OSM Submissions

Time-series remote sensing with high-resolution imagery has allowed many industries and users the ability to detect changes in land use and land cover over time. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has contracted with Planet Labs for access to their catalog of PlanetScope SuperDove cubesat imagery.  Cubesats, which are small, inexpensive imaging satellites about the size of a shoebox, are launched on a regular basis.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) monitors two mine sites in the State of Washington where it is difficult to obtain cloud-free multispectral imagery. OSMRE worked with the Civil Applications Committee to evaluate solutions for overcoming this limitation through high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR). SAR is an active remote sensing system in which the sensor emits a radio wave and then measures the reflected return; it is not hampered by cloud cover.

Commercial high-resolution multispectral imagery is available in resolutions down to 25 centimeters but can be obscured by clouds. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) observes two mine sites in the State of Washington where it is difficult to obtain cloud-free imagery.