RSVP: Remote Sensing Visualization Platform for Data Fusion

Remote sensing involves the acquisition of data in terms of images, point clouds and so on. One of the major challenges with remote sensing datasets is managing and understanding the massive amounts of data that is collected. In many instances, scientists acquire data for the same region using varied sensing devices. Scientists would like to fuse and examine this data acquired from different sensing devices to further explore the region under investigation. Immersive visualization has emerged as an ideal solution for three-dimensional exploration of multimodal remote sensing data. The ability to manipulate data interactively in true 3D (using stereo) with interfaces designed specifically for the immersive environment can significantly speed up the exploration process. We have developed a visualization platform that facilitates the fusion of multiple modalities of remote sensing data and allows a scientist to learn more about the data obtained from different sensing devices. It is currently being used in research labs at Idaho State University and at the Idaho National Labs

Combining Hyperspectral and LiDAR Data in the CAVE\u3csup\u3eTM\u3c/sup\u3e

The Remote Sensing Visualization Platform (RSVP) is a new software application which was created in order to display hyperspectral and LiDAR data sets together in an immersive visualization environment known as the Cave Automated Virtual Environment (CAVETM). The goal was to display a hyperspectral band of a specified wavelength alongside a LiDAR point cloud of the same geographic region. Single hyperspectral bands can be shown as a greyscale image or three bands can be selected where each band represents red, green, or blue. The user can switch between different band combinations within one session. Future work will include analysis capabilities within the immersive session. The user will be able to create plots detailing the spectral response for all bands of a selected location. This application will provide a new method for remote sensing experts to display and analyze their data

Challenges for Sustained Observing and Forecasting Systems in the Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean community represented in this paper is the result of more than 30 years of EU and nationally funded coordination, which has led to key contributions in science concepts and operational initiatives. Together with the establishment of operational services, the community has coordinated with universities, research centers, research infrastructures and private companies to implement advanced multi-platform and integrated observing and forecasting systems that facilitate the advancement of operational services, scientific achievements and mission-oriented innovation. Thus, the community can respond to societal challenges and stakeholders needs, developing a variety of fit-for-purpose services such as the Copernicus Marine Service. The combination of state-of-the-art observations and forecasting provides new opportunities for downstream services in response to the needs of the heavily populated Mediterranean coastal areas and to climate change. The challenge over the next decade is to sustain ocean observations within the research community, to monitor the variability at small scales, e.g., the mesoscale/submesoscale, to resolve the sub-basin/seasonal and inter-annual variability in the circulation, and thus establish the decadal variability, understand and correct the model-associated biases and to enhance model-data integration and ensemble forecasting for uncertainty estimation. Better knowledge and understanding of the level of Mediterranean variability will enable a subsequent evaluation of the impacts and mitigation of the effect of human activities and climate change on the biodiversity and the ecosystem, which will support environmental assessments and decisions. Further challenges include extending the science-based added-value products into societal relevant downstream services and engaging with communities to build initiatives that will contribute to the 2030 Agenda and more specifically to SDG14 and the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for sustainable development, by this contributing to bridge the science-policy gap. The Mediterranean observing and forecasting capacity was built on the basis of community best practices in monitoring and modeling, and can serve as a basis for the development of an integrated global ocean observing system