[OSGeo-Board] FW: LDCM and OSGeo input

Tue May 16 22:57:57 EDT 2006

Ned and fellow board members,

I'd certainly support this.  I'd suggest we put it out for quick  
comment on discuss, prepare a letter for the board, put it on the  
agenda for the next board meeting, discuss and approve.  I've added  
it to the agenda for this Friday's board meeting.  If there are any  
concerns or issues that arise from the discuss list or fellow board  
members we can discuss and/or defer until they are resolved.

Ned, it would expedite things if you could draft the letter for the  
board.

comments?

Mark

On May 16, 2006, at 10:37 PM, Ned Horning wrote:

> Mark,
>
> Thanks for the quick reply. The proposal I am working on now needs  
> to be
> wrapped up by Monday the 29th so this is somewhat urgent. Assuming  
> the board
> considers that our proposed work falls within the category of a "well
> intentioned effort" would it be best for me to draft a letter of  
> support so
> you have something to work with or is there a good wordsmith on the  
> board
> who could write something without too much trouble?
>
> I'll start thinking about a protocol for receiving and processing  
> this sort
> of request. Would you prefer that I float initial ideas with the  
> board or
> the discuss list?
>
> Here is the summary section as it stands now and I'm happy to  
> provide more
> details from the proposal if that would be useful. Comments would  
> also be
> welcome.
> --
> Landsat image data are an invaluable component for conservation  
> planning and
> management (REF). With an archive beginning in 1972, the Landsat  
> program
> represents the premier Earth observing satellite by providing the  
> longest
> contiguous dataset of repeat satellite imagery applicable to  
> analyses of
> land use/land cover (LULC) and to land use/land cover change  
> (LULCC) at
> local (REF), regional (REF) and continental (REF) scales. Despite  
> the great
> potential of Landsat image data for use in natural resource  
> management and
> conservation planning, broader application of these data and  
> acceptance of
> their derived products has been slow within both the biological and
> conservation community. The general reluctance toward the use of  
> Landsat
> image date is partially due to the limited accessibility of affordable
> analytical tools. However, there are also overarching concerns  
> regarding the
> ability to precisely identify features within satellite imagery and  
> validate
> the accuracy of resulting products. While access to Landsat image  
> data has
> dramatically improved in recent years, access to analytical tools  
> and data
> vital for interpretation, classification, and validation of image  
> data has
> largely been overlooked.
>
> Greater use of Landsat image data and better acceptance of derived  
> products
> could be achieved through improved awareness of open source tools  
> and the
> formulation of a spatially and temporally complementary archive of  
> ground
> data collected in situ. Ground data provides an important reference  
> set
> (e.g., land cover, habitat type, percent canopy closure) that can  
> be used to
> improve interpretation, classification, and validation of analyses  
> based on
> Landsat image data. Typically, ground data are collected on a  
> project by
> project basis in a geographically focused area and simply recorded as
> geocoded textual descriptions. Textual descriptions are perceived  
> to have
> limited usability because they are not always reinterpretable. A  
> more robust
> form of ground data are geocoded ground-level photographs.  
> Photographic data
> contain a greater amount of information than textual descriptions  
> alone and
> can be reexamined and reinterpreted as needed.
>
> Since 1993, the American Museum of Natural History's (AMNH) Center for
> Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) has been working locally and
> internationally with conservation professionals and governmental and
> non-governmental agencies to foster a greater interest and capacity  
> for
> applying remote sensing techniques to the conservation and  
> management of
> biodiversity by 1) expanding scientific research on diverse species in
> critical ecosystems; 2) strengthening the quality and quantity of  
> scientific
> data used to inform conservation strategies and public policy; 3)  
> building
> professional and institutional capacity; and 4) contributing to the  
> Museum's
> efforts to heighten public understanding and stewardship of  
> biodiversity.
> Through these efforts and a diverse network of individual,  
> institutional,
> and organizational collaborators, the American Museum of Natural  
> History's
> Center for Biodiversity and Conservation is uniquely positioned to  
> represent
> the conservation community and make a considerable contribution to the
> Landsat Data Continuity Mission's (LDCM) objectives.
>
> We propose a new initiative focused on improving access to  
> complementary
> resources vital for accurate analysis of land use/land cover change  
> with the
> goal of increasing the use and interoperability of Landsat image  
> data with
> historic, current, and future remotely sensed data for the purpose of
> ecosystems monitoring.
>
> To accomplish this goal we will:
> 1.	Develop an Internet-based interactive archive and complementary
> desktop tools for the acquisition, visualization, and distribution of
> geocoded, ground-level photographs to support the interpretation,  
> analysis,
> and validation of Landsat image data and their derived products,
> 2.	Implement and promote open data standards for the collection,
> storage, and distribution of data within the scope of LDCM objectives
> 3.	Promote, distribute and develop additional free resources and tools
> pertaining to the use and integration of Landsat image data with other
> remotely sensed image data for LULCC analysis,
> 4.	Encourage public involvement in the collection and stewardship of
> spatial data relevant LDCM objectives through citizen science  
> initiatives.
> --
>
> All the best,
>
> Ned
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Lucas [mailto:mlucas17 at mac.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 3:08 PM
> To: Ned Horning
> Cc: board at board.osgeo.org
> Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Board] FW: LDCM and OSGeo input
>
> Ned,
>
> First, thanks for taking the initiative on these efforts.  Being  
> fairly new,
> we don't have a formal process for any of this yet.  In general,  
> everyone
> that is pitching in is of like mind on what we are trying to  
> accomplish and
> understands what the goals and limits of osgeo are.  Given the common
> motivation and open source background I would expect that we could  
> move
> pretty rapidly to put together a support letter for well intentioned
> efforts.
>
> I would welcome your efforts to put forward a protocol for deciding  
> what
> gets supported and how we communicate and approve it.  We can  
> review it
> before the board and then approve the process.  In the interim, if  
> there is
> something that needs to get worked quickly, we can probably move  
> quickly and
> bring it up at the next board meeting.
>
> Let us know when you are ready and we can bring it and discuss it  
> with you
> at an upcoming board telecon.  Let me know if you need anything.
>
> Mark
>
>
> On May 16, 2006, at 2:22 PM, Ned Horning wrote:
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Last week I sent the message below to the "discuss" list and didn't  
> get a
> response so I thought trying the "Board" list might be a good  
> second step.
> The basic question I have is if it is possible to receive a letter of
> support from OSGeo for specific proposals. This seems to be an  
> important
> question and I expect the response will be of interest to many in  
> the OSGeo
> community. For the proposal I am working on at the moment I mention  
> how we
> will promote (through example and discussion) the OSGeo ideals but  
> getting a
> letter of support from OSGeo would carry significant weight to show  
> that the
> foundation explicitly supports our proposed work.
>
> If this is possible then a protocol for deciding what gets  
> supported should
> be put in place so folks like me know how to go about it. I am  
> happy to help
> define and document this process. I will also send more details  
> about the
> proposal to see if this specific project is something OSGeo should  
> support.
> If the basic concept of formally supporting project proposals  
> doesn't fit in
> the scope of the Foundation then that would be good to know as well.
>
> Any comments would be helpful.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ned
>
> --
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ned Horning [mailto:nedh at lightlink.com]
> Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 11:26 AM
> To: 'discuss at mail.osgeo.org'
> Subject: LDCM and OSGeo input
>
> All,
>
> I wanted to see if I could get some feedback regarding a proposal I am
> starting to write. I envision the project would have an open source  
> software
> development component as well as exploration of open data and public
> participation issues related to data collection that would mesh  
> well with
> the OSGeo goals. Two objectives are to improve accessibility to  
> Landsat data
> as well as involve a broader community in the collection of  
> ancillary data
> (primarily photographs) to help users of Landsat data better  
> interpret land
> cover from the imagery. The details are still being worked out and  
> probably
> aren't important at this point. I'd like to know appropriate ways to
> associate this work with OSGeo goals in the proposal. For example,  
> do you
> think it would be possible to get a letter of support from OSGeo?  
> Can you
> think of other ways association with OSGeo can benefit and benefit  
> from new
> projects? This discussion/information might be useful to others who  
> are
> thinking about mutual benefits of associating proposed projects  
> with OSGeo.
>
> All the best,
>
> Ned
>
>
> <winmail.dat>
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> -------------------
> Mark Lucas
>
>
>
>
> (321) 266-1475 (mobile)
> -------------------
> http://radiantbluetechnologies.com
>
> http://web.mac.com/mlucas17/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html
>
>
>
>
>
> <winmail.dat>

-------------------
Mark Lucas

(321) 266-1475 (mobile)
-------------------
http://radiantbluetechnologies.com

http://web.mac.com/mlucas17/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

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