This will no doubt grow as the rapidly expanding world of remote sensing technology creates unprecedented volumes of overhead imagery from a variety of sensors and platforms. Increases in spatial and spectral resolution will spawn many new and unforeseen uses of imagery. Creating permanent, digital archives of existing historical imagery collections should be a high priority for the remote sensing and scientific communities. In concert with the acquisition of imagery, comprehensive and searchable metadata files must be generated and maintained. Further, great care should be taken to preserve this capability by creating reliable physical storage systems to ensure efficient access to these new imagery resources.
Historical imagery is a unique and irreplaceable resource.
We should always keep in mind that imaging scientists have a unique capability to view the past and we, as a community, should take great care to preserve this resource for future generations. It has been subjected to the Agency's peer review and approved by EPA for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. Terrence Slonecker, Mary J. Lacerte, and Donald Garofalo work at the US Environmental Protection Agency.