[ESIP-all] [ESSI] Looking for experts on GeoTIFF, MODIS & Landsat, plus a place to stash a few TB of images.

[Dr. Rahul Ramachandran]

" heuristic rule of thumb is that in order to detect a feature, a nominal
spatial resolution of the sensor system should be less than one-half the
size of the feature measured in its smallest dimensions" - Jensen's book on
Satellite Image Processing

---
Rahul Ramachandran Ph.D.
Deputy Editor | Earth Science Informatics [ESIN]
Principal Research Scientist III | Information Tech. and Systems Center
University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899
www.rramachandran.com | www.itsc.uah.edu/
(w) 256-824-5157 | (f) 256-824-5149
---


On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 1:51 PM, Lynnes, Christopher S. (GSFC-6102) <
christopher.s.lynnes at nasa.gov> wrote:

> It seems like there should be a Best Practices site for this kind of
> activity, incorporating both the lessons learned from the Jim Gray search
> and those that are emerging on this list, as well as some rules of thumb
> (for a vessel of size X, you need imagery from satellite/instrument Y at Z
> resolution...) and pointers to tools that can do the kind of image analysis
> on the data that are needed.
>
> On Aug 14, 2013, at 8:56 PM, Joe Hourcle <oneiros at grace.nascom.nasa.gov>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > It seems that everyone was so helpful in getting the requested
> > images to help search for the Schooner SV Niña, that there's now
> > issues with actually going through all of the data.
> >
> > (see Barbara's message, below.)
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any help.  And Barbara and I might be slow
> > to respond tomorrow, as we're both going to be pretty well tied
> > up 'til about 2 pm.
> >
> > -Joe
> >
> > ps. Yes, that really is my e-mail address.  You can check whois
> >    if you don't believe me.
> >
> > pps. If someone offers you tickets to a Weird Al concert, I
> >     highly recommend taking them up on it.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> >> From: Barbara Thompson <barbara.j.thompson at gmail.com>
> >> Date: August 14, 2013 11:05:21 PM EDT
> >> To: Joe Hourclé <oneiros at annoying.org>
> >> Subject: Favor?
> >>
> >> Hi Joe,
> >>
> >> Would you mind forwarding the following request to the lists that you
> >> originally sent the messages to?  You got such a huge response.  Sorry
> to
> >> ask, but I think it'll be quicker if it comes from you because it'll go
> >> straight to the people.  If there's any way I can pay back the favor (a
> >> stash of Weird Al Yankovic tickets??) I'll be glad to do so.
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >> Barbara
> >> ********
> >>
> >> (Please note that this effort is entirely staffed by volunteers.  Those
> of
> >> you who know me should be aware that I am contacting you as a private
> >> citizen - this effort is not associated with my professional activities.
> >> - Barbara)
> >>
> >> First and foremost, I thank all of you for your advice regarding the
> search
> >> for the Schooner SV Niña.   More stories are surfacing of people who
> were
> >> lost at sea for months, and it is very encouraging.  Aerial searches are
> >> continuing, and we are receiving support from Earth-observing
> satellites to
> >> provide imagery from the Tasman Sea.   Tim Paynter, one of our team
> >> members, has made some videos to familiarize people with the Niña and
> her
> >> crew, and why we find this effort so worthwhile:
> >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XmK0Rs4nSE
> >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLDn7fNGvWw
> >> (see his Youtube Channel for even more)
> >>
> >> We have received many messages with excellent suggestions, and we are
> >> attempting to follow up on all of the information we've received.
> >> Unfortunately, there have been hundreds of emails, so I apologize if I
> >> haven't gotten back to you quickly.
> >>
> >> I am writing you because we are hoping to attract help on three fronts:
> >>
> >> 1) Tomnod.com has launched a search for the Niña (
> >> http://www.tomnod.com/nod/challenge/ninarescue2) and we welcome all
> >> volunteers.  However, we are about to receive a huge amount of raw data
> >> (several Terabytes) from DigitalGlobe, and we are trying to determine
> how
> >> to make this data available.  All of our funds are volunteer funds, and
> the
> >> sites for which we've gotten price estimates charge per GB of download -
> >> which can add up to quite a bit of money.   We have a test data set (1.5
> >> GB) already if you want to take a look.  The results of this effort will
> >> guide aerial searches and help determine where satellite images should
> be
> >> obtained.  Any advice on how to serve this much data would be greatly
> >> appreciated - we only need it for a couple of weeks!
> >>
> >> 2) We need assistance in analyzing the data.  The images are in
> GeoTIFFs,
> >> and none of our team has experience with that format (I study solar
> imagery
> >> - looking in the wrong direction!).  We are working on attracting
> feature
> >> recognition and information processing experts to analyze the data, but
> >> some need us to export the data to a format that's more familiar to
> them.
> >> We welcome help from who has experience with GeoTIFFs and image
> processing.
> >>
> >> 3) We've had several people point out that although many Earth Science
> >> imagers have too low of resolution to find a 70-foot vessel, the wake of
> >> the ship can extend for some distance and may be able to be seen in 250m
> >> resolution data.  Any information about the history of the ship's course
> >> could be useful helping drift modelers determine the most likely
> location
> >> of the Niña.  However, no one on our team has experience with MODIS or
> >> Landsat imagery.  We welcome assistance from anyone who may be able to
> help
> >> with a search of relevant Earth Science data sets.
> >>
> >> Again, we are extremely grateful for all of the wonderful advice and
> >> encouraging messages.  However, our small team is unable to take
> advantage
> >> of all of the possible opportunities.  If you would like to assist in
> this
> >> effort, please let me know.  We are grateful for any time you can spare.
> >>
> >> Best wishes,
> >>
> >> Barbara Thompson
> >> on behalf of the Schooner SV Niña search team (updates at
> http://evxx.com)
> >
>
> --
> Dr. Christopher Lynnes, NASA/GSFC, ph: 301-614-5185
>
>
>
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