LTWG-16 Meeting Held in Brazil
LTWG together in Brazil
- May 14, 2007 • The 16th Landsat Technical Working
Group (LTWG) meeting was held in Brazil May 14-18, 2007. The meeting
was organized by USGS and hosted by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas
Espaciais (INPE) in São José dos Campos, Brazil. International
Cooperator representatives from 9 countries and members of the
USGS Landsat project and NASA Landsat Science Office discussed
topics of technical interest. These included the status of the Landsat
Data Continuity Mission, Landsat 5 and 7 operational issues, the Mid-Decadal
Global Land Survey, results from a geometric accuracy analysis
of the tri-decadal survey, data validation and exchange, redefinition
of the metadata format, and Landsat science team activities. Each International
Cooperator presented a station report, including the status of
their historical archive. The Japan delegation briefed the group on the
status of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) mission. INPE
hosted visits at two of their facilities located in São José dos
Campos and Cachoeira Paulista, including a tour of the Center for
Weather Forecast and Climate Studies. INPE also briefed the group on
the China Brazil Earth Resouces Satellite program and the processing
system that handles CBERS and Landsat data. Side trips to Ilha Bela on
the coast and to Campos do Jordão
in the mountains provided opportunities to see the countryside,
socialize with the attendees and our hosts, and sample the local
cuisine.
Meeting Actions
Actions were taken by USGS to assist the International Cooperators
in updating their data processing software to accommodate changes
in the ETM+ and TM telemetry. The USGS will also continue efforts to
keep the International Cooperators current on the status of the Landsat
Data Continuity Mission. Finally, initial steps were taken to catalog
the capabilities of the stations to read older media formats, with an
eye toward archive preservation and recovery from deteriorating physical
media.
Contributor: Terry Arvidson
Other news.