Geoff Zeiss has noted in his most recent
blog that
Urthecast, the Earth Observation satellite company, has demonstrated the benefits of daily, repeat coverage to support better water conservation for farmers. The company noted that:
"Farmers in the US over-irrigate by 25% per year. A recent study has demonstrated that monitoring vegetation growth on a daily basis can save farmers $50,000 in water per year. With 260,000 pivots operating in the US, this amounts to billions of dollars of savings every year ... A four year in Texas by HydroBio which assessed the value of frequent monitoring of plant health and growth using satellite data concluded that to be effective this required high-frequency (daily) monitoring with highly calibrated sensors. With its resolution UrtheDaily will be able to monitor vegetation."
This brings into focus the business case for capturing imagery on a daily basis over the same area and where high resolution spectral imaging would be highly useful. What Geoff also points out is the need for greater spectral analysis and while it doesn't specify the need for more sensitive spectral resolution, I could certainly see benefits to that as well.
BTW, Geoff Zeiss' blog, Beyond the Poles, is always insightful and well worth the time to check in with him regularly.------------------------------
Joe Francica
PITNEY BOWES SOFTWARE
Boulder CO
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