The Lake Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) initiated this project to use high-spatial resolution IKONOS satellite imagery for updating their environmental thresholds in maintaining fish habitats in Lake Tahoe. More specifically, the goals of this project included 1) determining the capability of IKONOS imagery for mapping near-shore submerged substrate types, 2) correlating them with observed fish habitat use data to derive fish habitat maps, 3) improving the spatial extent and detail of existing fish habitat data using a consistent and repeatable method, and 4) considering how best to incorporate new data into the planning and management process of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). Several detailed maps were derived from the IKONOS data including near-shore substrates and man-made structures. Using GIS and water depth/bathymetry data we derived accurate maps of fish habitats and spatio-temporal fish distributions by linking the remote sensing measurements with in-situ fish observation. The applied method is consistent for future environmental monitoring efforts.

Figure: Near-shore submerged lake substrate types mapped from IKONOS data

American Viticultural Area (AVA) boundaries were digitized and combined with existing spatial data to produce regional wine tasting guides in northern and southern California. These products illustrate the potential of leveraging investments in geo-spatial data for multiple purposes. Map products are used to market specific regions, wineries, and events.

    Figure: Map of the Santa Ynez Valley Wine AVA

The Santa Barbara south coast urban region has been under development pressure for several decades. Driven by immense projected population growth, urban expansion processes will continue with its related impacts on the urban area and the surrounding environment. The restrictions in vacant land and the conflicts between economic, ecological, and social development emphasize the general need for sophisticated urban planning and management. In this project, we applied a Planning Support System in land suitability analysis, projection of future land-use demands, and allocation of the projected demands according to different development scenario settings. The study considered eight growth factors including distance to roads (TIGER), distance from commercial centers (County assessors office), distance from streams (County data), distance from the coast (County data), current land-use (Air photo interpretation), 100-year floodplain areas (FEMA), population density (Census), and topographic slope (USGS). Different scenarios have been implemented considering an urban growth boundary, ecologically sensitive areas, and different rating and weighting of the various growth factors. The results provide planners and members of the local community with comprehensive information about possible future development scenarios and their projected impacts.

Satelite-based, optical data from Landsat TM and IRS have been processed to delineate vegetation and soil parameters to provide information about soil distribution, their development and its potential for agricultural land use management. The study has been carried out in a small test catchment in Thuringia, Germany. Firstly, multitemporal data from 5 stages between 1993 and 2000 have been rectified and atmospherically corrected. A comprehensive spectral analysis has been done to derive a variety of soil physical and vegetation parameters and indices (NDVI, SAVI, Soil-Water-Content-Index, Clay-Mineral-Index, Soil-Brightness-Index, Mineral-Composition-Index, etc.), which have been correlated to field maps and available lab data. Several models have been developed to derive such paramters operational. Finally, several verified data layers characterizing the spatial and temporal distribution of those parameters have been provided and could be used for further studies due to the potential of these soil for the optimum agricultural land use.