Integrating Remote Sensing Data Into Geographic Information Systems

Abstract

Bridging the Gap Between Remote Sensing and GIS; Redlands, California, 17–18 November 2010; Fifty remote sensing scientists and geographic information systems (GIS) experts attended a joint NASA–Environmental Science Research Institute (ESRI) workshop at the headquarters of ESRI. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together a diverse community of experts to explore benefits and barriers to the integration of remote sensing data into GIS. Remote sensing represents an ever‐expanding source of scientific data about our planet. Some individual NASA missions alone provide more than 1 terabyte of data per day. Remote sensing data can help solve problems in diverse applications, including disaster response, environmental planning, global change, insurance, and private investment. These data attain their greatest value when combined with other data from a variety of sources, yet this seemingly simple step is often very challenging.

A Generic Framework for Using Multi-Dimensional Earth Observation Data in GIS

“…In recent years, the importance of EO data has been widely acknowledged by both government and science communities for Earth system science research and a variety of applications, including disaster response, environmental planning, global change, insurance, and private investment [1]. Geographic Information Systems (GISs) are widely used to interrelate multiple types of information assembled from a variety of Earth Observation (EO) data and to visualize, query, overlay, and analyze these data to understand relationship, patterns, trend for a wide range of scientific, academic and private entities [2].…”