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product derived from national security systems data was of utmost importance to performing the tasks of this and future research. An example of the additional detail obtained from unclassified information obtained from national security systems is shown in Figure 24. The oil structures,
waste dumps, specific vegetation type, and pipeline location were all unobtainable from interpretation of civilian satellite images such as SPOT (see bottom of the Figure 24).
With this improved information, the risks of the production pads are better described from both the stressor
(waste areas defined) and receptor (vegetation types delineated).
Also, the time series derived from information obtained from space-based images for various time periods provide an opportunity to study dynamics of many processes; for example,
we can monitor the development of such processes as spring flooding and changes in landscape features and assess the impact provided by infrastructure development. Figure 4 which showed the change in a production area lake is an example of such monitoring. Such information is of great importance for recommendations designed to assist in planning future economic development in the research area and adopting ecologically and economically “correct”
management decisions.
