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High-resolution Satellite Data Now Available

On 20 Sept. 2002 at the “Historical Imagery Declassification Conference” the raw imagery from the KH-7 and KH-9 intelligence satellites was officially declassified and the rolls of film transferred to the National Archives and EROS Data Center. These satellites provided high-resolution imagery (in some cases greater than 1 meter) during the period from 1963 to 1980 for U.S. intelligence uses.

As part of the celebration of the release staged by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), LTER investigator Bruce P. Hayden addressed more than 150 people attending the conference. In a half-hour presentation on scientific uses of declassified imagery, Bruce presented LTER uses of declassified imagery at the Sevilleta, Jornada, McMurdo and Virginia Coast LTER sites. Satellite-derived scientific products provided by the sites and John Vande Castle at the LTER Network Office focused on the use of imagery for tracking changes in land use, tracking the spread of invasive species, and integrating satellite data with other data resources.