Enhancing the Value of India's Demographic Data A recent study that combines satellite imagery with federal census and demographic data in India has produced unexpected results sure to please government and business analysts alike. September 2006 Geospatial Solutions

The question posed by a commercial provider of integrated geospatial solutions for business applications was this: Will the calculated combination of georeferenced census datasets with satellite-gathered raster data increase the decision-making value of the census data? The answer was a resounding "yes," facilitating the generation of micro-level information from macro-level population data.

Imaging the Ararat Anomaly June 2006 Geospatial Solutions

Since 1973, very high-resolution U.S. spy satellites have hinted that a huge, ship-shaped object obscured by the permanent ice cap on Mt. Ararat in Turkey might be the remains of the biblical Noah's Ark. Unfortunately, its remote, glacial, and cloud-covered location makes imaging and measuring the "Ararat Anomaly" a challenge. However, after 13 years of lobbying the intelligence community to declassify the spy satellite imagery, I submit that commercial imagery, not declassification, is likely to solve this geospatial puzzle.

The Science of Synthetic Aperture Radar MDA Geospatial Services International's Adrian Bohane explains the technology behind — and benefits of — SAR sensors. February 2006 Geospatial Solutions

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites are lauded for their ability to provide all-weather, day-and-night imaging, an important capability for a variety of end-user applications. The evolution of progressively more advanced SAR sensors has elevated the technology to the point where, today, SAR data form the backbone of many operational programs, including ice mapping, oil monitoring, crop monitoring, ship detection, and surveillance of illegal fisheries.

LIDAR Increases Aircraft Approach Precision Ohio University researchers are testing a proof-of-concept precision-approach system that uses an airborne laser scanner in conjunction with a LIDAR terrain database — with a goal of safer landings November 2005 Geospatial Solutions

Students and professors at the Ohio University Avionics Engineering Center (AEC) recently had the opportunity to escape the classroom and participate in a flight test of their proof-of-concept terrain-referenced precision-approach guidance system. This flight test demonstrated for the first time that airborne laser scanners can guide an aircraft during landing in real time, with accuracies on the order of 1 meter.

To help rebuild Highway 1 in Afghanistan, the U.S. Agency for International Development) commissioned an innovatieve ground-based LIDAR mapping solution to survey the road.

For many people, reading or hearing that a particular region is sinking 6, 8, or even 29 millimeters a year would probably not resonate much concern.