cary, PhD
Peer-Reviewed Articles (Click the linked titles to see the full abstract)
829 Introduction (Adobe PDF 197Kb)
Vince Salomonson
831 The Landsat Program: Its Origins, Evolution, and Impacts
Donald T. Lauer, Stanley A. Morain, and Vincent V. Salomonson
For the last 25 years, the Landsat program has successfully provided a continuous supply of synoptic, repetitive, multispectral data of the Earth's land areas.
839 Three Decades of Landsat Instruments
Aram M. Mika
The development history of the multispectral sensors for the Landsat series of satellites, from the first Multispectral Scanner aboard Landsat 1 to the latest variant of the Enhanced Thematic Mapper for Landsat 7 is traced.
853 Radiometric Calibration of Landsat
K. Thome, B. Markham, J. Barker, P. Slater, and S. Bigger
The calibration of the Landsat sensors has relied on the preflight laboratory work as well as on inflight techniques using on-board calibrators and vicarious techniques.
859 The Evolution of Landsat Data Analysis
David Landgrebe
A description of how the multispectral data analysis technology, which has come to be synonymous with Landsat, was begun and how it developed and spread through the broader research and user community is presented.
869 The Availability of Landsat Data: Past, Present, and Future
William C. Draeger, Thomas M. Holm, Donald T. Lauer, and R.J. Thompson
The policies of the U.S. Government affecting the distribution, availability, and pricing of Landsat data have been controversial, and have changed over time.
877 The Landsat Legacy: Remote Sensing Policy and the Development of Commercial
Remote Sensing
Ray A. Williamson
One of the primary forces behind the developing market for Earth observation data is the creation of information technologies.
887 Landsat and Earth Systems Science: Development of Terrestrial Monitoring
Samuel N. Goward and Darrel L. Williams
An unanticipated outcome of the Landsat program was the evolution of unique new insights concerning terrestrial biospheric patterns and dynamics.
901 Technologies for Future Landsat Missions
Stephen G. Ungar
Advanced technologies are available that may potentially lower the cost and improve the quality of future Landsat systems.