Topic ID #13971 - posted 9/22/2011 4:33 AM
Jennifer Palmer
Webmaster
Military surveillance data: Shared intelligence
Jennifer Palmer
Webmaster
Published online 21 September 2011 | Nature 477, 388-389 (2011)
Military surveillance data: Shared intelligence
The military has a vast array of scientifically valuable data — some more accessible than you think.
Geoff Brumfiel
No one monitors our planet more closely than the military. Thirty-six thousand kilometres above Earth, US Air Force satellites watch for the heat plume of a ballistic missile. An array of other surveillance satellites patrol lower altitudes. Some can see a rifle from space; others penetrate cloud cover with radar, seeking military hardware or installations. Still closer in, aircraft and drones fly over conflict zones collecting intelligence, and seismometers listen for shudders from an underground nuclear test. Even the deepest oceans are prowled by military submarines, watching their foreign adversaries.
Through most of their history, the data collected by this vast blanket of military sensors have been highly classified. But on occasions when scientists are lucky enough to see the data, their view is considerably different from that of the generals. Satellites designed to track missiles can also spot the flaming trails of meteors; aerial photographs of Iraq have allowed archaeologists to trace ancient canals. Even the military's most banal weather satellites collect data on ocean precipitation that are valuable for understanding Earth's energy cycles.
After the cold war, some of these data did start trickling out to scientists, mainly in the United States, which has vast military resources and a vibrant scientific community. The flow ebbed after 2000 — but there are hints that it is resuming, and that more fruitful data collaborations are to come. A group of security-cleared scientists called MEDEA has recently rekindled ties with the US intelligence community to discuss the use of military environmental data for the study of climate change. And an agreement set to be finalized in October between NASA and the US Air Force will give astronomers unprecedented access to data on meteors entering the atmosphere. Some details of those data must be obfuscated to preserve state secrets, but researchers say that the trove nonetheless has enormous scientific potential. "I think it's become more useful now than it ever has been before," says John Orcutt, an oceanographer at the University of California, San Diego, and a member of MEDEA.
Read more here.
Military surveillance data: Shared intelligence
The military has a vast array of scientifically valuable data — some more accessible than you think.
Geoff Brumfiel
No one monitors our planet more closely than the military. Thirty-six thousand kilometres above Earth, US Air Force satellites watch for the heat plume of a ballistic missile. An array of other surveillance satellites patrol lower altitudes. Some can see a rifle from space; others penetrate cloud cover with radar, seeking military hardware or installations. Still closer in, aircraft and drones fly over conflict zones collecting intelligence, and seismometers listen for shudders from an underground nuclear test. Even the deepest oceans are prowled by military submarines, watching their foreign adversaries.
Through most of their history, the data collected by this vast blanket of military sensors have been highly classified. But on occasions when scientists are lucky enough to see the data, their view is considerably different from that of the generals. Satellites designed to track missiles can also spot the flaming trails of meteors; aerial photographs of Iraq have allowed archaeologists to trace ancient canals. Even the military's most banal weather satellites collect data on ocean precipitation that are valuable for understanding Earth's energy cycles.
After the cold war, some of these data did start trickling out to scientists, mainly in the United States, which has vast military resources and a vibrant scientific community. The flow ebbed after 2000 — but there are hints that it is resuming, and that more fruitful data collaborations are to come. A group of security-cleared scientists called MEDEA has recently rekindled ties with the US intelligence community to discuss the use of military environmental data for the study of climate change. And an agreement set to be finalized in October between NASA and the US Air Force will give astronomers unprecedented access to data on meteors entering the atmosphere. Some details of those data must be obfuscated to preserve state secrets, but researchers say that the trove nonetheless has enormous scientific potential. "I think it's become more useful now than it ever has been before," says John Orcutt, an oceanographer at the University of California, San Diego, and a member of MEDEA.
Read more here.
Post ID#19037 - replied 9/22/2011 10:41 PM
prisoner
This reminded me of a recent article about a satellite orbiting the moon that just snapped some photos of the footprint pathways and lunar rover tracks from the missions to the moon. It seems like that is the first ever extra terrestrial archaeology to be conducted, albeit remote sensing. I've been having a hard time finding a copy of the article though, but it did go out over the AP.
Post ID#19038 - replied 9/22/2011 11:47 PM
Jennifer Palmer
Webmaster
I recently listened to an NPR or PRI podcast that discussed the Google Lunar X-Prize competition (an award of $30 million for the first private company to land on the moon and meet certain criteria). They are apparently awarding a bonus prize payout to the first team able to document (through video and photo) evidence of man being on the moon. The Wikipedia article on the Lunar X-Prize does mention the objection that some archaeologists have publicly made, since it's possible that previous lunar landing sites could be damaged in the process.
|
Next topic: "8th Annual Center for Experimental Archaeology Knap-In and Primitive Skills Gathering" |
|
Previous topic: "AMS of bone" |
|
Looking for something else? Show recent posts in Discussion |
