Category Archives: AmericaView

A Calendar Full of Exciting, Engaging April Events

By iowaviewApril 6, 2022AmericaView, Announcement, Earth Day, Education, Event, Landsat, OutreachA History of the Landsat Program, AmericaView, Amy Logan, ASPRS GeoBytes, Debbie Stevens, Earth Observation Day 2022, Ellie Leydsman McGinty, GeoTech Center, Iowa Technology and Education Connection, IowaView Jobs and Other Opportunities Page, ITEC Conference 2022, Office of GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium, Spreading the Mapping Bug, Tom Mueller, UtahView, Virgina Tech, VirginiaView

Happy Earth Month! This month is full of lots of exciting and engaging events for you to participate in. Here are some coming up soon:

What: VIRTUAL EVENT: ASPRS GeoBytes Webinar: A History of the Landsat Program presented by Ellie Leydsman McGinty This is going to be a fantastic opportunity to learn about some of the stories behind how the Landsat program became what it is today and some of the people that made it happen.
When: 4/8/22 @ 12pm-1pm (Eastern)
Registration (free): https://my.asprs.org/ASPRSMember/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=GB20220408&WebsiteKey=9126ee3f-e9e1-43bd-a00c-0cfa63182579

What: VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT Virginia Tech Office of GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium
We have an exceptional panel of speakers on hand this year representing Duke University, NASA (Emerita), and Virginia Tech. Another highlight of the Symposium, is the student poster session & web map app showcase with over 35 undergraduate and graduate student posters on full display!
When: 4/8/22 @ 12pm-3:30pm (Eastern)
Registration (free): https://virginiatech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n0l1pRCTTSWgDeP7Jwx47Q

What: VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON EVENT Iowa Technology and Education Connection (ITEC) Conference
ITEC is hosting the annual conference on April 13-14. Join fellow Iowa educators at the state’s premier Tech Ed event! IowaView staff will be presenting on April 14 at 1:15 -2:05pm – Spreading the Mapping Bug: Sharing Geospatial Resources, Ready-to-Go Curriculum, and Mapping Activities for Teachers to Use Tomorrow and Integrate into Their Lessons. Great for student engagement. Many of these materials align with core standards and resources include interactive maps and apps available immediately.
When: 4/14/22 @ 1:15-2:05pm
Registration: https://www.itec-ia.org/conference-registration-details/

What: VIRTUAL EVENT GeoTech Center – Earth Observation Day

When: 4/20/22 @ 11am-4:45pm (Eastern)
Registration (free): https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/02d5fc3ded704f958fb1aa96d9e125bf

For even more events check out the IowaView Jobs and Other Opportunities Page.

World Water Day 2022 – Viewing Water from Space

By iowaviewMarch 22, 2022Activity, AmericaView, Education, Game, Landsat, OutreachAllison Nausbaum, AV Education and Outreach, Earth Observation Day, Ginger Butcher, online board game, Rivers: Our National Water Resource Game, Selina Lambert, Tabletopia, Viewing Water from Space, World Water Day 2022

Happy World Water Day!

Enjoy this water themed poster “Water Today and for the Future” from the AmericaView’s Earth Observation Day Team. This poster contains the creative game experience to help bring understanding to how water resources in America are used and managed for future use. You can download the poster and you can play the game online on Tabletopia. The poster is available in Spanish.

Presenting Iowa’s first Landsat 9 Image!

By iowaviewFebruary 11, 2022AmericaView, Announcement, Imagery, Landsat, USGSIowa's First Landsat 9 image, Landsat, Landsat 9 Launch, new satellite

This Image was captured with Landsat 9 on December 12, 2021. Notice the snow dusting in the north part of the image.

Yesterday the United State Geological Survey (USGS) released the first 38,000 scenes collected from the recently launch Landsat 9 (September 2021). After much calibration and quality assurance here are some of the first clear images of Iowa. For more images visit USGS Earth Explorer: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/.

Are you looking forward to the Landsat 9 Launch?

By iowaviewAugust 11, 2021AmericaView, Announcement, Education, Landsat, NASA, Observation, Resource, USGSA History of the Landsat Program, birth of NASA 1958, earth observation, Ellie Leydsman McGinty, founding of USGS 1879, Google Earth Tour, Landsat 9 Launch, September 16, UtahView

Rocket Launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Lompoc, California

Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ian Dudley — Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ian Dudley

Landsat 9 is scheduled to be launched on September 16, 2021. This will mark almost 50 years of earth observation by US satellites. In preparation for this historic launch, we will be sharing several interactive documents about the history of the Landsat mission as well as the information about the Landsat 9 mission.

Today we would like to share with you, A History of the Landsat Program, developed by Ellie McGinty at UtahView. It’s an interactive Google Earth Tour, which documents major moments in earth observation history through a combination of maps, text, and curated images starting with the founding of the United States Geological Survey in 1879 through the birth of NASA in 1958 to the conception of Landsat in 1970 and all the way to the present day launching of Landsat 9.

ISU Mapathon Greatest hits…show the highlights reel!

By iowaviewNovember 21, 2020Activity, AmericaView, Geography Awareness Week, Humanitarian Mapping, Map, Outreach#geoweek, #IowaView, #mapathonProgress, #osmgeoweek2020, Geography Awareness Week, George Iowa, imagery, Mapathon, Mapping Iowa, Ogden Iowa, OpenStreetMap, Wayland Iowa

Over the past few years the ISU GIS Facility has hosted a number of mapathons. Most of our mapathons have a time set aside for mapping in Iowa and then a time where we focus on international projects.

It is amazing what even a small group of mappers can do to add to the OpenStreetMap basemap in a small town in Iowa. Below are three examples of demonstrating how a mapathon event can add to the OpenStreetMap.

OpenStretMap And Humanitarian Mapping – Making A Difference For Others

By iowaviewNovember 16, 2020Activity, AmericaView, Geography Awareness Week, Humanitarian Mapping, OpenStreetMap, Outreach, Resource#geoweek, #IowaView, #osmgeoweek2020, #Public Lab Mongolia, Hurricane Eta, mapping in Mongolia, Mapping in Nicaragua, OpenStreetMap, tasking manager

OpenStreetMap is a publicly editable map of the world. It’s is often referred to as Wikipedia for maps. Anyone can sign up for an account and begin adding to the map. Edits to the map are reviewed and validated by other members of the community.

In 2010, OpenStreetMap was used as a humanitarian disaster relief tool after an earthquake in Haiti. Volunteers from across the world mapped buildings and roads from satellite imagery in areas that been damaged by the earthquake. Then teams on the ground were able to use that information to assess damage and begin recovery efforts.

Since that time the use of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap has spread around the globe helping in disaster response as well as disaster prevention and many other humanitarian efforts. We encourage you to take time during Geography Awareness Week to volunteer your time and talent to help with some of the following projects:

Suggested International Projects:

Public Lab Mongolia – https://tasks.hotosm.org/projects/9560/
Public Lab Mongolia (PLM), a local non-governmental organization in Mongolia, is leading the Mongolian chapter for volunteer mappers through the HOTmicrogrant COVID-19 project, as part of their mission to promote open data and disaster preparedness. This mapping will also help with COVID-19 response efforts. This project is to map Ulaanbaatar capital city of Mongolia, is organized by PLM in collaboration with the Mongolian Geo-spatial Association and local universities.

Hurricane Eta – Nicaragua – https://tasks.hotosm.org/projects/9765
Hurricane Eta brought wind, rain and storm surge to the coast of Nicaragua. This project is to finish the basemap of Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas) by digitizing buildings from MAXAR imagery. Available to beginners, there may be tricky tasks in this project as some areas have been partially mapped with older imagery and vegetation can often hide parts of structures. Maker sure to review the instructions for tips on how to overcome these challenges and provide high quality data.

Explore your own project: https://tasks.hotosm.org/explore

Earth Science Week – Day 3: Earth Observation Day

By iowaviewOctober 13, 2020AmericaView, Earth Observation Day, Earth Science Week 2020, Education, Environmental Change, Game, Landsat, Resource#AmericaView, #EarthScienceWeek, #Landsat, #NASA, Earth Observation Day 2020, poster, Remote sensing

Happy Earth Observation Day!

Today we are celebrating remote sensing, the study of the earth using secondary observations from instruments such as planes, kites, drones, satellites as an exciting and powerful educational tool to help us show changes over time.

This year the AmericaView/NASA team has put together a fun and beautiful educational poster!

Mother Earth As Art – Virtual Art Exhibit

By iowaviewMay 14, 2020AmericaView, Earth as Art, Earth Day 2020, Event, Imagery, OutreachAlabamaView, Beatiful Art, Chandana Mitra, Congratulations!, Earth Day Gallery Talk, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Mother Earth as Art, Online art exhibit, USGS Earth as Art

Dr. Chandana Mitra of AlabamaView along with other member of her team are hosting “Mother Earth as Art”, which features USGS Earth as Art images as well as other inspired images, at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University during Spring 2020. The exhibit is also available online. Here is the link to explore the exhibit: http://jcsm.auburn.edu/exhibitions/mother-earth-as-art/.

Dr. Mitra, two of her graduates students,along with the art museum curator, Christy Barlow discuss the exhibit in an online gallery talk which was presented live on Earth Day, April, 22, 2020. Here is a link to view the gallery talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPtBDZF0DRM&feature=youtu.be

Below is a preview of the some of the images.

Experience the beauty of our planet on #EarthDay. We're hosting Earth Day Live: "Mother Earth as Art" at 1 p.m. CT with the Auburn University College of Sciences and Mathematics and the Auburn University Geosciences Department. Explore how this #STEAM exhibition came together and have an online conversation.
Posted by Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art on Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Are you up for a challenge?

By iowaviewMay 6, 2020Activity, AmericaView, Education, Game, Imagery, Outreach12 to 110 piece puzzles, AmericaView, earth as art puzzles, Earth Image Puzzles, Earth Observation Day puzzles, satellite, state puzzles, virtual jigsaw puzzle

AmericaView has a series of over 70 Earth image puzzles to encourage people of all ages to engage with satellite imagery and learn more about remote sensing by offering a fun challenge. The puzzles can be made to match ability or time available by choosing the number of pieces from 12 to 110 pieces. There are also options that allow the pieces to be shuffled or the border to be completed.

Any way you choose, check out these puzzles.

Google Earth Engine Tutorials

By iowaviewMay 4, 2020AmericaView, Education, Imagery, Landsat, Outreach, Resource, TutorialsAmericaView, GEE, Google Earth Engine Tutorials, learning

Google Earth Engine is a platform for exploring and analyzing satellite imagery. It is available for academic, non-profit, business and government users.

Several members of the AmericaView community have created tutorials to provide a foundation to quickly begin learning and using Google Earth Engine (GEE). If you are new to GEE, you will want to start with this Google Earth Outreach tutorial. You may need to sign-up for a GEE account with an existing Gmail email address.

For a list of additional tutorials visit the AmericaView GEE Tutorial page: https://americaview-old.ssec.wisc.edu/program-areas/education/google-earth-engine-tutorials/.