NASA Awards $52,000 Grant To The University Of Arkansas’ Center For Advanced Spatial Technology

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas’ Center for Advanced Spatial Technology received a NASA Scientific Data Purchase initiative grant worth $52,000 for the collection of digital images.

Bruce Gorham, Center for Advanced Spatial Technology (CAST) research scientist, was awarded the Scientific Data Purchase (SDP) grant to conduct a comprehensive comparison of ADAR (Airborne Data Acquistion and Registration) 5500 images with Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper satellite data. The comparison will focus on spectral, spatial, and radiometric characteristics of each sensor system. The research will be beneficial in determining optimal imaging system characteristics for land-use/land-cover mapping and change detection in mixed urban-rural environments.

According to Gorham, the data from the grant will greatly benefit Fayetteville residents and the surrounding areas.

"We believe this data will be a valuable source of information for a variety of end users involved in everything from economic development to urban and environmental planning," Gorham said. "I’m very pleased that NASA has singled us out for this grant."

CAST unites a network of personnel with an interest in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related spatial technologies from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences; the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences; and the School of Architecture. CAST focuses on research, technology transfer, data development, undergraduate and graduate education, service to communities and local governments, and professional training in GIS and related technologies.

The SDP grant is sponsored by NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise - Commercial Remote Sensing Program and covers the costs of acquiring and processing the digital image data. The images will aid ongoing CAST research into the use of airborne and spaceborne digital images for mapping and monitoring land-use and land-cover characteristics in mixed urban-rural environments.

The SDP initiative is managed by NASA’s Commercial Remote Sensing Program Office at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The program’s mission is to enhance U.S. economic competitiveness through development of remote sensing technologies.

Much of CAST's research efforts involve new approaches to spatial data and the development of new methodologies for analysis of these data, providing products to a variety of different audiences. CAST is dedicated to applications in GIS, remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, and interoperability, and has been recognized as a "Center of Excellence" by several leading corporations - including Oracle Corporation; ESRI, Inc.; Intergraph, Inc.; Trimble Navigation, Ltd.; and PCI Geomatics, Inc.

The spaceborne, airborne, and in-situ commercial remote sensing data being made available through the SDP program were identified as data sets that are "needed" and have "high value to science." NASA, together with Positive Systems, Inc. and other commercial partners, is working to expand the resources available to the Earth science research community in its quest for knowledge about the Earth’s changing environment.

Positive Systems designs, manufactures, and markets the ADAR family of Digital Aerial Photography Systems and Services. Since 1991, ADAR Digital Aerial Photography has provided cost-effective solutions for natural resource management, environmental monitoring, land use planning, and regulatory compliance activities. ADAR 5500 data is especially useful for urban applications.

The cities of Springfield, Mo. and Salinas, Calif., used ADAR 5500 multispectral digital aerial photography to create pervious vs. impervious ground cover maps. The resulting maps were used to derive a wastewater utility tax based on storm water runoff, supporting compliance with the federally mandated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Research by HJW & Associates of Oakland, Calif. has shown that this type of pervious/impervious classification methodology has proven at least 90 percent accurate for all surfaces visible from the air.

Cooperative programs developed by CAST are designed to bring together the benefits of academic research and development, the resources of federal, state and private sector agencies to provide the state and region with effective spatial technologies, trained practitioners, and low-cost digital data.

For more information, please contact Bruce Gorham by email at bruce@cast.uark.edu.

- 30 -