The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), announces the selection of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) Science Team. These scientists and engineers will advise the USGS and NASA on issues critical to the success of the LDCM. Expected to launch soon after 2010, the LDCM is designed to supply Landsat-like data from the next generation of Earth observing satellites.

The LDCM Science Team will recommend strategies for the effective use of archived data from Landsat sensors and investigate the requirements for future sensors to meet the needs of Landsat users, including the needs of policy makers at all levels of government. The team will cooperate with other Earth observing missions, both nationally and internationally.

The LDCM Science Team combines USGS leadership, USGS and NASA scientists, and a group of external scientists and satellite data applications specialists. The first meeting of the team will be held in November, 2006. The members will serve in their advisory capacity through the development and launch of the [next Landsat -type] satellite and through the first year of data collection.

The LDCM Science Team members, and their study areas are:

Dr. Richard Allen, University of Idaho
Operational Evapotranspiration Algorithms for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

Martha Anderson, USDA Agricultural Research Service
Mapping Drought and Evapotranspiration at High Spatial Resolution Using Landsat Thermal and Surface Reflectance Band Imagery

Alan Belward, European Commission Joint Research Center
Natural Resources Management - Meeting Millennium Development Goals

Robert Bindshadler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Advancing Ice Sheet Research with the Next Generation Landsat Sensor

Warren Cohen, U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station
Landsat and Vegetation Change: Towards 50 Years of Observation and Characterization

Feng Gao – Earth Resources Technology
Developing a Consistent Landsat Data Set from MSS, TM/ETM+ and International Sources for Land Cover Change Detection

Sam Goward, University of Maryland
The LDCM Long Term Acquisition Plan: Extending and Enhancing the Landsat 7 LTAP Approach

Dennis Helder, South Dakota State University
A Systematic Radiometric Calibration Approach for LDCM and the Landsat Archive

Eileen Helmer, USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry
Cloud-Free Landsat Image Mosaics for Monitoring Tropical Forest Ecosystems

Rama Nemani , NASA Ames Science Center
Developing Biophysical Products for Landsat

Lazaros Oraiopoulos, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Cloud Detection and Avoidance for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

John Schott, Rochester Institute of Technology
The Impact of Land Processes on Fresh and Coastal Waters

Prasad Thenkabail, International Water Management Institute
Global Irrigated Area Mapping using Landsat 30-m for the Years 2000 and 1975

Eric Vermote, University of Maryland
A Surface Reflectance Standard Product for LDCM and Supporting Activities

James Vogelmann, SAIC, USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science
Monitoring Forest and Rangeland Change using Landsat Continuity and Alternative Sources of Satellite Data

Curtis Woodcock, Boston University
Toward Operational Global Monitoring of Landcover Change

Michael Wulder, Canadian Forest Service
Large-Area Land Cover Mapping and Dynamics: Landsat Imagery to Information

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