Technical note: using ISS videos in Earth observation – implementations for science and education

Abstract

A large variety of various passive and active satellite sensors producing panchromatic, multispectral or hyperspectral images of the Earth’s surface are currently in space and are used in different scientific fields such as earth science (e.g. geography, hydrology, geology, oceanography and glaciology), disaster management, as well as for military, commercial and economic purposes. In contrast, video files are a rather exotic data format in the field of Earth observation. Occasionally, video cameras are used in airborne remote sensing, but only recently video Earth observation from space has been established. This paper aims at the integration of video data in the scientific workflow, revealing advantages and disadvantages of moving images. Being the only available source for continuous video Earth observation data, the NASA experiment High Definition Earth Viewing on-board the International Space Station is the basis for our evaluation of the usability of video data. Following the rather coarse resolution of these data, we exemplify some potential fields of application in science and education. We show a basic workflow how to produce 3D models and stereoscopic videos of the Earth’s surface. As a pre-study for videos with better spatial as well as radiometric resolution, the delivered products serve not only scientific purposes, but are integrated in school lessons to evoke the pupils’ fascination for earth sciences and space.