September 30, 2010 -- eMap International was contracted by a Consortium of regional and federal agencies which included the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and US Geological Service (USGS) to provide 8-band multispectral high-resolution WorldView-2 satellite imagery over the Lake Tahoe Basin.  Given the short growing and cloud-free season in the Tahoe Lake Basin, the specifications of the project required that the high-resolution imagery covering 1,100 square kilometer of coastlines, forested valleys and jagged mountain peaks be collected inside a 45-day window with less than 10% cloud cover.

By working closely with DigitalGlobe, the owner and operator of WorldView-2, eMap delivered the specified 2-meter 8-band multispectral and 50-cm panchromatic satellite imagery to the Consortium ahead of schedule and with nearly no cloud-cover (less than 1% across the Basin).  Upon receipt and review of the WorldView-2 data, Toby Welborn, a geographer at the USGS Carson City, NV office, said, “This is going to be a fantastic dataset to work with and will provide incredible insight into all types of issues and interests in the Tahoe Basin.”  Shane Romsos of the TRPA went on to explain the wide variety of applications this high-resolution imagery – in concert with a high-resolution LiDAR dataset – will fulfill:

• Vegetation Management

o   Classify and map the distribution and abundance of vegetation and noxious weeds.

o   Contribute to the development of landscape conservation plans.

o   Track the spatial extent and health of Aspen forests as well as their response to various management techniques.

• Upland and Wetlands Management

o   Delineate the boundaries and types of sensitive wetlands.

o   Map aquatic invasive species along the coastline particularly Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) and Eurasion milfoil (Myriophyllum Spicatum)

o   Map suitable habitat for special status terrestrial and aquatic species.

• Urban Management

o   Improve impervious surface calculations especially for ‘soft permeables’ such as dirt roads and trails that are heavily compacted.

o   Develop more accurate water flow models.

o   Develop predictive wildfire risks models using the WorldView-2 data’s ability to discriminate roof materials and local forestry management practices (such as the number of trees and their spacing).

o   Monitor urban-forest interfaces particularly as related to fire outbreak dynamics.

The extra utility provided by WorldView-2’s eight multispectral bands is an important differentiator when the data is compared to traditional high-resolution natural color and/or 4-band multispectral orthoimagery.  During times of limited corporate and government budgets when the bottom line matters, 8-band WorldView-2 data can help every organization maximize the value from its investments on high-resolution imagery products.

About eMap International.  Since 1999, eMap International has provided the highest quality geospatial products and consulting to a wide range of academic, commercial and government clients.  Working with clients from Fortune 500 firms to individuals, global academic institutions of all sizes and key federal, state and local agencies, eMap has a proven track record of delivering project-specific geospatial products, including satellite and aerial imagery, elevation models and web services, as well as innovative solutions such as Impervious Surface Mapping and ImageBoost.  With over 80 years of geospatial industry experience, eMap International is uniquely suited to provide you with expert geospatial consulting, superior technical support and responsive customer service. eMap International is pleased to be a preferred academic vendor of DigitalGlobe geospatial products.

Your eMap International sales representative can help you get the same value out of 8-band WorldView-2 satellite imagery.  We can be reached by phone at (720) 470-7988 or by email at Email Contact.