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NV5 Geospatial Blog

Each month, NV5 Geospatial posts new blog content across a variety of categories. Browse our latest posts below to learn about important geospatial information or use the search bar to find a specific topic or author. Stay informed of the latest blog posts, events, and technologies by joining our email list!



Not All Supernovae Are Created Equal: Rethinking the Universe’s Measuring Tools

Not All Supernovae Are Created Equal: Rethinking the Universe’s Measuring Tools

6/3/2025

Rethinking the Reliability of Type 1a Supernovae   How do astronomers measure the universe? It all starts with distance. From gauging the size of a galaxy to calculating how fast the universe is expanding, measuring cosmic distances is essential to understanding everything in the sky. For nearby stars, astronomers use... Read More >

Using LLMs To Research Remote Sensing Software: Helpful, but Incomplete

Using LLMs To Research Remote Sensing Software: Helpful, but Incomplete

5/26/2025

Whether you’re new to remote sensing or a seasoned expert, there is no doubt that large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini can be incredibly useful in many aspects of research. From exploring the electromagnetic spectrum to creating object detection models using the latest deep learning... Read More >

From Image to Insight: How GEOINT Automation Is Changing the Speed of Decision-Making

From Image to Insight: How GEOINT Automation Is Changing the Speed of Decision-Making

4/28/2025

When every second counts, the ability to process geospatial data rapidly and accurately isn’t just helpful, it’s critical. Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) has always played a pivotal role in defense, security, and disaster response. But in high-tempo operations, traditional workflows are no longer fast enough. Analysts are... Read More >

Thermal Infrared Echoes: Illuminating the Last Gasp of a Dying Star

Thermal Infrared Echoes: Illuminating the Last Gasp of a Dying Star

4/24/2025

This blog was written by Eli Dwek, Emeritus, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD and Research Fellow, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA. It is the fifth blog in a series showcasing our IDL® Fellows program which supports passionate retired IDL users who may need support to continue their work... Read More >

A New Era of Hyperspectral Imaging with ENVI® and Wyvern’s Open Data Program

A New Era of Hyperspectral Imaging with ENVI® and Wyvern’s Open Data Program

2/25/2025

This blog was written in collaboration with Adam O’Connor from Wyvern.   As hyperspectral imaging (HSI) continues to grow in importance, access to high-quality satellite data is key to unlocking new insights in environmental monitoring, agriculture, forestry, mining, security, energy infrastructure management, and more.... Read More >

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An Efficient Remote Sensing Solution

Anonym

What’s glossy, full of colors, says 1,000 words without a single letter, and is stacked 20 inches high on my desk? Imagery magazines! I love a good read and when a colleague arrived at my door with an armload of imagery journals looking for a home I thought I’d won the lottery. The publications range in scope from research journals to industry publications for geospatial professionals to remote sensing and optical satellite imagery resource solutions.

This week I want to share an article that caught my eye in the June edition of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing: “An Efficient Remote Sensing Solution to Update the NCWI, B.R. Stein, B. Zheng, I. Kokkinidis, N. Kayastha, T. Seigler, K. Gokkaya, R. Gopalakrishnan, and W. Hwang. This article features the winning project which answered the 2012 GeoLeague Challenge sponsored by the ASPRS Student Advisory Council.

The goal of the 2012 GeoLeague Challenge was to develop a strategy for updating the National Coastal Wetlands Inventory (NCWI) that was not only time and cost-efficient but also addressed shortcomings in current approaches and increase accuracy. Further, the proposed solution should be scalable to the national level and repeatable for efficient inventory update projects every five to 10 years.

Here are a few key points from the article I found exciting:

  1. The authors base their approach around the “additive benefits of a data fusion” and propose the utilization of Landsat, LiDAR, and Radar data in an “unprecedented” data fusion combination to utilize key quality components from various data sources.
    Why is this exciting?  The success of this project can be modeled across multiple disciplines ranging from land use and land planning, to forestry and environmental monitoring, and to any other industry looking at data fusion as a new way to utilize imagery to solve problems.
  2. The proposed workflow involves utilizing various data combinations with various analytic methods on a small scale, then applying the best combination(s) to larger scale study areas and eventually applying them to national study areas.
    Why is this exciting?  Scientific and time-tested algorithms like maximum likelihood classification are coupled with newer approaches to geospatial data analysis such as object-based imagery classification. Accuracy we have not been able to achieve in the past may be reached by combining multiple analytic approaches with new data combinations - thanks to increasingly rich data and new technology.
  3. All facets of this proposal are so well constructed it is truly impressive. The scientific information, business case, timeline, implementation plan, and funding considerations are comprehensive and concise.
    Why is this exciting?  I won’t be a bit surprised when I see a follow-up article outlining this group’s achievements and notification that the NCWI updates are successfully underway – thanks to this “Efficient Remote Sensing Solution…”
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