2006 Google – Imagery TerraMetrics, NASA, Map data 2006 NAVTEQ
The View from Space and the View from Society:
A Comparison of the Environmental Variables Measured by Remote
Sensing and the Culturally Important Attributes of Climate Change
near Mt. Hood
Myra Kim, Ben Orlove, Dave Krantz, and Mark Grote
MtnClim 2006 Conference, Timberline Lodge, Oregon
September 20, 2006
Summary
• Discuss objectives and
previous research
• Study location
• Explain methods used
• Examine drawing and
sorting tasks
• Examine Remotely Sensed
images
• Compare formats
• Applications
• Concluding remarks and
questions
Primary Objectives
• Understand how people visualize the environment
• Determine culturally important environmental variables
– What do people care about, visualize, think about
• Learn about peoples’ level of concern and knowledge
• Discover relationships between demographic variables
and important environmental variables
• Compare drawings, sorting task and remotely sensed
images
• Explore application potential and address weaknesses
Previous Research and Findings
• “The most salient
image” among
Americans of climate
change is melting
glaciers and polar ice
(Leiserowitz 2005)
• The second most is
heat and increasing
Paige, Sidney. 1909. Toboggan Glacier: From Molnia,
Molnia, Bruce F. 2000. Toboggan Glacier:
the Online glacier photograph database.
From the Online glacier photograph database.
temperatures
(Leiserowitz 2005)
• Affective Imagery
Source: http://www.meteohttp://www.meteo-nigeria.com/nim
et/portal/images/thermometer.jpg
Source: European Space Agency - NASA
Affective Imagery – Slovic 1998
Affective imagery is “broadly construed to include sights,
sounds, smells, ideas, and words, to which positive and
negative affect or feeling states have become attached
through learning and experience” (Slovic et al., 1998, p. 3)
http://archivo.greenpeace.org/Clima/kioto.htm
http://archivo.greenpeace.org/Clima/kioto.htm
news.bbc.co.uk/.../sci_tech/2000/climate_change/
news.bbc.co.uk/.../sci_tech/2000/climate_change/
Google Image search results for “climate change.” First and second pictures found above
Study Location – Mt. Hood
• Mt. Hood – the tallest
peak in the Oregon
Cascade Range at
11,240 ft.
• 11 named glaciers and
1 snowfield
• Stratovolcano
• Summit is designated
wilderness area in the
Mt. Hood National
Forest
Yo
ua
re
he
re
Methods
• Created a survey containing both demographic
questions and attitude/perception questions – 3 pages,
27 questions, 1 sorting task
• Research period for surveys was from June of 2005 to
September of 2005 (pretest of 20 surveys during June)
• Administered surveys at various sites including
trailheads around Mt. Hood and a public library
• Site and methods of administering surveys were for a
sample of convenience
• Total valid surveys – 78
• Participation rate of 72%, decline rate of 18%
Findings from Demographic Questions
General findings:
•
•
•
•
•
On average, older respondents visited
more frequently in 2005 (2.10 compared
to 1.72)
85% believed glaciers existed on Mt.
Hood (87% of males, 82% of females)
Median # of glaciers guessed to be
present on Mt. Hood: 3
“Very close” and “close” experienced more
believers of glacier existence on Mt. Hood
The more visits an individual made, the
higher # of glaciers guessed on average.
Also, males guessed a higher # of glaciers
on average.
Population Demographic Summary
Variable Groups
Totals
Data Ranges
Women
40
n/a
Men
38
n/a
Younger
39
18 – 47
Older
39
48 - 82
No visits
23
0
Some visits
38
1-2
Most visits
15
3 - 12
Very close
13
65.8 – 78.8
Close
55
80.2 – 94.7
Far
11
162 - 2829
Gender
Age
Number of Visits
Distance to Mt. Hood
Findings for Demographic Questions
Top reasons for visiting Mt. Hood
30
20
10
0
Driving
Home
Work
Other
Places Mt. Hood is seen
Don't See
or
k
40
w
50
fi s
hi
ng
sh
op
pi
ng
cl
im
bi
ng
60
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
di
ni
ng
Number of people
Number of people
70
ot
he
r
hi
kin
g
sk
ii n
g
ca
m
pi
ng
80
si
gh
ts
ee
in
g
Top places Mt. Hood is seen
Reasons
General findings continued:
•
Individuals who reported sightseeing as a reason for visiting, on average, made fewer
visits while hikers averaged the most visits
•
75% of respondents felt they knew the source of their water supply; 89% believed
that if Mt. Hood’s glaciers changed, their water supply would be affected
Perception and Preference Questions
Questions 9-19 allowed 4 options for answers: Strongly agree, agree, disagree, or
strongly disagree
General Findings:
• 48% strongly agree and 42% agree that they prefer Mt. Hood “white” (covered
with ice, snow, and/or glaciers)
• Females were 3.4 times as likely to agree or strongly agree than males (Prop.
Odds Model)
• Respondents in the “most visits” category tended to more strongly agree that
snow and glaciers on Mt. Hood are important.
• Respondents who preferred Mt. Hood covered with ice, snow, and/or glaciers
would most likely visualize Mt. Hood as predominantly white (78% strongly
agreed or agreed; Gamma 0.858; Sig. Approx. <0.0005)
• 84.6% were concerned with the future of Mt. Hood’s ice, snow, and/or glaciers
• On average, women, older individuals, and those who believe that fewer
glaciers exist on Mt. Hood were more concerned over the future of Mt. Hood’s
glaciers.
Perception and Preference Questions
Percentage who agree or disagree that they are concerned for the future of Mt. Hood’s
glaciers separated by those who believe their water supply is or is not affected.
Water supply affected
Not affected
10%
strongly agree
or agree
50%
90%
50%
strongly
disagree or
disagree
General findings continued:
•
•
•
•
30.8% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that Mt. Hood’s ice, snow, and/or
glaciers pose a threat to human safety
80.8% at least agreed that they would like to learn more about Mt. Hood (females
and the older populations were more likely to agree). 93.6% believed that others
should learn more
58% believed that logging on and around Mt. Hood is important. 86% felt that the
local economy of Mt. Hood is worth maintaining
Additional finding: More people could agree that “climate change” is occurring than
“global warming” (94.9% and 89.7% respectively)
• 9 cards, 2 variables
measured, 3 levels for each
• Snow variable – much,
some, little
• Color variable – green,
olive, brown
• Respondents asked to sort
in order of most appealing
to least
• Purpose – determine what
is the most appealing
image of Mt. Hood
Increasing snow
Sorting Task – Variables Coded
Increasing “greenness”
Findings - Sorting Task
3
2.5
2
Mean
• Overall, people preferred green
to brown and much snow to little,
though color seemed to be a
more important variable
• Individuals choosing “much”
snow for rank 1 more strongly
agreed that they visualized Mt.
Hood as “white”
• 56.4% chose the combination of
“much” snow and “green” as the
most appealing
• 73% chose the combination of
“little” snow and “brown” as the
least appealing
1.5
1
0.5
0
Snow1 Snow2 Snow3 Snow4 Snow5 SNow6 Snow7 Snow8 Snow9
Color1 Color2 Color3 Color4 Color5 Color6 Color7 Color8 Color9
Mean results for sorting task for each variable
Drawing Task - Variables
Variable
Trees
Structures
People
Glaciers
Clouds
Sun
Writing
Other
Totals
7
8
2
4
2
2
10
16
• Provided empty box in survey
for respondents to draw how
they felt Mt. Hood looked
• Able to get an idea of what
features are important by what
was included
• Wide range of results – simple
to detailed
• Coded for variables including
snow (present or absent),
snow amount, trees, people,
buildings, glaciers
Drawing Task - Examples
Very simple
Snow - labeled
Trees
Shading or Trees
Drawing Task
Glaciers
Labels
Tree line, chair lift, glaciers
Very detailed
Findings – Drawing Task
• Individuals who included trees were more likely to strongly agree
that the future of Mt. Hood’s snow and glaciers was threatened.
• More descriptive drawings (more features included) were on
average, drawn by younger individuals that lived closer and
visited more frequently but agreed less strongly that Mt. Hood’s
glaciers are threatened
• 55.1% of respondents included snow
– 2.35 visits (included snow); 1.5 visits (no snow)
– 75% visiting in January included snow; 64.3% visiting in
June
– On average, individuals that believed Mt. Hood’s snow and
glaciers posed a threat drew more snow (higher %)
Remotely Sensed Imagery
What can it detect?
• Geology – determine
mineral content, rock
types, landforms,
elevations
• Vegetation – change
over time, agricultural,
natural disasters
• Land use studies –
construction, site
planning
• Climate – temperatures,
moisture patterns, global
climate, trends
• Pollution
Average sea surface temperatures observed by the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
on NASA’s Terra satellite in July 2006. Source: Jesse Allan,
NASA, Earth Observatory
Examples - NLCD
More Examples – Perspective view
• Perspective view from Shuttle Radar Topography
Mission, Landsat, and False sky. Topographic
exaggeration times two.
• Landsat Bands 3, 2, 1 as red, green, blue
NASA – Earth Observatory: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16576
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16576
Google Maps – Easy for Everyone
Examples – Astronaut-acquired
• Earth from Space –
Astronaut-acquired imagery
• Image of Mt. Hood in
November of 2005
• 25% cloud cover
• Can be digitized and used
as 3-band (RGB) remote
sensing images
Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASANASA-Johnson Space Center
Remote Sensing - Benefits
• Remote Sensing provides information on spatial and
temporal relationships that can be mapped and
measured
• Can visually show environmental attributes
undetectable to the human eye (chemicals,
temperatures, minerals)
• May be used to help provide visual evidence of
environmental change on regional and global scales
• May continue to change the way in which people
visualize and observe the environment
Differences between Methods
Use of ground based photos,
Affective Imagery, Drawings,
Sorting task
•
•
•
•
•
May be more salient and
familiar
Shows respondents’ personal
preferences
Simple to interpret
Easy to administer and code
May not be able to provide
changes over time and
details
Use of Remotely Sensed
Imagery – Views from
Space
•
•
•
•
•
Provides elements that are
undetectable to the human
eye
Can show greater areas and
spatial relationships
Can show changes over time
May pose privacy issues
Classification – may have
been coded incorrectly
Combining Methods
• Use both photographs and remotely sensed images
as tools to promote environmental awareness
• Use drawings and sorting task to aid in Remote
Sensing image analysis – Aid for what to look for
• American climate change risk perceptions – top
affective images (glaciers shrinking, heat, increasing
temperatures) can be visualized through remote
sensing and photographs
• Need to combine various formats to illustrate the
broader issues of environmental change
Possible Applications
• Detecting change over time
• Observing personal
attitudes and preferences
• Measuring levels of concern
• Validating need for
continued research
• Using images to educate
and increase awareness
• Promoting environmental
awareness and heightening
concern
Photo of Mt. Hood taken by Myra Kim in July 2005
Conclusions
• In general, people were aware of environmental
change and showed high levels of concern and high
levels of agreement that Mt. Hood’s snow and glaciers
are important
• The drawing task and sorting task showed general
patterns of appeal and confirmed assumptions
• Most people prefer more green to brown and more
snow on Mt. Hood to less
• Some environmental qualities including temperature,
temporal changes, etc. can be effectively visualized
with remote sensing
Acknowledgements and References
Thank you:
MTNCLIM: Connie Millar, DeWayne Cecil, Lisa Graumlich,
Mike Dettinger, Diane Eagleson, the Big Sky Institute
Advisors: Ben Orlove, Dave Krantz, Mark Grote, Nigel Allan
Supporters present today: Matt (my fiancé) and my dad
Lunch Time!
Acknowledgements and References
References:
Allen, Jesse. NASA Earth Observatory. 2006. Pacific Cooler Than Normal in Oregon Dead Zone.
Retrieved on September 17, 2006 fromhttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov
/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17384.
Dunlap, R.E., & Saad, L. 2001. Only One in Four Americans are Anxious about the Environment.
Retrieved on April 16, 2001 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010416.asp.
Dunlap, R. E., and Scarce, R. 1991. The polls-poll trends: Environment Problems and Protection.
Public Opinion Quaterly, 55: 651-672.
Google Maps. September 17, 2006. Mt. Hood, Oregon – Google Maps. Retrieved on September 17,
2006 from http://www.google.com/maphp?hl=en&tab=wl&q=
mt.%20hood%2C%20oregon.
Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. 2006. "Astronaut Photography
of Earth - Display Record." Retrieved on September 17, 2006 from
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS011&roll=E&frame=13124.
Acknowledgements and References
References:
Kim, Myra H. "Perceptions and Attitudes toward Mt. Hood’s Glaciers and Environmental
Change." MA Thesis. University of California, Davis, 2006.
Leiserowitz, A. 2005. American Risk Percption: Is Climate Change Dangerous?
Risk Analysis, 25(6):1433-1446.
NASA – Earth Observatory. 2006. Earth Observatory: New Images – Portland, Mount Hood, & the
Columbia River Gorge. Retrieved on September 17, 2006 from
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16576.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 2005. Mt. Hood National Forest. Retrieved May 29,
2005, from http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/.
Slovic, P., MacGregor, D.G., & Peters, E. 1998. Imagery, Affect, and Decision-Making. Eugene:
Decision Research.