The Charter concept is this: a single phone number is made available to authorized parties providing 24/7 contact to a person who can activate the charter. Once activated, a project manager takes charge. The project manager knows what satellite resources are available, how to task them to collect data, and how to quickly analyze the collected data to create impact maps for first responders. These maps, provided to responders for free, often show where the damage is and where crisis victims are, allowing responders to plan and execute relief support.
You can think of the Charter as a one-stop-shop for impact maps—an essential resource, since in many cases satellite data are the only practical method to assess current ground conditions after a disaster.
This month, no Landsat scenes were ingested by the USGS Hazard Data Distribution System to provide data for Charter activations but two Disaster Charter maps created with Landsat data were released:
+ Flood waters over Kyautaw area, Rakhine State, Myanmar
+ Flood waters over Ann and Myebon area, Rakhine State, Myanmar
+ Flood waters over Ann Area, Rakhine State, Myanmar
The USGS HDDS also provided 36 Landsat scenes for fires in Alaska and Oregon; floods in Texas and the Eastern U.S.; a storm in the Eastern U.S.; the California oil spill in Santa Barbara; a storm in Georgia; a midwest tornado; the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii; and an Indonesian Volcano and the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador.
Details from the USGS Hazard Data Distribution System’s RSS feed for Charter activations:
Landsat data ingested by HDDS for non-charter activations:
On 2015-08-28 12:00:11, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-27 13:39:01, 1 LANDSAT-7 scene was ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-27 13:37:37, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-20 07:10:03, 1 LANDSAT-8 scene was ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-20 06:12:12, 2 LANDSAT-7 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-18 06:30:36, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-13 05:21:46, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-12 05:06:38, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-04 05:59:27, 1 LANDSAT-8 scene was ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-03 07:24:55, 1 LANDSAT-8 scene was ingested for event: 201311_Volcano_Indonesia
On 2015-08-03 07:24:40, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201507_Volcano_Cotopaxi_ECU
On 2015-08-03 07:16:14, 4 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201505_Flood_TX
On 2015-08-03 07:15:02, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-03 07:15:02, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201409_Volcano_Kilauea_HI
On 2015-08-03 07:13:08, 3 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201507_Storm_Eastern_US
On 2015-08-03 07:06:24, 2 LANDSAT-8 scenes were ingested for event: 201506_Storm_Midwest_US
On 2015-08-03 06:42:07, 2 LANDSAT-7 scenes were ingested for event: 201506_Storm_Midwest_US
On 2015-08-03 06:38:41, 3 LANDSAT-7 scenes were ingested for event: 201505_Flood_TX
Scenes from the Polar Night
April 2, 2024
Landsat satellites have begun regularly acquiring images of ice at the poles during the winter, with enlightening results.
