The Use of Imagery
in Environmental Disaster
Preparedness and Response
Susan W. Hall, Mark A. Carolla and Jonathan P. Deason
Abstract
In recent years, great advances have been made in the use of imagery and
remote sensing for monitoring and protecting the environment, and in
disaster
preparedness
and
response.
Environmental
emergency
preparedness planners now have a vast "constellation" of imagery and
remote sensing resources available to observe and respond to
environmental disasters.
The groups that have benefited from this
technology range from federal, state and local emergency management
agencies down to the first responders. These resources are used to prepare
for hurricanes and floods as well as recover from their effects; observe
wildfires and forest fires and work to contain them; and respond to other
disasters, thus protecting lives, valuable property, and the environment.
These imagery resources and their associated systems, as useful as they
are, are not necessarily integrated nor marshaled in any coherent web in
support of those protecting lives, property or the environment. With the
new openness, declassification and commercial availability of highresolution imagery, remote-sensing capabilities now available to
preparedness and response individuals range from satellite sensors to
aircraft platforms.
Introduction
Overhead imagery, whether obtained from aircraft or commercial
satellites, is particularly well suited to providing a rapid damage
assessment in the wake of natural disasters. After a natural disaster strikes,
national authorities must make rapid decisions about where to concentrate
limited emergency relief assets in order to save the most lives and
reestablish normalcy as quickly as possible. Just when it is needed most,
the communications infrastructure may be badly damaged compounding
the challenges a (local, regional, national, and international) government
body faces as it seeks to assess the critical situation. Overhead imagery,
when timely acquired and disseminated, can profoundly improve the
authoritative governmental decision-makers’ position. Images from above,
particularly when compared alongside images taken before the disaster
occurred, can provide an immediate understanding of where infrastructure
damage took place, can aid in the routing of relief efforts, and ultimately
in prioritizing infrastructure repairs.
Over the course of the past several years, the United States
government has used imagery data obtained primarily from aircraft to
survey the aftermath of natural disasters in the Western Hemisphere. This
collection supported the recent hurricanes in Florida and in the Gulf Coast
(See Figure 1) as well as in Central America and the entire Caribbean area
to assist in preparedness and relief efforts for Hurricane Mitch and other
disasters.
These experiences have driven home the benefits of using
overhead imagery for the purposes of disaster relief and have resulted in
important applications of this predominantly military-utilized data
collection process in the environmental emergency preparedness forum.
This paper describes how overhead imagery data can be obtained, how it
has been used in the past, and lessons learned, and provides points of
contact for additional information.1
Modern geospatial information systems (GIS) provide software
which, when integrated with imagery, can be used to enable analysts as
well as relief workers to make new maps, provide planning graphics, and
enhance other tools for disaster preparedness and relief. These GIS are
1
In the United States, two agencies within the Department of Defense have responsibility
for adapting imagery and sensors to the task of preparing for and providing relief from
disasters: The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA). Both of these agencies contributed to this paper and the
images that accompany it.
commercially available and may be readily integrated with commercial
imagery.
Open Skies Treaty
The Open Skies Treaty, signed in 1992 in Helsinki, was designed
to strengthen its signatories’ abilities to prevent conflict and manage crises
in situations in which a natural disaster affected one or more of the
signatory nations’ regions. The treaty promotes openness and transparency
in military activities through reciprocal, unarmed observation overflights.
Currently, signatories include the United States, Canada and 30 other
countries of Europe, the former Soviet Union and South America. The
current Open Skies Treaty allows nations, with proper notification and
escort, to fly over each other’s territories with imaging sensors on board.
Although originally designed for purely cooperative monitoring measures,
the preamble to the treaty states specifically that it envisions, “…the
possible extension of the Open Skies regime into additional fields, such as
the protection of the environment.”
Aerial Platforms
The United States has had recent experience using its OC-135B
aircraft, based on the Boeing 707 design, as a platform for aerial
observation of disaster areas.
This aircraft is equipped with readily
available and flexible commercial sensors including framing and
panoramic cameras. It was developed specifically for use as the United
States Open Skies Treaty platform.
There are many other imagery-capable aircraft in the military and
civilian inventories of nations in the western hemisphere. As one example,
Brazil has developed the Embraer 145 remote-Sensing aircraft to be the
surveillance aircraft of the Sistema de Vigilância da Amazônia (Amazon
Surveillance System or SIVAM).
It is a commuter class jet aircraft
carrying a command-and-control system based on commercial off-theshelf (COTS) computers that may be used for a variety of both military
and environmental surveillance and protection missions. Additionally,
there are numerous commercial assets available that also are well suited
for aerial observation. Commercial photographic-capable aircraft have
already been used to carry out confidence and security building measure
(CSBM) missions. Ecuador and Peru used a Cessna and a Learjet to map
their border. And, in the United States, NGA has contracted a Learjet to
carry out a variety of CSBM as well as environmental missions.
Aerial Imagery of Damage Caused by Hurricane Mitch
In early December 1998, a U.S. Air Force aircraft flew sorties over
severely damaged areas in Central America immediately following the
landfall
of
Hurricane
Mitch
(Figure
2).
The
crew,
including
representatives from DTRA and the United States Geological Survey
(USGS), used both wet film and digital media to survey the stricken area
to assess damage, to plan and prioritize response, and to perform scientific
analysis. 2 Photographs and images were taken with several different
commercially available optical cameras, including one vertically mounted
framing camera (KS-87), one panoramic camera, one video camera, and
handheld 35 mm cameras with both color and black and white film.
Kodak Ektachrome color film was used for coastal regions because it
provided a clear view of flood areas and the alterations to coral reefs more
definitively than the black and white film. For maximum coverage, the
crew flew at 25,000 feet (8000-9000 meters), which yielded resolution in
the one-meter range. Both vertical and oblique photographs are available
to interested parties using CD-ROMs and the Internet.3
Lessons Learned from Aerial Imagery during Hurricane Mitch
One of the most important lessons learned from this experience is
that aircraft offer a valuable capability no commercial satellite can
provide – the ability to give government and disaster relief officials a realtime, birds-eye view of damaged areas so that decision makers can direct
aid quickly and accurately. The experience also pointed out the value of
2
DTRA offered seats to government representatives from imaged countries to fly on
board the aircraft but no one was able to take advantage of the opportunity due to various
logistical factors such as timing.
3
For distribution information, the USGS web site can be consulted at
http://www.usgs.gov.
flexible sensor suites; different cameras – each with distinct advantages
and disadvantages – can be optimized in response to dynamic weather
and/or priorities. It also demonstrated that “wet” film is not always the
best approach for timely distribution of imagery after flight because such
imagery must be digitized and further modified so that images can be
stitched together prior to analysis. This is a slow, labor intensive process
that hampers timely distribution.
Caribbean Pre-Disaster Surveys
The Caribbean region bears the brunt of hurricanes each year and
the countries within that region have expended considerable effort to
prepare for them. In February 2000, many Caribbean nations cooperated
with the United States Southern Command and DTRA to obtain predisaster imagery of the region. These images were acquired for use as a
baseline so that, in the event of a hurricane or other natural disaster, a map
of pre-disaster conditions would be available for comparison.
After coordination was conducted and diplomatic clearances
obtained, the United States Open Skies team operated aircraft out of
Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Station, Puerto Rico, and covered the areas
identified in Figure 3. 4
4
The DTRA crew, augmented by a French
Haiti did not provide diplomatic clearance, so that country was not imaged. The
Netherlands Antilles and Jamaica provided clearances, but could not be imaged due to
aircraft mechanical problems. As this was a cooperative international process, when it
government
representative
when
flying
over
French
territories,
experimented with new technology and added digital equipment to their
normal complement of cameras in an effort to improve the timelines of the
products. They added “digital backs” leased from Lockheed Martin to the
KS-87 vertical framing camera and developed and tested special software
so the digital back camera could provide imagery annotation and a realtime display.
The digital imagery worked out quite well, with quality levels at
least comparable to wet film. The costs of development, testing, and
leasing were more than offset by not having to develop film in the timeconsuming traditional manner. On the technical side, the software was a
success.
Determinations were made regarding optimum methods for
recording, monitoring, and storage of digital imagery. For storage, DCRsi
videotapes with very large capacity were used. After flight completion, it
was found that, with sufficiently powerful computers and extra manpower,
the data could be processed expeditiously.
Commercial Satellites
NGA also has found commercial satellite imagery to be useful in
certain disaster preparedness and response applications.
Commercial
came to diplomatic clearances, most of the nations allowed release of the imagery to
other Caribbean nations upon request. Those who withheld imagery release were not
included in the flight plan.
satellite imagery offers relatively high spatial resolutions with broad-area
coverage.
Several commercial satellites collect multispectral imagery
(MSI) in addition to coincident panchromatic data. This can provide users
with valuable information when trying to survey and assess natural
disasters.
Modern commercial satellites now have a broad range of
sensors and improved resolution. They also are capable of a variety of
analytical tasks related to the environment and disaster preparation and
relief. Although satellites cannot dodge cloud cover as effectively as
aircraft with commercial-type sensors, they do offer impressive imaging
capabilities. Depending upon the commercial platform involved, tasking
and turn-around can be accomplished in a matter of hours.
Another benefit of commercial imagery involves the multiple
bands of color that are available. The launch of Landsat-I in 1972, and
subsequent launches of other commercial satellites with multispectral
capabilities, provide a vast archive of earth imagery available for historical,
or disaster baseline analysis. Over the years, many multispectral imagery
applications have been developed. This has proved useful to analysts in
that multiple band applications are well suited to the use of algorithms and
digital image processing techniques for analysis.
Multispectral GIS
applications provide valuable tools in disaster preparedness and response.
Commercially available panchromatic images also can be useful in
identifying and assessing rail yards, street networks, and lines of
communication both for disaster readiness and relief assessments. With
both panchromatic and multispectral imagery, numerous environmental
issues related to disaster relief can be analyzed. For example, oil can be
seen leaking from ships’ hulls and the flow of spills monitored. Spectral
imagery, in particular, can provide information on relative depths of nearshore channels, reefs, and underwater obstacles. This is of obvious utility
in post-hurricane or flood damage assessment. However, it should be
noted that various factors come into play with the use of commercial
satellite imagery, including satellite orbits and collection window
availability, as well as cost and processing issues.
There are many
commercial vendors who are both capable and experienced in the
integration of GIS with commercial imagery.
Contacts and Resources
DTRA and NGA continue to discuss these concepts with
international colleagues at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies
and the Inter-American Defense College as well as with representatives
from other defense and security institutions around the world. NGA has a
wealth of information available on the applications of imagery and GIS on
the Internet at its website: www.nga.mil. Additionally, those interested in
the practical applications of confidence-and-security-building measures,
cooperative monitoring, and arms control technology implementation in
general can find useful information at the Defense Threat Reduction
Agency’s website: www.dtra.mil.
Conclusion
Aerial and satellite overhead imagery is a tremendous asset when
disaster strikes.
It provides governmental and non-governmental
organizations with timely and accurate assessments of infrastructure
damage for the coordination and effective response for emergency
equipment and teams, food supply, and engineering equipment for
reparative efforts. The early stages of a natural disaster are the time when
these resources are most needed and any delay in the ineffective
deployment of these assets will likely result in increase loss of life.
There is no “one-size-fits-all” for what kind of imagery is best.
Digital imagery can be distributed very quickly when a reliable computer
network system is available. When an adequate network is not available,
the increased costs of digital imagery may not be worthwhile.
As
illustrated above, each type of “wet film” camera has its own advantages
and disadvantages; the value of each must be carefully weighed against
the factors for which it is used.
For countries considering the use of imagery missions after a
natural disaster, it is important to conduct as much advance coordination
among respective governmental agencies and other organizations within
the photographic imagery community to facilitate expeditious responses to
imagery requests. Pre-disaster surveys, in addition to providing baselines
for future comparisons, can act as dress rehearsals during which
coordination details can be delineated.
Susan W. Hall is the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency (NGA) Support Team for the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). She supports the Agency in the execution of NGA resources
assigned to DHS. Her responsibilities include numerous regional, issuedriven, and homeland security/defense requirements to include the war on
terrorism, humanitarian and disaster operations, border and maritime
security and support to the United States Secret Service mission.
Ms. Hall began her DoD career with the Defense Mapping Agency in
1980 as a Cartographer. Her education includes a BA in Geography
from the George Mason University and an MS in Information
Management from the George Washington University. Her professional
training includes the DoD Executive Leadership Demonstration Program,
and the Inter-American Defense College Senior Service School.
Mark A. Carolla is a Senior Imagery Analyst with NGA’s Office of
Eurasia and Africa. His responsibilities include regional area analysis
for studies related to these geographic areas. Mr. Carolla has extensive
diplomatic and international relations experience as it relates to the
application of geospatial-intelligence.
Mr. Carolla began his DoD career with the Defense Intelligence Agency
in 1977 as an Intelligence Analyst. He has held numerous analytic
positions in DoD to include the On-Site Inspection Agency, the Defense
Threat Reduction Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency. His education includes a BA in History from Middlebury College
and a MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. His
professional training includes the DoD Senior Executive Leadership
Course and the Inter-American Defense College Senior Service School.
Jonathan P. Deason is the Lead Professor of the Environmental and
Energy Management program at the George Washington University in
Washington, D.C.
He previously was Director of the Office of
Environmental Policy and Compliance at the U.S. Department of the
Interior.
Dr. Deason holds a BS in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, an
MS in Environmental Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, an
MBA in Management form the Golden Gate University, and a PhD in
Environmental Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. He
is the recipient of the Arthur S. Flemming Award, the Founder's Medal of
the National Society of Professional Engineers, and an Executive Rank
Award from the President of the United States.
Figure 1 – Gulf Coast Satellite Image
Figure 2 – Hurricane Mitch Image
Figure 3 – Caribbean Surveys Mission
April 2000 Disaster Preparedness Flight in Support of U.S Southern
Southern
Command
DAY 6
NAS Roosevelt Roads
DAY 11-2
DAY 5/7
DAY 4
DAY 3