Newswise — It’s about thinking big—for Google Earth and for the South Dakota State University image processing lab.
SDSU imaging engineer Larry Leigh will use Google Earth images to find sites to calibrate earth-imaging satellites, thanks to a one-year, $46,000 Google Earth Engine Research award. He is the first SDSU researcher to receive the award.
Listen to an interview with Larry Leigh on South Dakota Public Radio here.
Satellites, such as Landsat, measure the amount of energy reflected from Earth, but engineers must routinely calibrate them to ensure the images they transmit are accurate, Leigh explained. He will search for absolute calibration sites, remote places where the surface properties and therefore the energy readings do not change over time. “We’ve always wanted to do an exhaustive search of the entire planet,” Leigh said. However, not all of the images are readily available through U.S. Geological Survey Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, or EROS, in Baltic,South Dakota, and this intensive computational process has, thus far, been beyond the capacity of the SDSU image processing laboratory.
Through this research award, Leigh will have direct access to Google’s archives, including EROS images, and their cloud computing via the Google Earth Engine.
Two master’s students will work on the project. A computer science graduate student will help develop the interface with the Google servers and an electrical engineering graduate student in remote sensing will analyze the output. Most of the absolute calibration sites are in North Africa, which Leigh described as “bright sites that were easy to find visually.” He hopes to find more stable sites, particularly those that are darker than the deserts and dry salt lake beds now in use. “Having that dynamic range is useful, giving a better handle on how the satellite is performing across its entire operating range,” Leigh said.
Most satellites are calibrated about every 16 days; however, the discovery of more sites may make daily calibration possible, he noted.
In addition, Google’s venture into the satellite business may open other opportunities for the two entities to collaborate. “Both sides are looking ahead,” Leigh added.
About Image Processing LaboratoryThe SDSU Image Processing Laboratory was started in 1988 to conduct research in satellite image processing. Research focuses primarily on radiometric characterization and calibration of satellite and airborne visible and near infrared remote sensing imaging systems. The lab works primarily with the Landsat series of sensors, but also has experience with high resolution commercial sensors such as Ikonos, Quickbird, and Orbview, RapidEye, Thaichote, and other moderate resolution sensors such as ALI and Hyperion. Projects have been primarily with USGS EROS (Sioux Falls, SD) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD). Other areas of research include estimation of sensor point spread functions (or modulation transfer functions), and geometric characterization of sensor systems.
About South Dakota State UniversityFounded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from eight different colleges representing more than 175 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 32 master’s degree programs, 15 Ph.D. and two professional programs. The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Cooperative Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.
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