PGC News & Announcements (September 1, 2021)

PGC News and Announcements

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PGC EarthDEM Release COMING SOON!

PGC User Survey Results + Action Items

Thank you to everyone that participated in our 4th annual user survey earlier this year. Like always, your feedback contributes to the decisions and priorities at PGC. However, this year we’ve taken a new approach! We are implementing your feedback into a prioritization model known as the Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF). As a team effort, we applied WSJF to all feasible feedback from this year’s survey, as well as the previous 2 years, and the following are the top 3 priorities calculated to produce the maximum benefit (to Users & PGC). We are currently working on these (and other priorities identified) in order to complete by next year’s survey.
1. More frequent updates to PGC web services (Imagery Viewers)
2. Simplified instructions + explanations to PGC products and services
3. Increase User communications – specifically outlining licensing updates and what PGC products/services are available to which level* of User (*depends on funding source)

Planet Data Available to All US Federal Civilian Agencies

Thanks to NASA and Planet, roughly 280,000 eligible users from US Federal Civilian Agencies, including the National Science Foundation, will now be able to access PlanetScope imagery for scientific purposes. The expansion to their existing contract, that initially only supported NASA and NASA researchers through the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program, was announced last month.

G-EGD Restoration Notification

The NGA G-EGD Team recently announced their full restoration of G-EGD capability. All portals, system tools and utilities, and all individual accounts pre-March have now been restored. We appreciate PGC Users, partners, and the polar science community for relaying the dramatic impacts the loss of G-EGD had on your work. Any questions can be directed to NGAEGD1501Outreach@nga.mil.

2021 Antarctic Cable Workshop Wrap-Up

Thank you to everyone that participated and tuned in to the NSF Antarctic Cable Workshop earlier this summer. The organizing committee received a lot of positive feedback and gained important insights outlining potential scientific advancements and other impacts from a subsea cable installation. In case you missed the workshop, check out the recordings and executive summary at the links below.
LIVE STREAM RECORDINGS AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE – DAY 1 & DAY 3
WORKSHOP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Visit the workshop website for more information.

SPOT Imagery Archive Release

Earlier this year, the French space agency, CNES, released its entire SPOT archive up to 2015 for free to the public. The archive includes a series of 5 satellites from 1986 to 2015, showcasing Earth observations in increasing detail (from 20 m to 2.5 m resolution). Images are 60x60km and available in L1A level (radiometric equalization, no geometric correction). Data downloads are widely available including the SPOT World Heritage Data Search and from the European Space Agency data portal.

SPOT 1 image of Helheim Glacier, 1988 June 28. Acquired by CNES’s Spot World Heritage Programme

 

PGC is Hiring!
We are seeking an innovative geospatial professional to join the User Services team. The person in this position will be responsible for managing science project support, coordinating data requests, and providing geospatial expertise for PGC core users. In addition to supervising undergraduate or graduate research assistants, the successful applicant will perform GIS and Remote Sensing analysis per project requests. This position will also play an active role in community outreach, data/software training workshops, and conference exhibitions/presentations.
Learn more about the position, salary, benefits, etc. and how to apply here:

Check out the original PGC Newsletter post here.

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