N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9

Vol. 7 No. 6 Washingtonian Magazine
On My Mind

GEOINT Saves Lives—Global 

Humanitarian Support and Disaster Relief 

Washingtonian magazine, in its November 2009 issue, showcased NGA as one of the 50 great places to 

work in the Washington, D.C. area and one of five federal agencies featured. We were recognized for, among 

other things, our challenging work and mission and how much of a difference we are making. One example 

of our mission responsibilities is our support to global humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

When manmade or natural disasters strike, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) saves lives. NGA delivers 

detailed maps and analysis of damage, routes and infrastructure—whatever crisis teams need to get supplies and relief to where they are needed and to minimize loss of life. By providing a unique perspective to 

understanding the Earth, GEOINT provides the situational awareness required to expedite the disaster-relief 

and humanitarian-assistance mission.

NGA reports on a range of disasters and other crises, from earthquakes and hurricanes to the movement 

of refugees and internally displaced persons. GEOINT provides the context from beginning to end—meaning that GEOINT guides meteorological forecasts, identifies physical changes to the Earth and aids in 

understanding and responding in the aftermath of catastrophic events. We identify, collect, use and 

share relevant GEOINT data. If a disaster appears imminent, we gather the specific data and information 

necessary to support partner organizations—like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the 

U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland 

Security—that may become involved in the relief effort. Once a crisis occurs, we provide that information 

to decision makers to help them determine the size and scope of the disaster and guide them in managing 

their response.

The support provided during Cyclone Sidr is one example of NGA at work. The Category 5 storm struck 

Bangladesh, killing 3,400 and displacing millions. Our personnel at the U.S. Pacific Command and in St. 

Louis provided commercial imagery, situational awareness products, damage assessments, reports and 

briefing materials to command and operational units on an almost continuous basis for a month. We also 

supplied GEOINT products to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps units providing direct relief assistance. 

Although many lives were lost, the careful planning and constant GEOINT updates kept the losses far 

below the 140,000 deaths from a similar storm in 1991.

Humanitarian operations following Tropical Storm Nargis in Burma, Cyclone Ivan in Madagascar, Cyclone 

Jokwe in Mozambique and flooding in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala offer other examples 

of NGA’s rapid insertion of GEOINT in crisis situations. During wildfires in Australia, NGA shared imagery, 

damage assessment data, critical infrastructure analysis and computer modeling with the Defense Imagery 

and Geospatial Organization and other Australian authorities to aid them in mounting their response.

In Darfur, NGA was one of the first organizations to uncover evidence of widespread destruction. Our 

analysis provided U.S. civilian agencies, including the Department of State, with some of the earliest 

indications of the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis in the region.

In September 2009, when a magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck the Samoan islands, spawning tsunamis 

with waves of up to 20 feet, NGA stepped in to provide GEOINT support to our mission partners in Samoa 

and American Samoa.

During the crisis in Samoa, NGA analysts in the region, and our reach-back teams stateside, 

delivered initial damage assessments for the tsunami to Australia and New Zealand, the lead countries 

delivering operational relief on site. NGA also produced continuing assessments and identified key 

infrastructure locations.

After President Obama issued a disaster declaration for American Samoa, FEMA asked NGA to provide 

damage-assessment data and information to support relief efforts. NGA disseminated pre- and post-earthquake and pre-tsunami commercial imagery to FEMA and other NGA mission partners working the crisis and 

created graphics depicting infrastructure sites in some of the harder-hit areas. Through wide dissemination 

of information and data, NGA set out to enable first responders and other relief workers to move forward 

with a common operating picture so that they could do their jobs more quickly and effectively.

When a crisis occurs, GEOINT provides a common foundation to guide the efforts of all participants 

in the humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief enterprise. NGA, the National System for Geospatial 

Intelligence, and our Allied partners are committed to providing that crucial, time-sensitive GEOINT 

whenever and wherever it is necessary.

Robert B. Murrett

Vice Admiral, USN

Director
14 21

6

Contents

2 Letter to Our Readers

3 Up Front: NGA Advances in the PostSept. 11 Environment

5 Up Front: NGA Supports Samoan Island 

Recovery Efforts

›› F E A T U R E S

6 Iraq Relief Operations Build Cooperation

8 New NGA–USDA Techniques Assess 

Harvest Yields

9 Irrigation and Agriculture Assessments 

10 Geospatial Analysis Reveals Water Levels in 

Arid Regions

12 Student Intern Supports Afghanistan’s 

Provincial Reconstruction

14 GEOINT Focuses World Attention on the 

Troubled Darfur

16 NGA Teams Key to Post-Hurricane Recovery Efforts

18 Deforestation Analysis Complements Cambodia 

Conflict Assessment

20 Agency Aids Humanitarian Mission to Georgia

›› D E P A R T M E N T S

21 Our Heritage: Lunar Cartography Informed Early 

Space Program

24 New Campus East: Future Home of GEOINT 

Incorporates Green Technology

Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 ›› Vol. 7 No. 6

On the Cover

People and nations the world over find themselves in need. Catastrophes, natural or manmade, trouble the Earth and stretch its resources. 

Situated best to understand the Earth, NGA contributes invaluably to 

disaster mitigation and the relief of suffering populations. Preparing 

whenever possible and responding urgently, the agency routinely 

employs its geospatial expertise to aid those in need however it can. 

Predicting floods before they start or assisting in the aftermath, aiding 

the delivery of relief shipments or building anew, helping care for the 

land or increasing its bounty, NGA remains committed to humanitarian 

missions around the globe. Cover design by Anika McMillon.

More to the Story?

The online Classified Pathfinder, which is accessible 

by members of the Intelligence Community, may include additional information and expanded sections 

of some Pathfinder articles. The Classified Pathfinder 

provides a forum for reading and discussing topics at 

the level of “Unclassified//For Official Use Only” or 

higher. For information please contact the Classified 

Pathfinder editor, Muridith Winder, at (301) 227-7370.

1 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
2 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Office of Corporate Communications

4600 Sangamore Road, Mail Stop D-39

Bethesda, MD 20816-5003

Telephone: (301) 227-7388, 

DSN 287-7388

E-mail: pathfinder@nga.mil

Director

Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett, U.S. Navy

Deputy Director

Lloyd Rowland

Office of Corporate Communications, Director

Jennifer A.K. Daniel

Editor

Jason K. Michas

Associate Editor

Kelly M. Kemp

Graphic Designer 

Anika D. McMillon

Contributing Authors

Richard A.

Lou Brune

Ida E.

Tressa E.

Chris L.

Susan Meisner

Jim R.

Tarassa S.

Robert Tetrault

Matthew W.

Dr. Gary E. Weir

GETTING PUBLISHED

All members of the geospatial intelligence community are welcome to submit articles of community-wide interest. Articles are 

edited for style, content and length. For details on submitting 

articles, send an e-mail to pathfinder@nga.mil.

The Pathfinder is the medium with which the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency enhances and promotes public 

awareness and understanding of the discipline of geospatial 

intelligence. The Pathfinder is an authorized Department of 

Defense publication for members of the Department of Defense. 

Contents of this publication are not necessarily the official view 

of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, Department of Defense 

or NGA. Articles in the Pathfinder may be reproduced in whole 

or in part without permission, unless stated otherwise. If they 

are reproduced, please credit the author and the “National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Pathfinder magazine.” Any 

reproduction of graphics, photographs and imagery is subject to 

the original copyright.

Letter to Our Readers

The Global Humanitarian Enterprise

Intelligence plays an invaluable role in mitigating humanitarian crises across the globe. 

NGA’s unique geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) 

mission continues to aid policy makers in 

making decisions that help curb the instability 

associated with these crises. This agency is 

committed to using its resources and expertise 

to understand the humanitarian and environmental issues of our times.

NGA and GEOINT are particularly wellequipped to engage humanitarian mission 

partners. GEOINT provides unique information 

required by those who prepare for and respond 

to disasters or other strains on people, land or 

resources. This issue of the Pathfinder explores several examples of 

this engagement.

In one example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture teamed up with NGA to 

forestall famine in Iraq. The agency then went a step further to provide irrigation 

and agriculture assessments for Iraq’s future. In the same manner, GEOINT monitoring of water levels is helping to restore Iraq’s southeastern marshes, almost 

destroyed by the Baathist government, and to predict flooding in Afghanistan.

Deforestation remains a significant problem in many areas of the world. NGA 

serves with an interagency consortium to identify land cover changes in Cambodia that could lead to more serious consequences. In the troubled Darfur region, 

GEOINT has kept a watch. In Georgia, it has allowed relief vessels to dock with 

essential aid.

The international community has not benefitted alone from NGA’s efforts. 

The agency’s work surrounding Hurricane Ike underscores GEOINT’s preparations and responses to domestic crises. In similar fashion, the design of the 

agency’s New Campus East demonstrates NGA’s dedication to being a wise 

environmental steward.

NGA serves best when guided by a global vision. This agency regards the 

global humanitarian enterprise as vitally important. NGA’s commitment to this 

mission reflects both the country’s historic idealism and its ongoing assistance 

to those in need. The next issue of Pathfinder will illustrate the value of NGA’s 

extensive deployer program to that global vision and the GEOINT benefits of the 

agency’s embedded and externally assigned personnel.

Jennifer A.K. Daniel

Director, Office of Corporate Communications

2 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
Up Front

NGA Advances in the Post-Sept. 11 Environment

By the Office of Corporate Communications Staff

After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the 9/11 

Commission Report emphasized the Intelligence 

Community’s responsibility to communicate and share 

information between federal agencies to ensure the success of the security and defense missions of the nation.

Eight years after Sept. 11, NGA has made significant 

strides in this endeavor and has become a leading example in the Intelligence Community for sharing information.

“We are a nation at war. As such we will support our 

partners with a heightened sense of urgency as a unified 

GEOINT [geospatial intelligence] community,” Vice Adm. 

Robert B. Murrett, Director of NGA, said. “GEOINT plays a 

critical role in virtually every Intelligence Community and 

Department of Defense mission; we will not fail to partner as closely as possible with our counterpart agencies 

and ensure that GEOINT is effectively utilized whenever 

and wherever it is needed,” said Murrett.

Demonstrating a commitment to acceleration, integration and standardization of GEOINT, NGA is one of the 

largest users of the new information networks that the 

9/11 Commission Report recommended.

During the time preceding Sept. 11, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) developed programs 

that involved the creation of support teams, integration 

of work roles and functional management oversight. 

The 9/11 Commission Report, directed by Congress, 

identified a “need to restructure the Intelligence Community.” Specifically, the commission recommended 

that procedures for sharing information should provide 

a better balance between security and disclosure and 

be accessible through networks that connected multiple 

agencies. The report presented opportunities for NGA to 

demonstrate itself as a pioneer in collaboration.

The report propelled the Intelligence Community, 

as well as the nation, into a new frame of reference: 

before and after Sept. 11. At NIMA, the report was a 

catalyst for progress, spurring the integration of mapping 

and imagery, and emphasizing wider dissemination for 

national security.

Less than a month prior to Sept. 11, retired Air Force 

Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr. took the helm of what was 

still known as NIMA; it was renamed the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in 2003 as a symbol of its 

unifying discipline and doctrine. The agency’s mission 

called for consistent reintegration of cultures and work 

roles and provided a foundation upon which to face 

future challenges.

Acceleration of Support Through Deployers

For the past eight years, one of the most significant 

changes in NGA’s posture has been the increase in subject-matter expert support to federal agencies and military partners. By concentrating on the rapid development 

of a program to train and deploy analysts and support 

staff, NGA is able to ensure the most accurate GEOINT 

will be in the hands of the mission partner quickly.

For example, NGA’s predecessor organization sent 

one team to provide GEOINT to the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) during Hurricane Andrew 

in 1992. In contrast, in the post-Sept. 11 years, the 

agency stood up an entire division, offering assistance 

to federal agencies in support of all hazards, natural 

and man-made. These included large-scope, high-attendance events such as the Olympics in Beijing 2008, 

the G-20 Summit in Philadelphia, Penn., in 2009 and 

the inauguration of the president of the United States in 

Washington, D.C., in 2009.

3 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

The “Tribute in Light” memorial honors those 

who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 World Trade 

Center attacks.

DOD Photo
4 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

In addition, NGA, along with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), developed the Homeland Security Infrastructure Program, which provides a foundation to improve 

collaboration and joint decision-making regarding homeland security and defense missions throughout federal 

agencies, including but not limited to the Department of 

Homeland Security, FBI and U.S. Northern Command.

To aid this enhancement, NGA leadership believed 

that the analyst could best support the GEOINT partner 

by providing in-theater geospatial knowledge and 

products, as well as ensuring round-the-clock assistance 

back home called “reachback.”

According to NGA historian Dr. Gary Weir, the 

reachback program began when NIMA analysts were 

sent to support Special Operations in Afghanistan in 

2001. “Analysts were equipped with a standard satellite 

communications suite and a robust laptop loaded with 

specific software designed to manipulate images and 

map data to create nonstandard products,” said Weir. 

This program for developing response teams has 

grown exponentially.

In 2009, nearly one-third of NGA’s workforce was 

deployed to more than 150 sites worldwide, and its 

number of people deployed has grown 175 percent since 

2007 alone. As a result, NGA has provided support to 

Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Columbia space shuttle 

recovery in 2003 and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 

2004, as well as other disasters such as the California 

wildfires in 2008.

Integration of Tradecraft

Slowly and steadily, NGA moved towards integrating 

a multitude of work roles and products into one solid 

tradecraft. NIMA’s product makers were largely segregated into two camps: cartographers making maps and 

imagery analysts making sense of images. The creation 

of NGA began a shift toward GEOINT, which is a fusion of 

skills and products that can be customized for decision 

makers to access information that can only be understood visually in reference to a geographic location.

Later, NGA’s technology evolved to a platform-neutral 

stance, meaning information previously located in 

disparate workstations could now be accessed via a 

single one, streamlining the physical and virtual world of 

analysis. In 2009, the Director announced the creation 

of a single, overarching analytical job known as a geospatial intelligence analyst, which would encompass the 

wide range of analytical occupations at the agency. This 

change further solidified NGA’s move towards cultural 

and logistical solidarity.

Standardization of Products and Policy

With 33 different organizations using GEOINT regularly, 

consistency regarding its production, dissemination and 

usage is essential. According to Weir, “Intelligence analysts needed high-quality imagery available uniformly 

across the Intelligence Community.” Progress came 

gradually when review authority was granted in 2000, 

followed by the creation of the National Geospatial Program that assumed control “first over advanced geospatial intelligence in 2003 and then overhead persistent 

infrared imaging in 2004,” said Weir.

Executive Order 12333, amended in 2008, and the 

DOD Directive 5105.06, July 2009, formally designate 

NGA as the functional manager for GEOINT and embody 

the recommendations made in the 9/11 Commission 

Report that intelligence be “distributed according to 

the same quality standards, whether it is collected in 

Pakistan or in Texas.”

As a result, these partnerships have extended to an 

ever-increasing number of countries and regions and 

have resulted in collections in areas that have previously 

gone unrecorded, such as Africa. NGA, and through it the 

National System for Geospatial Intelligence, is ensuring 

and enabling GEOINT collaboration on a national and 

international level that is unprecedented.

Preparing for the Future

Since one of the main criticisms of the Intelligence 

Community from the 9/11 report dealt with the lack of 

sharing among agencies, the Intelligence Community has 

made significant strides to correct the issue, and NGA 

has been an active participant using social networking 

applications. The document recommended that “agencies would still have their own databases, but those 

databases would be searchable across agency lines.”

The Intelligence Community as a whole has responded 

to this through use of a social software platform called 

Intelink to encourage collaboration at all levels. With a 

combination of information-sharing networks including 

wikis and blogs, the Intelligence Community is able to 

share information using a variety of methods and at a 

speed that was only imagined in decades prior.

Overall, the use of deployers, integrated tradecraft, 

united oversight and formalized collaborative tools 

in execution of the mission signifies a cultural shift 

towards collaboration in the Intelligence Community. 

NGA stands united with its fellow agencies not only in 

mission, cooperation and communications but also in its 

resolution that a tragedy of Sept. 11’s magnitude never 

happen again.
5 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Up Front

NGA Supports Samoan Island Recovery Efforts

By Susan Meisner

NGA supported the Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA) with analysis, unclassified commercial 

satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence products of 

the Samoan Island areas devastated by the September 

2009 earthquake and resulting tsunami. FEMA, a component agency of the Department of Homeland Security, 

was appointed as the lead federal agency for the crisis. 

NGA supported FEMA in that role.

NGA also provided the general public with access to 

some of the images on NGA’s crisis response portal, NGAEarth.org, a satellite imagery and map viewer. NGA-Earth.

org is updated as new images are made available. In 

addition to the information hosted at this location, the 

Web site provides links to other federal agency sites 

and is an access point from which to leverage other NGA 

geospatial expertise and products.

Originally established in response to Hurricane Katrina 

in 2005, the NGA-Earth site uses the Internet to provide 

the public a single, easy-to-use entry point for locating 

timely, relevant, unclassified geospatial information in 

the event of a natural disaster or crisis. The site is also 

a means to communicate critical information to first 

responders, as well as to allow the public the ability to 

broadly assess property damage without having to 

physically return.

Other geospatial intelligence products that NGA 

provided to FEMA, the U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. 

Coast Guard and other government agencies included 

graphics of major infrastructure such as the locations of 

airports, hospitals, police and fire stations, emergency 

operations centers, hazardous material locations, 

highways and schools. The products also included 

damage assessments.

These types of products greatly assist first responders and those coordinating and planning relief efforts. 

The graphics provide a common operating picture that 

has helped enable local, state and federal government 

elements to work effectively together since Hurricane 

Andrew in 1992.

Susan Meisner is a public affairs officer in the Office of 

Corporate Communications.

Residents clean up debris in Pago Pago, 

American Samoa, Oct. 1, 2009.

DOD Photo
6Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Iraq Relief Operations Build Cooperation 

By Matthew W.

For years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 

civil affairs officers have complemented the traditional 

combat operations of the U.S. military. However, the 

unique conflicts of the recent decade have demanded 

significant flexibility from all U.S. forces. Serving for 27 

months as a U.S. Army intelligence officer with the 1st 

Cavalry Division in Iraq, this author observed the humanitarian relief mission evolving into an essential pillar 

of U.S. and coalition strategy and witnessed firsthand 

the invaluable contributions of NGA deployed personnel 

to that mission. 

War, disease, natural disasters and sectarian violence 

place unimaginable burdens on civilian populations. 

Humanitarian assistance by the military can lessen these 

burdens, build partners and minimize violent extremism. Assistance to Iraqi civilians has helped create and 

continues to create strong allies. Geospatial intelligence 

(GEOINT) has been crucial to this effort. GEOINT contributions have improved the lives of Iraqis and saved the 

lives of warfighters.

An Extensive Need

The United Nations estimates that over 25 million 

people around the world are in the midst of some form 

of humanitarian crisis; many have been displaced from 

their homes due to war or violence. Over the last 30 

years, Iraq has been particularly affected, with over 2.5 

million people displaced from their homes or tribal areas 

during the past six years.

The forced mobility of some Iraqis has left them 

vulnerable to disease, gang activity and terrorist 

recruitment. Sectarian divisions have complicated this 

situation, forcing Iraqis to choose allegiances that have 

further marginalized some populations. In many Iraqi 

neighborhoods, fluid sectarian populations could shift 

from week to week. Such massive dislocation devastates 

the displaced, hampers relief efforts and makes it difficult to collect and analyze the data needed to identify 

areas on which to focus humanitarian efforts. Gaining 

control of such an environment requires information and 

innovative solutions.

A GEOINT Solution

The foregoing observations demonstrate that humanitarian crises are intelligence problems. Providing 

solutions to these crises helps alleviate the corollary 

problems associated with them. Realizing this, the 

NGA officers and analysts deployed with the 1st Cavalry 

Division wrestled with how to provide humanitarian aid 

in the midst of combat operations. These deployers contributed invaluable GEOINT in a number of ways.

NGA analysts provided innovative ideas and nontraditional solutions to these intelligence problems that 

delivered results. NGA personnel built graphics using social and cultural markers that outlined 

the sectarian breakdown of Baghdad 

neighborhoods; identified areas 

occupied by displaced and underserved members of the population; 

provided commercial imagery 

products to assist the Iraqi 

government; supplied ad hoc, 

analytic field training to the 1st 

Cavalry’s collection management 

section; and expedited requests 

for products to support troops in 

the field.

In one example, an analyst 

suggested that patrolling soldiers 

take note of the geographic coordinates 

of severe concentrations of struggling 

or displaced people. NGA analysts 

exploiting this raw data created 

software for military and civilian 

relief organizations to track 

needs, build more sophisticated 

crisis models and supply better 

and more immediate assistance. 

Collecting coordinates became 

standard operating procedure, 

resulting in countless Iraqis receiving humanitarian support.

Using geographic coordinates, 

agency personnel also collaborated with 1st Cavalry intelligence 

analysts to identify areas with 

high concentrations of temporary 

housing structures. Temporary 

structures suggest that the inhabitants are displaced and probably in 
7 Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Matthew W. is a staff officer in NGA’s Office of Geospatial 

Intelligence Management. He served with the U.S. Army for 

seven years.

need of humanitarian aid. In a case that confirms the 

value of this endeavor, NGA representatives passed the 

coordinates of a temporary settlement to U.S. units in 

the area, who in turn coordinated with military chaplains 

to provide the affected Iraqi citizens with food, water 

and medical care. This effort significantly improved the 

quality of life in the area, which resulted in a dramatic 

decrease in attacks on U.S. forces and a marked increase in cooperation from local Iraqis.

Recent military operations, including Operation Iraqi 

Freedom, have involved both conventional and unconventional approaches, including humanitarian relief. 

Likewise, intelligence officers do not support combat 

operations alone. An essential part of the job entails 

helping Iraqis meet basic human needs. NGA and GEOINT make a difference in Iraq, not just for the warfighter, but also for the local population. As U.S. 

and allied strategy continues to evolve, NGA’s support 

to all operations in Iraq, including humanitarian relief, 

remains key and indispensible. NGA’s collaboration with 

military and civilian organizations will continue to reduce 

harsh conditions and promote cooperation between the 

Iraqis and coalition forces. 

A U.S. soldier hands out water purifiers 

near Tarmiyah, Iraq.

DOD Photo
8Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

New NGA–USDA Techniques Assess Harvest Yields

By Robert Tetrault

Just weeks into the 2007–08 growing season, the 

Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture knew that wheat and small 

grain farms were in trouble in the country’s normally 

plentiful northern region. A partnership between NGA 

and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had 

detected an impending drought early enough for Iraqi 

government officials to avert a famine by arranging for 

food shipments to the affected areas.

Early warning of the drought resulted from a successful pilot project conducted by NGA and the USDA’s 

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the primary source of 

foreign crop production data. The project developed new 

remote sensing techniques for assessing crop health 

and predicting harvest yields in growing regions where 

USDA lacked adequate ground condition information.

One reason that the United States closely monitors 

international crop health is that a stable food supply is 

critical to the overall security of a nation. USDA evaluates and publishes FAS information in its forecast of 

supply and demand for U.S. and global crops. USDA FAS 

makes its production forecasts based on a convergence 

of evidence that involves volumes of structured and 

unstructured information, including low- and mediumresolution multispectral satellite imagery as well as 

meteorological data. This remotely sensed information 

is usually supplemented by reports from trained observers located throughout the growing regions being 

monitored. However, in Iraq and some other countries, 

ground observers do not exist.

The NGA–USDA project set out to determine if the 

high-resolution commercial satellite imagery often used 

by NGA could be integrated into existing FAS methods. 

Could analysis combining low-, mid- and high-resolution 

multispectral satellite data help fill information gaps?

Using Multiple Satellite Sensors for 

Multispectral Analysis

For intelligence applications, NGA complements 

national remote sensing resources with high-resolution 

satellite imagery from commercial vendors. During the 

pilot project, as in its other crop assessment activities, USDA FAS relied on low-resolution data from the 

NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 

(MODIS) sensor and other systems and on mediumresolution imagery from the Indian Advanced Wide Field 

Sensor (AWiFS).

The coarse-resolution MODIS sensor played two key 

roles, revealing precipitation trends and vegetative 

abundance over large areas. Comparison of MODIS 

indices from the 2007–08 Iraqi growing season against 

a NASA archive showed much lower abundance. USDA 

analysts then turned to AWiFS imagery from the Indian 

Resourcesat-1 satellite with its 56-meter spatial resolution and 740-kilometer-wide swath to look more closely 

at known wheat- and grain-producing areas. AWiFS’ 

resolution can identify farming areas, and its multispectral bands and frequent five-day revisit make the sensor 

ideal for monitoring nationwide agricultural conditions. 

Vegetative health indices derived from these images 

confirmed that the biomass growth was well below that 

of previous years.

At this point, analysts normally would have turned 

to ground observers to quantify the drought impact by 

field and crop type. But in the pilot project, NGA instead 

obtained high-resolution commercial satellite imagery 

of 18 farm locations in northern Iraq acquired by DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite. The 2.5-meter resolution 

QuickBird images were captured at five different times 

during the growing season.

This high-resolution multispectral imagery provided 

details into what was happening in each field. The 

imagery differentiated wheat from other crops and 

revealed whether farmers were actively working the 

fields and irrigating them. USDA combined QuickBird 

and AWiFS images acquired at about the same time to 

create a sequence showing the crop growth—or lack of 

it—over time.

8Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
9Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Robert Tetrault is the satellite imagery archive manager 

for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, Office of Global Analysis, International 

Production Assessment Division.

Analysts wanted to use the spectral values of wheat 

fields in QuickBird imagery to identify wheat fields 

elsewhere in the AWiFS imagery to make a nationwide 

assessment. However, they found it difficult to extrapolate spectral values across an image covering such a 

wide area as the AWiFS covers because variations in 

atmospheric conditions across the scene had created 

distortions in the values. This problem was solved by a 

USDA subcontractor, which developed a technique to 

normalize atmospheric interference and correlate QuickBird spectral values across an entire AWiFS scene.

Unfortunately, the news for northern Iraq was not good. 

The number of fields containing healthy wheat and other 

grains was well below normal, confirming the impending 

mid-season drought. USDA FAS and NGA promptly disseminated this information to U.S. and Iraqi officials to 

arrange for wheat purchases from other countries.

Refining the Process

NGA and USDA participants considered the initial pilot 

a success. With the drought persisting, NGA gave the 

green light to continue the effort into the 2008–09 growing season, with expanded activities focusing on southern Iraq. This next phase applied the same combination 

of low-, mid- and high-resolution multispectral satellite 

imagery with several refinements.

One was an innovative new way to create cloud-free 

mosaics without losing information content. A satellite 

mosaic of a large region is typically made by digitally 

stitching together multiple images to provide a single 

view of the entire area. The USDA subcontractor developed a technique to clip out cloud-covered pixels from 

one scene and replace them with cloudless pixels from 

another, generating a cloud-free mosaic.

In addition, USDA FAS analysts have developed a 

product using MODIS imagery that has proven most helpful in identifying seasonal crop rotations in areas where 

there are no available ground truth capabilities. This seasonality product is being used in conjunction with other 

weather data to help develop an additional product to 

further assess the extent of drought in a given area.

Conclusion

The NGA–USDA partnership helped detect and prevent 

a looming humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Many nations face 

similar food security issues. Although these techniques 

may never entirely replace human observers, NGA and 

USDA expect to see the multiresolution analysis developed during the Iraq pilot expand to improve agricultural 

assessments in other parts of the world where USDA 

lacks sufficient ground condition information. By combining expertise and data, the NGA–USDA partnership 

provides an excellent example of interagency cooperation serving the United States and the global community.

Irrigation and Agriculture Assessments

By Ida E.

In addition to the NGA–USDA drought detection

project, and at the request of lead NGA analysts in 

Iraq, civil affairs battalions and provincial reconstruction teams, the agency has been providing 

irrigation and agriculture assessments throughout 

Iraq’s agriculturally dominant provinces to support 

ongoing stabilization and reconstruction efforts. 

NGA uses a smart sampling technique that combines 

DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution QuickBird and WorldView-1 commercial satellite imagery, foundation data, 

historical vegetation information and results from 

USDA’s analysis of relative agriculture abundance 

derived from low-resolution multispectral satellite 

imagery. Sample areas are analyzed to assess irrigation attributes and vegetation abundance. Furthermore, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service is providing 

hands-on training for NGA analysts to identify 

seasonal crop rotations to support customer requests. 

Since March 2008, NGA has provided information on 

irrigation or agriculture for over 20,000 square kilometers throughout Iraq. NGA continues to work closely 

with USDA, imagery scientists and NGA’s commercial 

imagery partners to provide continued support to 

customers in theater. 

Ida E. is a geospatial intelligence analyst in the Office of 

Targeting and Transnational Issues. 

Photo by Getty Images
10Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Geospatial Analysis Reveals Water Levels in 

Arid Regions

By Tressa E.

Water is a strategic natural resource, particularly in 

arid regions such as the Middle East and Central Asia. 

Used for agriculture, electric power and consumption, 

water affects a country’s stability. Failure to manage it 

responsibly can invite disaster. Because water is such a 

concern, NGA actively monitors water levels throughout 

the Middle East and Central Asia using readily available 

imagery from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging 

Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors.

MODIS sensors, carried on board NASA’s Terra and 

Aqua satellites, have collected global imagery daily 

since 2003, often twice a day. These images provide NGA 

the ability to constantly monitor environmental issues 

throughout much of the world and are accessible within 

hours of collection from NASA’s MODIS Rapid Response 

System Web site (rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov). Resolution 

varies from 250 meters to two kilometers, and the imagery is available in true color or false-color composite. The 

bands or visual wavelengths assigned in the false-color 

composite are ideal for revealing features such as snow, 

vegetation and water.

Restoring Iraq’s Southeastern Marshlands

Iraq’s marshlands once covered 15,000 square kilometers at the convergence of the Tigris and Euphrates 

rivers, the two major rivers feeding the marshes. 

Because the marshes are highly diverse and provide 

numerous benefits to the region, including the resources 

to sustain the indigenous population, NGA has monitored the status of Iraq’s marshlands since 2003 using 

MODIS imagery.

The marshes, historically one of the most biologically 

diverse areas in the world, supported many species of 

birds, fish, mammals and vegetation. However, beginning in the 1960s, upstream dam construction in Turkey, 

Syria, Iraq and Iran limited the amount of water flowing 

into the marshes introducing rapid changes. The annual 

spring floods from snowmelt, which had replenished 

the marshlands, essentially disappeared. Many experts 

feared the decreased flows would irreparably harm and 

eventually destroy the marshes.

The indigenous population, known as Marsh Arabs, 

has lived in the marshes for over 5,000 years and 

depends on them for food, water filtration, flood control, 

housing materials and a defensive barrier. With the water flow reduced from upstream dams, many Marsh Arabs 

left their villages because the marshes could no longer 

support their way of life. Those who chose to remain 

suffered malnutrition and drank untreated water, causing numerous cases of water-borne diseases. No primary 

healthcare facilities or schools support the population. 

Following the first Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein’s 

regime drained most of the marshes and destroyed many 

villages to increase control over and punish rebellious 

Shiites who hid in the marshlands’ variable terrain. 

Hussein’s security forces displaced many Marsh Arabs. 

By 2002, only 760 square kilometers of marsh remained.

In 2003, after the fall of Hussein’s regime, Marsh 

Arabs still living in the marshlands began tearing down 

small dams and embankments to reflood the marshes. 

With new hope that the marshes would reappear, people 
11Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Tressa E. is a geospatial intelligence analyst in the Office 

of Targeting and Transnational Issues.

started returning. Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources 

hopes to restore 75 percent of the original marshland.

To delineate the marshland’s original extent, the 

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) used 

Landsat imagery from 1973 to 1976. The UNEP estimation 

serves as the basis for NGA’s analysis.

Each spring, NGA imagery analysts determine the 

extent of the marshes by using a 2003 land cover classification template they derived using commercial imaging 

software. Using this template, the software automatically 

extracts image pixels representing water and vegetation 

to allow all images to be compared equally. Comparing 

the extent of vegetation and water yearly reveals the 

scope of recovery. Initially the marshlands expanded 

rapidly. However, analysis has shown a decline in marsh 

area since 2007, most likely due to severe drought conditions and upstream diversions. Knowing the status of 

marsh recovery, Iraqi authorities can take appropriate 

measures to achieve their goal.

Monitoring Reservoirs on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

NASA’s large historical image library can also aid U.S. 

reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Iraq by helping to determine the relative storage of water resources 

across a basin or identifying drought or downstream 

flooding early. Using MODIS imagery, NGA analysts regularly monitor seasonal fluctuations, annual variations 

and significant differences inside reservoirs behind key 

dams in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. 

Analyzing MODIS imagery on a daily basis helps analysts assess seasonal changes in the extent of surface 

water in specific areas of a reservoir. Assuming reservoir 

water levels rise with increasing water extent, water level 

changes are determined by measuring variations in the 

extent. Water absorbs more light in certain wavelengths, 

or bands, imaged by MODIS, producing a strong inverse 

correlation between MODIS images and water levels. As 

water level and extent increase in an area, the radiance 

of the water decreases.

Predicting Afghanistan Snowmelt

Afghanistan is very mountainous. The high elevations 

receive an abundance of snow in the winter. When the 

snow melts in spring, downstream flooding poses a 

concern for the local population. To predict the possibility of flooding, NGA analyzes MODIS imagery weekly to 

track the snow extent. Analysts employ image processing 

software to distinguish snow from other environmental 

features by manually extracting the image pixels that 

represent snow. By comparing one week’s change in 

snow extent, analysts gain an understanding of the rate 

and location of the past week’s snowmelt and assess 

where localized flooding may be an immediate concern. 

They also compare snow extent from previous years 

during the same time frame to predict if the snowmelt 

season is average or if there may be a potential for flooding downstream at lower elevations.

Conclusion

Water remains critical to stability in the Middle East 

and Central Asia. Using MODIS imagery, NGA monitors 

and detects large-scale environmental changes throughout the region. Because the imagery covers most of the 

world, is updated daily and includes a historical data set 

back to 2003, MODIS provides a historical baseline of 

the area of interest so that variations from normal conditions can be easily identified. By monitoring these variations, NGA predicts potential disasters to help restore 

and protect communities and nations. 

Two Iraqi men fish the marshlands in the Maysan 

Province of Iraq. Iraqis fish the marshlands to feed 

their families and to sell at their local market.

DOD Photo

Photo Illustration by Anika McMillon
12Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Student Intern Supports Afghanistan’s Provincial 

Reconstruction 

By Tarassa S.

As world events develop, NGA constantly faces the

challenge of designing new methods to address evolving 

situations. This turbulent atmosphere makes NGA an 

exciting place to work for everyone from the agency’s 

leaders to student interns who are getting their first 

taste of serving the nation. Through an unusual partnership, NGA developed situational awareness products to 

support U.S. reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and 

further U.S. national strategy.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams

Currently there are multiple provincial reconstruction 

teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan, consisting of civilian and 

military personnel from 15 nations, all members of the 

NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Some 

PRTs are multinational, while others are made up of a 

single nation’s personnel; half are led by the United 

States. Established in 2002 as part of an international 

effort to help extend the authority of the Government of 

the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, PRTs support reconstruction and economic development activities.

Civilian PRT members work with Afghan officials, 

international organizations such as the United Nations 

Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and nongovernment 

organizations (NGOs) to promote political, economic, 

humanitarian and social welfare development. Military 

elements provide security, medical assistance, transport 

and engineering. Several U.S. civilian agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, 

Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce, 

have representatives in the PRTs. Given the composition 

of the PRTs, information sharing and civil–military collaboration are critical to efficient operations.

Portraying the Electric Power Infrastructure

A primary goal of the PRT efforts in Afghanistan is to 

improve the creation and distribution of electric power to 

the civilian population, which in turn would improve the 

quality of daily life. In August 2009, NGA was asked to 

provide data and information about the current status of 

Afghanistan’s high-voltage national-level electric power 

infrastructure, including the location of current transmission lines and power generation facilities. Depicting 

the current state of civil infrastructure and economic 

development assists PRT decision makers in planning 

improvements to promote stability in Afghanistan.

Over the summer of 2009, an undergraduate student 

intern studying civil engineering at the University of 

Missouri worked at NGA learning electric power infrastructure and identification of that infrastructure on 

imagery. In August, NGA arranged with the university’s 

Center for Geospatial Intelligence to allow the student 

to create the requested Afghanistan electric power infrastructure data in a telework agreement while attending 

fall semester classes. The center, an interdisciplinary 

academic research facility, focuses on processing and 

exploiting geospatial data and information for national 

security applications.

Under this unique arrangement, and with oversight 

from a senior NGA geospatial analyst, the student 

analyzed commercial imagery, which NGA provided, for 

electric power infrastructure. He extracted feature data of 

the location of the major power lines and identified the 
13Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Tarassa S. is chief of the Energy Infrastructure Analysis 

Branch. Members of the Office of Targeting and Transnational 

Issues and the University of Missouri’s Center for Geospatial 

Intelligence contributed to this article.

locations and types of power generation facilities in the 

country. To ensure he did not miss any vital components 

of Afghanistan’s multiple electric power networks, he 

correlated his analysis with open source information 

from the Afghanistan Energy Information Center. In Sep-

tember, a senior NGA geospatial analyst traveled to the 

university to monitor the student’s progress and adjust 

and clarify the student’s work processes. In October, 

the student sent his completed work to NGA for review 

and publication.

Upon receipt of the data and analysis, NGA provided 

the information to the agency’s PRT liaison in Afghani-

stan, giving local decision makers information needed 

for future humanitarian reconstruction efforts. NGA also 

published the data via regular production channels for 

wide dissemination to the Intelligence Community.

Through its partnership with the student and the 

university’s analytic resources, NGA satisfied the 

customer’s request and informed the decision makers in 

a timely manner. As for the student intern, when asked 

“How did you spend your summer?” he’ll have an amaz-

ing story to tell.

Photo by Getty Images
GEOINT Focuses World Attention on the Troubled Darfur

By Dr. Gary E. Weir

Very often the most casual effort to communicate 

can produce extraordinary results. Upon receiving a new 

regional account in 2003, one of NGA’s imagery analysts 

decided to call his colleagues in other Intelligence 

Community agencies to inform them of his account 

change and offer his assistance if needed. He had been 

assigned a region of Africa that showed distinct signs 

of instability, and he knew that a time for mutual assistance might soon come. 

Early in 2003 the Sudanese Liberation Army and the 

Justice and Equality Movement began attacking government targets in Sudan, accusing the government in Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs. After 

receiving an urgent request for help from a colleague 

he had contacted earlier, the analyst began developing 

a baseline of imagery and maps to document events in 

the Darfur region, which formed part of his new account. 

At about the same time, other NGA analysts studying 

images in the area of Darfur began noticing changes 

in population distribution. By April and May 2004, 

they all began to see evidence of several hundred 

villages completely destroyed by fire.

The application of geospatial intelligence 

(GEOINT) tradecraft and effective interagency collaboration revealed a humanitarian crisis to that point hidden from the 

outside world. An exhibit at the NGA 

Museum in St. Louis, Mo., opened in 

September, examining the ways analysts 

used available technologies to create 

the GEOINT products that played a role in 

bringing the conditions in Darfur to the attention of the world.

In April 2004, the State Department 

Humanitarian Information Unit formally 

tasked NGA to look for relevant imagery. The requirement was to combine 

data about damaged and destroyed 

villages with commercial imagery and 

displaced population information to create a series of maps and graphics titled 

“Sudan (Darfur) – Chad Border Region: Confirmed Damaged and Destroyed Villages.”

In addition to refugee camps and demolished villages, 

the maps also indicated the spatial relationship of 

internally displaced persons camps, United Nations High 

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps, groundwater, roads, airfields and healthy vegetation, as well as 

general accessibility during the rainy season. Camp locations were provided by UNHCR, baseline data came from 

NGA and the Army Corps of Engineers contributed hydrologic data. Additional data sources included the UN 

World Food Program and NASA. NGA used many imagery 

and cartographic resources to provide information to national and international leaders. Some of those sources 

included panchromatic and multispectral images. 

As the crisis in Darfur escalated, Sen. John McCain 

received a briefing from NGA analysts. In June 2004, he 

took that knowledge, along 

with unclassified NGA 

briefing boards, to 

the Senate floor 

where, with 

14Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
Internally displaced persons in Darfur, Sudan.

USAID photo

the help of GEOINT, he was able to bring global attention 

to the crisis. What began as an effort to contact fellow 

professionals ended by illuminating a humanitarian 

tragedy that needed international attention.

The recent history of Sudan’s Darfur region demonstrates the importance of collaboration across the 

Intelligence Community, the power of geospatial tradecrafts to derive essential knowledge and 

the unique contribution GEOINT can 

make to international security and 

world peace. Although GEOINT 

cannot provide tangible relief 

to displaced Darfuris, it has 

educated decision makers and 

reminded governments that 

the world is watching their 

actions. It has also enabled 

aid workers to locate existing 

refugee camps, select sites for 

new camps, facilitate food distribution and quantify the 

effects on the population of the Darfur region of a crisis 

almost too great to comprehend. 

Dr. Gary E. Weir is the NGA Historian. 

15Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
16Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

NGA Teams Key to Post-Hurricane Recovery Efforts

By Richard A.

Since Hurricane Andrew devastated parts of South

Florida in 1992, geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) has 

been considered vital to the nation’s disaster response 

and recovery efforts. NGA closely monitors all hurricanes to be ready to offer assistance when requested by 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If 

a hurricane is expected to affect the United States, NGA 

can be on site at a moment’s notice.

The agency’s response teams draw from the broader 

NGA Domestic Deployer Team, which includes highly 

skilled volunteer analysts and staff officers from across 

the agency. The volunteers receive specialized training 

to become part of these crucial analytical teams that 

have proven to be key players in disaster relief, as 

demonstrated by the response to Hurricane Ike, the 

third-most destructive hurricane ever to make landfall in 

the United States.

When Hurricane Ike struck Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 

13, 2008, at FEMA’s request an NGA team had already 

deployed to Houston with the agency’s Domestic Mobile 

Integrated Geospatial-Intelligence System, a self-contained command vehicle that provides analysts with 

the ability to produce geospatial products at the scene 

of a disaster or other special security event, such as a 

presidential inauguration. The analysts had been tracking the 2008 storm season and had already spent time 

in Atlanta, Ga., tracking Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna 

before heading to Texas. Upon arriving in Houston, the 

team quickly began to disseminate GEOINT products 

from their mobile operations center.

The NGA team provided assistance to the FEMA’s 

Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) operations, which 

encompass federalized firefighters and relief workers 

from across the United States who specialize in search 

and rescue, disaster response, and emergency triage 

and medicine. Before search teams had even put boots 

on the ground, the deployed analysts had supplied overviews of damaged areas to identify ingress and egress 

routes and assess the size and scope of the search 

needed to complete the mission.

The NGA deployers created products using high-resolution commercial imagery from GeoEye or DigitalGlobe 

and graphical data overlays to convey different aspects 

of the hurricane damage. The analysts performed damage assessments that identified critical infrastructure 

and measured flooded areas. They determined population density by integrating LandScanTM data, used for 

estimating populations, into their analysis. US&R task 

forces received search maps that included all this information and referenced the U.S. National Grid (USNG), a 

simplified X, Y coordinate system for finding domestic 

locations. The NGA search maps enabled the task forces 

to more accurately locate civilians affected by the hurricane and more efficiently manage recovery resources.

The deployed team also incorporated additional data 

contributed by NGA reachback cells to supply daily 

updates to damage and flooding assessments and 

evaluations of ongoing relief efforts. NGA operated 24/7, 

with the deployed analysts working in excess of 16 hours 

a day to support the FEMA US&R operations as a critical 

mission partner. Furthermore, the deployers directly 

accompanied the US&R teams into damaged areas of 

Galveston to deliver onsite guidance and near-real-time 

situational awareness.

The quality of support to FEMA attests to the hard work 

of NGA’s GEOINT analysts. One product, which identified 

the level of damage in parts of Galveston by comparing 

the damage before and after the storms, was shown to 

former President Bush to help illustrate the extent of the 

damage and the impact of the hurricane as he toured the 

devastated areas.

NGA’s preparation for and response to Hurricane Ike 

prevented greater disaster and exemplified the value contributed to domestic partners by the agency’s deployed 

teams. Through the FEMA–NGA partnership, future crises 

will be met with equal dedication and readiness. 

Richard A. is a geospatial intelligence analyst in the 

Office of the Americas.
17Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

DOD Photos

Photo Illustration by Anika McMillon
18Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Deforestation Analysis Complements Cambodia 

Conflict Assessment

By Chris L.

In May 2009, NGA had the opportunity to study

land cover change in collaboration with an Interagency 

Conflict Assessment of Cambodia. The assessment 

helped develop a holistic interagency understanding of 

the current dynamics in Cambodia that may lead to conflict and also serves as a foundation for more effective 

U.S. engagement with Cambodia.

Land cover science describes the overall human modification of the Earth’s land surface. Observable land 

cover changes occur every day—whether as construction 

of a new housing subdivision or someone installing 

a backyard swimming pool. Scientists and members 

of the Intelligence Community study changes in land 

cover across the globe, such as conversion of forests to 

agricultural land, because the effects can drive instability in ecosystems, populations and governments. Additionally, human-driven changes in land cover have had 

a direct effect on global climate change. For example, 

since 1850, approximately 35 percent of carbon dioxide 

emissions resulting from human activity have come from 

land use.

In 1998, Cambodia emerged from more than 30 years 

of civil war, foreign occupation and genocide. This 

instability brought massive exploitation of the country’s 

natural resources—especially its forests—giving Cambodia the third-highest rate of deforestation in the world, 

according to the United Nations Foreign Agriculture 

Organization. The continued high rate of deforestation 

in Cambodia could undermine the stability of this important ecosystem that the country’s largely rural population relies on, leading in turn to population migrations 

and grievances that could strain the country’s relatively 

fragile democratic system.

To contribute to the Interagency Conflict Assessment, 

NGA sought to identify the amount of deforestation 

in a large section of western and central Cambodia 

between 2005 and 2008. Previously existing land cover 

types were identified using a one-kilometer resolution 

land cover classification produced by the Global Land 

Cover Facility, a center sponsored by the University of 

Maryland and NASA that uses satellite data for land 

cover research. The center’s work ensured that analysts 

focused only on land cover types classified as forests 

and woodlands. Analysts calculated the difference in 

intensity of identified forest vegetation between 2005 

and 2008 using normalized difference vegetation index 

(NDVI) measurements derived from low-resolution, composite images. Vegetation indices, including NDVI, are 

helpful for monitoring the health and vigor of vegetation 

and are used in products displaying land cover and land 

cover changes.

The NGA study revealed areas where there had been 

both increases and decreases in forest cover intensity. 

The changes in intensity were determined to indicate 

changes in land cover, including changes resulting from 

deforestation and reforestation. An area of 1,812 square 

kilometers showed decreases in forest cover, while 

1,268 square kilometers showed increases. A surprising 

feature of the changes in Cambodia’s forest cover was 

that 45 percent of the decreases had occurred within 

areas identified as protected by the United Nations Environment Programme. This corroborated evidence that 

Cambodia’s government was having difficulty enforcing 

regulations meant to reduce the rate of deforestation.

In its study of forest cover changes in Cambodia, NGA 

took advantage of the free-of-charge, easily downloadable and scientifically sound datasets that government 

agencies and academia make readily available. This 

resulted in a relatively simple, quickly constructed 

product that provided situational awareness and context 

for the Interagency Conflict Assessment. The alternative, 

involving a potentially several-months-long process, 

might have rendered an answer too late to be relevant.

NGA’s contribution to the Cambodia report marks the 

first time the Intelligence Community has been solicited 

to provide input to such an assessment of potential 

conflict. By filling the data gap, NGA’s analysis provided 

the foundation for more informed, effective and holistic 

U.S. relations with Cambodia. The agency will continue 

to work with other agencies that monitor environmental 

processes and will take advantage of their expertise and 

data in the agency’s analysis.

18Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Chris L. is a geospatial intelligence analyst in the 

Office of Targeting and Transnational Issues. 
Photo by Getty Images

19Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
20Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Agency Aids Humanitarian Mission to Georgia

By Jim R.

On Aug. 7, 2008, fighting broke out between Russian

and Georgian forces over the separatist region of South 

Ossetia. Several days of fighting created a humanitarian 

crisis that NGA helped alleviate.

Early in the crisis, the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) asked NGA to assess the command’s current maritime data holdings for the region. After a careful review, 

maritime analysts found that many products were out of 

date, but that newer sources of information were available to help provide a current maritime operating picture.

The agency’s Maritime Crisis Team, supported by 

multiple maritime analysts, responded to numerous 

requests for products, information and tasks from the 

NGA Support Team at EUCOM, U.S. Naval Forces Europe 

(NAVEUR) and the NGA Georgia Crisis Action Team. NGA 

quickly provided Image Charts, Standard Nautical Charts 

and specialized graphics showing U.S. ship traffic in the 

Black Sea.

NGA’s Maritime Services determined that current chart 

coverage was inadequate to support safe navigation in 

and out of several Georgian ports. Maritime’s advanced 

geospatial intelligence unit quickly produced two Image 

Charts suitable for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard 

to use for mission planning until the new Standard Nautical Charts could be produced. 

Mariners could download and print 

these Image Charts in theater 

from NGA’s Maritime 

Crisis intranet page.

Within the few 

years prior to the 

crisis, the Naval 

Oceanographic Office 

(NAVO) had completed several surveys in the area of 

Georgia and the Black Sea area. NGA quickly incorporated these surveys into its new products. Compiling 

hydrographic surveys can be very complicated and timeconsuming. However, NGA applied the NAVO surveys 

to the charts with unprecedented speed to provide U.S. 

vessels delivering assistance with products safe for 

navigation. Analysts applied the compilation updates 

and created new editions of the charts via the agency’s 

Enterprise Product on Demand Service (EPODS), which 

produces layered Portable Document Format (PDF) files 

that can be printed directly on a printing press or a largeformat plotter. These PDF files are small enough to be 

easily transferred electronically. Most can be e-mailed 

directly to the agency’s NAVEUR partners, who can print 

the files in theater for use by the Navy and Coast Guard.

Maritime Services also provided support by analyzing 

the ship routes to the Black Sea using a relatively new 

method of analysis wherein marine analysts compare the 

Digital Nautical Chart (DNC®) data to hardcopy charts 

from a mariner’s perspective, looking for problems that 

Navy ships may encounter en route to their destination. 

This quality assurance step ensures that the DNC® is 

usable by mariners by validating how well the Navy’s 

digital chart system displays the DNC® data.

NGA’s Maritime Services worked days, evenings and 

weekends to support the effort, producing five new or 

updated hydrographic products to serve the humanitarian mission in Georgia. Cmdr. Robert W. Witzleb, 

NAVEUR’s staff oceanographer, said, “The NGA rapid 

turnaround of charting was very much appreciated and 

helpful ... Your team quickly answered the call.” This 

rapid turnaround of products was possible only through 

the development of new cartographic technology such 

as EPODS and the steadfast dedication of NGA’s nautical 

cartographers and marine analysts. 

20Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John Miller hands out 

candy at an internally displaced persons 

facility in Tbilisi, Georgia.

DOD photo

Jim R. is a branch chief within Maritime Services.
21Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Photo by Getty Images

Our Heritage

Lunar Cartography Informed Early Space Program 

By Dr. Gary E. Weir

Before anyone can show the way, he or she must

know the road ahead. During the Renaissance and the 

Age of Exploration in the 14th and 15th centuries, only 

cartographers and the navigators they supported dared 

venture beyond the horizon. They had knowledge available to only the fortunate few. This knowledge, rendered 

in maps, enabled discovery and communicated in a useful and often beautiful way the secrets of a mysterious 

and unknown world. While we often find photographic 

images more arresting, maps possess symmetry, beauty, 

familiarity, and great practical utility. These qualities 

have served humankind 

for millennia. 

With cartographers and their tools, the world seems 

manageable, discovery and safe return seem possible. 

Indeed each journey of discovery usually had the 

making of maps as part of its purpose: discovering 

landmarks, locating great natural phenomena, measuring distance and relating everything observed one to the 

other. Maps impose a necessary and comforting order on 

the unknown.

The cartographer Martin Waldseemuller named 

North and South America for a fellow cartographer and 

explorer, Amerigo Vespucci. Prince Henry the Navigator, 

Vasco DaGama, Christopher Columbus and John Cabot 

depended upon maps and charts for sailing the Atlantic 

Ocean or navigating the length of Africa’s coastline. Sir 

Francis Drake depended upon maps to accomplish his 

raids on the Spanish Empire in the new world as well as 

his circumnavigation of the globe in 1580. They never 

ventured forth without the best maps and charts drawn 

by the best cartographers. Explorers with their eyes on 

a journey to the moon proved no different.

Even before Alan Shepard became the first of 

the Mercury Seven astronauts in space during 

his 1961 suborbital flight, both the U.S. Air 

Force and the U.S. Army concluded that 

national discussions about space and 

exploration required venturing well beyond 

the still barely defined goals set for the 

Mercury Program. Beginning in 1957 and 

1958, respectively, the Air Force Aeronautical Chart and Information Center 

(ACIC) and the Army Map Service (AMS) 

initiated efforts to collect telescope 

observations and photographic data 

with an eye toward composing maps 

of the moon. With this step, the cause 

of lunar mapping enlisted for the first 

time the services of professional cartographers experienced in the production of 

terrestrial maps of the highest quality. The 

outcome of their effort quickly surpassed all 

extant lunar cartography.

21Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
22Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

ACIC and AMS, absorbed in July 1972 by the Defense 

Mapping Agency, an NGA predecessor, provided the 

agency with deep roots in discovery and the manned 

space program. Without ACIC, AMS, DMA, and NGA, 

NASA would not have at hand and portable the particular 

knowledge of the moon so necessary to the American 

manned space missions.

In 1957, the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory 

worked under contract with the University of Chicago’s 

Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin to collect the best 

available photographs of the moon. The planned publication of these images would offer a baseline of the 

best 281 lunar photos from over 1,200 prints collected. 

Many sources contributed images to the effort including 

Yerkes: the observatory at Mt. Wilson in Pasadena, Calif.; 

the Lick (San Jose, Calif.) and McDonald (Fort Davis, 

Texas) observatories; and France’s Pic du Midi Observatory. The resulting Air Force Lunar Reference Mosaic 

appeared in 1960 under the aegis of the University of 

Chicago Press. ACIC assembled the final draft and took 

charge of government distribution.

As frequently as we rely on images of the moon from 

television and in the glossy press, sometimes we forget 

how early ACIC published the final version of the Lunar 

Reference Mosaic, or LEM-1 (Lunar Earthside Mosaic). It 

had a diameter of 27 inches at both 1:500,000 scale and 

1:10,000,000 (LEM 1-A). The ACIC, led by cartographer 

Howard Holmes, produced the LEM and worked to update the product in three different scales in 1962 when 

more precise imagery became available. As a direct 

result of the LEM effort, ACIC became involved 

with NASA in the autumn of 1959, a full decade before 

the moon landing of Apollo 11, to support both the 

planned Mercury Program and more ambitious lunar 

mapping requirements.

As the ACIC developed the LEM, it worked simultaneously on the Lunar Astronautical Chart (LAC) in an effort 

to combine all of the imagery and data available into the 

best possible guide to the moon’s surface. ACIC adopted 

a 1:1,000,000 scale, or 16 miles to the inch, because this 

method conformed to both the best image resolution 

available from then-current cameras and a particular set 

of Air Force charts published under the series title, World 

Aeronautical Chart.

Howard Holmes, Jerry Higgins and Charles Moore 

began work on the project in October 1959, dividing the 

moon into 144 areas of 22-by-29 inches each. Many of 

the shapes and dimensions attributed to lunar surface 

features relied heavily on shadow measurements and 

data taken at the time of image exposure. The actual 

charts appeared in two projections, Mercator and 

Lambert Conformal Conic, with the planned third, 

a polar stereoscopic, never actually going to 

press. Each chart carried the name of the most 

The array of photographs offered here portray the entire 

spectrum of the lunar mapping experience from assembling 

spacecraft imagery photo mosaics, to data collection and 

confirmation via telescope, to collaborative efforts with 

observatories like Pic du Midi in France.

NGA Historical Research Center
23Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Dr. Gary E. Weir is the NGA Historian. 

prominent feature available or that of a pioneer in space 

science. Thus, names such as Kepler (LAC-57), Copernicus (LAC-58) and Mare Vaporum (LAC-59) appeared in 

the series.

The first of these charts to emerge from the press, LAC58, appeared in February 1960 with the cardinal directions set according to standard terrestrial cartographic 

norms. This flew in the face of the 18th and 19th century 

practice that placed south at the top of the compass 

rose reflecting the inverted image of the moon provided 

by optical sets of that era used in northern hemisphere 

telescopes. ACIC also established an official Air Force 

Observation Unit at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, 

Ariz., to keep pace with the best and highest-resolution 

telescopic imagery available. At one point in the mid1960s, ACIC also entered into a relationship with the 

University of Manchester in the United Kingdom to establish a lunar photographic program at the Pic du Midi 

Observatory. ACIC supplied an Air Force K-22 camera 

suitable for work with the French observatory’s 24-inch 

refractor. This provided approximately 60,000 time-lapse 

photos from 1961 through 1966. Every 9-inch roll of film 

was returned to ACIC in St. Louis, Mo., for processing. In 

June 1961, ACIC published with the University of Chicago 

Press a lunar atlas, now in NGA’s historical collection, 

based upon the 144 charts of 

the LAC.

In a more ambitious effort, ACIC produced the first 

16-inch NASA Lunar Globe, also part of NGA’s collection. 

Howard Holmes designed the globe at 1:8,533,150 scale. 

The 30-degree section drawings for the globe came 

from the pen of scientific illustrator Jay Inge working at 

the ACIC office at the Lowell Observatory. Inge rendered 

the far side of the moon by using photographs from the 

Lunar Orbiter satellite program that began in 1966. Earthside particulars came from LAC renderings and telescope 

photographs. All features appeared on the globe as if 

captured from a spacecraft approaching the moon in a 

morning descent.

Like the work of Amerigo Vespucci, these maps made 

the next step possible, and all of this lunar mapping 

work supported the planned Apollo program journeys 

to the moon. As with our first maps of the new world in 

the 15th century or the first detailed map of the ocean 

bottom by Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp in 1977, we 

always remember the first time a cartographer reveals 

the unseen, makes it understandable and permits all of 

us with a sense of adventure to take the next step. ACIC, 

one of NGA’s predecessor agencies, gave us the moon 

and showed us the way. 

23Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 
24Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

New Campus East

Future Home of GEOINT Incorporates Green Technology

By Lou Brune

The design and ongoing construction of NGA’s New

Campus East (NCE) near Springfield, Va., is transforming how geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) will inform 

the nation’s leaders and warfighters. Once completed, 

GEOINT’s new state-of-the-art home will provide critical 

operational support and foster collaboration among NGA 

employees and other Intelligence Community components. The campus design features emerging technologies to ensure that NGA contributes the best GEOINT 

possible in a green, environmentally friendly facility. 

 “The design and construction of the New Campus East 

project incorporates energy-efficient and environmentally responsible initiatives in each of the buildings and site 

infrastructure,” states the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

resident engineer for NCE. Most of the strategies being 

incorporated are well-known, such as a green roof and 

the use of sustainable materials. However, the project 

also includes technologies that have only recently begun 

to be incorporated into projects in the United States.

The agency plans to submit the NCE design to the 

nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council and anticipates 

achieving the council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. Certification 

recognizes construction that takes advantage of innovative technologies. The LEED for New Construction rating 

system guides and distinguishes high-performance 

buildings that have less of an impact on the environment 

and are healthier for those who work or live in them 

than conventional buildings. Projects earn points for 

addressing specific environmental impacts inherent in 

the design, construction, operations and management of 

a building.

NCE’s chief electrical engineer notes, “NGA is on the 

forefront with its green building initiatives, incorporating 

innovative technologies, such as chilled beam construction and an ETFE [ethylene tetrafluoroethylene] transparent roofing system. In addition to creating a much more 

comfortable work environment for the employees, these 

technologies conserve energy usage in a much more 

efficient way.”

One strategy benefiting the budget and the environment is the ETFE roof, the same technology used on 

the Water Cube designed for the 2008 Summer 

Olympics. NCE’s main eight-story office building will 

include a 50,000-square-foot central atrium covered by 

an ETFE skylight.

Compared to glass, ETFE plastic weighs 99 percent 

less, transmits more light, and can cost up to 70 percent 

less to install. It is also more resilient, able to bear 400 

times its weight, self-cleaning (due to its nonstick surface) and recyclable. Significantly less structural material 

is needed to support it because of the lighter weight. 

Moreover, solar shading can be adjusted by varying the 

air pressure between its layers.

Another key technology, chilled beams, is being 

installed in the main office building. These overhead 

panels efficiently adjust air temperature using chilled 

water to absorb heat rapidly. The system also induces 

fresh air into the building, but only what is required for 

ventilation, reducing the need for air conditioning and 

consequently the overall energy use. Other NCE buildings will use different green strategies for cooling. For 

example, lower-temperature chilled water will efficiently 

cool the Technology Center.

Additional ways that NCE is going green include:

» Reusing rainwater for irrigation

» Designing water-efficient landscaping

» Recycling construction debris

» Using low-emitting paints, coatings and carpets to 

improve indoor air quality

» Installing high-efficiency mechanical and

 electrical components

NCE’s environmentally friendly design stresses what 

NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert B. Murrett likes to call the 

“human element” of technology—focused on providing 

an environment and tools that make the analysts’ jobs 

easier. NGA is doing just that by constructing a unified 

campus of environmental and analytical excellence. 

24Pathfinder ›› November/December 2009 

Lou Brune is a public affairs officer assigned to the 

New Campus East Program Management Office.
The November 2009 issue of the 

Washingtonian magazine, which 

focused on “Great Places to 

Work,” highlighted NGA as one of five 

featured government agencies. NGA 

was identified by employees as a place 

where the “pay, mission, culture, 

flexibility, and benefits were the best 

parts of working at their agency.” The 

magazine touts NGA as a good choice 

for government employment.

Congratulations to NGA employees for 

making this such a great place to work!
www.nga.mil