Filed under: Satellite/Aerial Imagery
When it snowed last Friday, when it puked snow down to about the 600′ level, halfing or worse what we would have been able to see the day before, I cancelled the satellite contract. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to get the feasiblity study accomplished because our preference order was for aerial photography first and then 2-foot satellite imagery. When all was said and done, the aerial ended up being prohibitively expensive, and the satellites required 20% cloud cover or less, which Juneau didn’t get from the time the feasibilty study was finished until yesterday. Chad Mickelson of mapmart.com and I did get all the legwork done however, and the flightpaths will get reactivated in the spring. In the meantime I am going to pick up pursuit of high resolution SAR^2 again… And maybe I’ll get a couple deer hunts in this November.
Filed under: Satellite/Aerial Imagery
Currently, we’ve tabled contracting satellite imagery – aerial imagery is just so much better, and with the satellites, timing the fall of foliage and rain and snow is quite cruicial I think. I’m seeing about acquiring a private contractor to come up and take the aerial imagery and will move on the satellite imagery immediately after figuring out whether or not this is possible.
Filed under: Satellite/Aerial Imagery
Our first attempt at viewing the synthetic apperature radar images was unsuccessful. SAR was interesting, but the resolution just wasn’t great. Supposedly the technology can see twice as much; however, for the pass we were able to obtain, the purpose wasn’t actually search and rescue – the Japanese were researching glaciers in the area. I was able to see boats clearly and deltas under the surface of the water though! At the same time, I might pursue this technology a bit further, both with what it is actually capable of, and how we might get it over the area again. Another rumor is that some UAV’s have it, and that there has been UAV testing in S.E. I’ll be checking into that as well, and I’ll try to upload an image to the blog if I can procure one from Steve.
Filed under: Satellite/Aerial Imagery
First, in my last post, I didn’t mean to leave out the generousity of those individuals who have sent donations and caring from various other places (Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Washington (Seattle), and L.A.). Thank you, we feel genuinely loved.
Next, the satellite data we have requested is for the following areas:
From B.J. - I have several searches planned as well as some updates. First, I, personally, want to do a few walks so that I have first-hand knowledge of the forest cover:
- Woods from Young’s Lake to Admiralty Cove.
- Face of the ridgeline west of Horse/Colt, i.e. the GPS coordinates of Piece 2 (following this post).
- Wash-up zones and beaches on N. Mansfield Peninsula, west around P. Retreat.
- There is a saddle and face on NW Douglas where pilot’s tend to cut the corner coming into the airport.
- And lastly, the bowls S. of Young’s Lake in case they tried to turn around and land back in the lake.
Also, we have been pursuing Satellite data:
- I am currently working with mapmart.com to acquire 60 cm resolution imagery; although, ARCHER images are up to 8 cm resolution and the software finds anomalies automatically.
- Steve Eason and I are working with the Japanese Satellite Agency to get synthetic aperture radar over the area if possible, which can find metallic objects through cloud cover and foliage.
Moreover, all of these planned activities would not be possible without the amazing support of the community thus far. My family and I continue to be overwhelmed by both the personal offerings and the financial donations. I cannot say enough thanks, nor how much it means to us. Juneau is the most amazing community in the world – truly!
