This presentation will present the examination of spaceborne radar and optical data independently and in combination for land use/cover mapping. Improved classification accuracy was obtained when these discrepant data sets were combined often with the use of radar-derived measures such as texture. One of the study sites had a merged sensor accuracy improvement of 18 percent over either sensor independently. Four different methods to combine the two sensor types are compared. The highest classification accuracies did not occur in all study sites with the same procedures for sensor integration. Generally, a procedure with a more equal weighting of the number of bands from each sensor was best such as three of the Principle Components Analysis (PCA) bands from the optical data with radar texture measures.

The spatial extent of many scientific and environmental issues is not easily understood by most people until they are exposed to a visual presentation of them. Using the power of 3D visualization and virtual globe technology, such as Google Earth, enables the public to relate to and better understand the complexity of science, which is sometimes in their own neighborhood or extends across a region that is hard to visualize.
Several case-studies will be presented on how to display information using Google Earth in order to visualize complex scientific and environmental issues of regional geographic importance. Themes of visualization include land use, natural hazards, climate change, planetary geology, public health, population and traffic. Through visualization in virtual globes, information can easily reach and educate the general public and raise awareness of important issues in geographic science.

The Geography Seminar Series is organized by the Geographical Honors Society Gamma Theta Upsilon Eta Omicron Chapter