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USACE Engineer R D Center Topographic Engineering Center Operations Division Overview Briefer: Paul Harwig

Click here if Bob Burkhardt went over alloted time. . Division Organization. HQ. ASBAnalytical Services. ISBInformation Svc. TABTerrain Analysis. HEABHydro/Env Analysis. SINTSystems. Techniques. WITWeb. GILLibrary. TIOImagery Ofc. HATHydrologic An.. SATSource Acq. Current Ops. MCMMobility/CM.

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USACE Engineer R D Center Topographic Engineering Center Operations Division Overview Briefer: Paul Harwig

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    3. Topographic Engineering Center Common Map Background (CMB)   Description and Background The Operations Division (OD) of the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), will assemble, host, maintain, and disseminate a common geospatial raster map database. The database will include the latest and best available National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) data. This database and/or subsets thereof (regional), will be provided on a scheduled basis to fielded systems such as the Digital Topographic Support System (DTSS) and other Army systems. Key Capabilities CMB will dramatically eliminate the time and expense required for field users to acquire, manage and load/import CD-ROMs of geospatial data pertinent to their Area of Operations. It will also guarantee that all Army systems will be using a common picture of the battlefield. TEC will coordinate this effort with the Joint Community to ensure that the CMB is synchronized across the services. Dissemination will be by FireWire drive, DVD, CD-ROM, and network. Current Status  A database architecture and hardware and software requirements are being developed in OD to host the enormous amount of data that will be maintained. OD has begun coordination with NGA to receive updated data as quickly and efficiently as possible. A prototype system is being assembled in OD using a combination of available OD resources (hardware, software, personnel) and custom software. Initial operation scheduled to begin October 2004.   Point of Contact  Todd Blyler, tblyler@tec.army.mil, COMM: (703) 428-6962, DSN: 364-6962 Topographic Engineering Center Common Map Background (CMB)   Description and Background The Operations Division (OD) of the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC), Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), will assemble, host, maintain, and disseminate a common geospatial raster map database. The database will include the latest and best available National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) data. This database and/or subsets thereof (regional), will be provided on a scheduled basis to fielded systems such as the Digital Topographic Support System (DTSS) and other Army systems. Key Capabilities CMB will dramatically eliminate the time and expense required for field users to acquire, manage and load/import CD-ROMs of geospatial data pertinent to their Area of Operations. It will also guarantee that all Army systems will be using a common picture of the battlefield. TEC will coordinate this effort with the Joint Community to ensure that the CMB is synchronized across the services. Dissemination will be by FireWire drive, DVD, CD-ROM, and network. Current Status  A database architecture and hardware and software requirements are being developed in OD to host the enormous amount of data that will be maintained. OD has begun coordination with NGA to receive updated data as quickly and efficiently as possible. A prototype system is being assembled in OD using a combination of available OD resources (hardware, software, personnel) and custom software. Initial operation scheduled to begin October 2004.   Point of Contact  Todd Blyler, tblyler@tec.army.mil, COMM: (703) 428-6962, DSN: 364-6962

    4.   Topographic Engineering Center Web Information Team (WIT)  Description and Background The Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) Web Information Team provides worldwide, web-based dissemination of TEC’s map products, geospatial data, interactive fly throughs, reports and studies. Key Capabilities Providing a user-friendly, fully-indexed method to access TEC products on the following networks: Internet: www.tec.army.mil SIPRnet: www.tec.army.smil.mil JWICS: www.tec.ic.gov TEC has 12 web and database servers with more than a 40 terabytes of available storage space. This provides the capability to serve unrestricted content at the unclassified, secret and top secret levels as well as limited distribution data via the Internet with DoD Common Access Card (CAC) user authentication. ArcIMS mapservers, TerraGate flythrough servers, MS SQL database servers, content management servers and Unix and Windows webservers provide the hardware to disseminate the content. Browser-based web page authoring is available via the SIPRnet Content Management System (CMS). Benefits Over one million visitors accessed information at TEC web sites over the last year. These users range from Terrain Teams in-theater that need to rehearse deployments via fly throughs to civilian engineers that want to analyze bridges and other infrastructure. The datasets, route studies and other products have provided an essential contribution to worldwide Army and DoD training, operations and mission execution. Current Status Operational servers are up and running on the Internet, SIPRnet and JWICS (see URLs above). A CAC-enabled server operational for development purposes and will launch in the 3rd or 4th quarter of FY04. A new SIPRnet server with a content management system (see Figure 1) is operational and accessible from www.tec.army.smil.mil. Send feedback to the POC below. Point of Contact Stephen T. Benzek, Leader, Web Information Team, stephen.t.benzek@erdc.usace.army.mil or sbenzek@tec.army.smil.mil, (703) 428-6732, DSN: 364-6732.  New SIPRNET Web Site Features (u) 1.      Full text search of entire site including reports. 2.      Simple categories to navigate for more information. 3.      “What’s New” shows revised and new items posted in the last week. 4.      Clickable map to reach products by major world regions. 5.      “Hotspots” list of important countries of major current interest followed number of products for that country. 6.      One-click access to all the products for each country. 7.       One click access to products for each major world region with the number of products on-line for each region.   Topographic Engineering Center Geospatial Information Library (GIL)   Background Description and The US Army Engineer, Research and Development Center (ERDC), Topographic Engineering Center’s (TEC), Geospatial Information Library (GIL), is used by the professional staff at TEC and elsewhere within DoD, engaged in topographic and/or physical science research. The GIL reflects the mission of the TEC, which “is to provide the Warfighter with a superior knowledge of the battlefield, and support the Nation’s civil and environmental initiatives through research, development, and the application of expertise in the topographic and related sciences.” With this, the GIL focuses on providing imagery, maps, area studies, the physical sciences and geography of regions/countries, and various other geospatial data to support research endeavors. Key Capacities The collection is housed in a secure area within a secure building. This reflects the high proportion of classified and sensitive information in the GIL. The collection consists of printed books and reports, journal articles, maps, atlases, technical reports, organized but unpublished field data, as well as digital cartographic data on numerous media types. Our holdings consist of both unclassified and classified materials. We hold some proprietary material. A majority of the materials are in English, but some materials are other languages, to include Spanish, French, Russian, and others. The collection is organized primarily by country, and by continent or region, and by topic if the item does not have a geographic area focus. The collection is shelved or filed primarily by format even as the geographic scheme is followed within each format. There are separate filing sequences for books and reports, articles in vertical files, atlases, maps, journals, topical, digital, classified and unclassified. TEC’s Voyager online public access catalog (hereafter Voyager) is available on TEC’s intranet and a classified server. Voyager allows the user to conduct four types of searches: simple, advanced, country and geospatial. Benefits Visitors access the geospatial information within the GIL via Voyager. These users range from Terrain Teams in-theater that need terrain and/or water resources information over their area of responsibility to civilian engineers that need to analyze bridge or and other infrastructure information. Product Development Information Services Branch, Operations Division, Topographic Engineering Center, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers. Current Status Research support services are available to those components within the Army and DoD engaged in geospatial analysis Voyager can be accessed on TEC’s Intelink-S homepage (http://www.voyager.tec.army.smil.mil). Point of Contact Email address: Allan.S.Wiley@usace.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: awiley@tec.army.smil.mil   Topographic Engineering Center Source Acquisition Team Description and Background 2004 saw the addition of a new team within the Information Services Branch of the Operations Division. This new team is aptly named the Source Acquisition Team (SAT). The mission of the SAT is twofold. First, to produce base imagery, utilizing both commercial and NTM imagery, to support the requirements of the Urban Tactical Planner (UTP) program. The SAT’s second mission will be to maintain and disseminate Common Map Background (CMB) information to fielded U.S. Army Topographic Systems, the Marine Corps, and other customers, thereby providing a commonality of data between the services.  Key Capabilities The SAT has produced numerous image base products, filling a niche that was needed to support the warfighter and the Army. There are over 1400 cities on the 2004 Urban Tactical Planner requirements list. The goal is that all of these cities will have high-resolution image bases and elevation information, producing both an orthophoto product, and a TerraExplorer fly-through depicting the city boundary and outlying terrain. In addition, the top 100 cities on the UTP requirements list will use higher resolution imagery; NTM imagery that has been declassified to FOUO by using an Image Derived Product (IDP) process, or commercial imagery such as Quickbird or Ikonos. These image bases will be given to the UTP team to produce full or partial UTP’s . It was quickly determined that the higher resolution image bases that use NTM, Ikonos or Quickbird as their source take much longer to produce than products which are readily available from NGA. The users in the field need a product they can use now, in addition to the UTP high-resolution image bases. Responding to this need, the SAT has started at the top of the UTP priority list to download all corresponding NGA Controlled Image Base (CIB), Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED), and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM). Product Development Information Services Branch, Operations Division, Topographic Engineering Center, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers. Current Status SAT production has undergone various enhancements and is continuing to evolve. It was determined that the best way to showcase the numerous base images and elevation data, which have been downloaded, was to produce fly-throughs utilizing the CIB and elevation data. This decision became the “100 cities project”. Using Terra-explorer, analysts are adding new cities to the “world” view on a daily basis, as new image bases are produced. Users will be able to “fly” around the world, zooming in on areas with high-resolution data insets. The CIB insets will be replaced with the higher resolution UTP bases as they are produced, providing an even more refined and useable product. Following the development and implementation of the Common Map Background, the SAT will be responsible for the maintenance of the database, the dissemination of the data, as well as keeping abreast of new products to incorporate in the database. The envisioned database will include the best and latest NGA data. The SAT will provide data on a scheduled basis to army fielded systems, the joint services, and other requestors. Point of Contact Theresa Rasmussen COMM: (703) 428-7889, DSN: 364-7889, Internet e-mail address: Theresa.H.Rasmussen@usace.army.mil   Topographic Engineering CenterWeb Information Team (WIT)  Description and Background The Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) Web Information Team provides worldwide, web-based dissemination of TEC’s map products, geospatial data, interactive fly throughs, reports and studies. Key Capabilities Providing a user-friendly, fully-indexed method to access TEC products on the following networks: Internet: www.tec.army.mil SIPRnet: www.tec.army.smil.mil JWICS: www.tec.ic.gov TEC has 12 web and database servers with more than a 40 terabytes of available storage space. This provides the capability to serve unrestricted content at the unclassified, secret and top secret levels as well as limited distribution data via the Internet with DoD Common Access Card (CAC) user authentication. ArcIMS mapservers, TerraGate flythrough servers, MS SQL database servers, content management servers and Unix and Windows webservers provide the hardware to disseminate the content. Browser-based web page authoring is available via the SIPRnet Content Management System (CMS). Benefits Over one million visitors accessed information at TEC web sites over the last year. These users range from Terrain Teams in-theater that need to rehearse deployments via fly throughs to civilian engineers that want to analyze bridges and other infrastructure. The datasets, route studies and other products have provided an essential contribution to worldwide Army and DoD training, operations and mission execution. Current Status Operational servers are up and running on the Internet, SIPRnet and JWICS (see URLs above). A CAC-enabled server operational for development purposes and will launch in the 3rd or 4th quarter of FY04. A new SIPRnet server with a content management system (see Figure 1) is operational and accessible from www.tec.army.smil.mil. Send feedback to the POC below. Point of Contact Stephen T. Benzek, Leader, Web Information Team, stephen.t.benzek@erdc.usace.army.mil or sbenzek@tec.army.smil.mil, (703) 428-6732, DSN: 364-6732.  New SIPRNET Web Site Features (u) 1.      Full text search of entire site including reports. 2.      Simple categories to navigate for more information. 3.      “What’s New” shows revised and new items posted in the last week. 4.      Clickable map to reach products by major world regions. 5.      “Hotspots” list of important countries of major current interest followed number of products for that country. 6.      One-click access to all the products for each country. 7.       One click access to products for each major world region with the number of products on-line for each region.   Topographic Engineering Center Geospatial Information Library (GIL)   Background Description and The US Army Engineer, Research and Development Center (ERDC), Topographic Engineering Center’s (TEC), Geospatial Information Library (GIL), is used by the professional staff at TEC and elsewhere within DoD, engaged in topographic and/or physical science research. The GIL reflects the mission of the TEC, which “is to provide the Warfighter with a superior knowledge of the battlefield, and support the Nation’s civil and environmental initiatives through research, development, and the application of expertise in the topographic and related sciences.” With this, the GIL focuses on providing imagery, maps, area studies, the physical sciences and geography of regions/countries, and various other geospatial data to support research endeavors. Key Capacities The collection is housed in a secure area within a secure building. This reflects the high proportion of classified and sensitive information in the GIL. The collection consists of printed books and reports, journal articles, maps, atlases, technical reports, organized but unpublished field data, as well as digital cartographic data on numerous media types. Our holdings consist of both unclassified and classified materials. We hold some proprietary material. A majority of the materials are in English, but some materials are other languages, to include Spanish, French, Russian, and others. The collection is organized primarily by country, and by continent or region, and by topic if the item does not have a geographic area focus. The collection is shelved or filed primarily by format even as the geographic scheme is followed within each format. There are separate filing sequences for books and reports, articles in vertical files, atlases, maps, journals, topical, digital, classified and unclassified. TEC’s Voyager online public access catalog (hereafter Voyager) is available on TEC’s intranet and a classified server. Voyager allows the user to conduct four types of searches: simple, advanced, country and geospatial. Benefits Visitors access the geospatial information within the GIL via Voyager. These users range from Terrain Teams in-theater that need terrain and/or water resources information over their area of responsibility to civilian engineers that need to analyze bridge or and other infrastructure information. Product Development Information Services Branch, Operations Division, Topographic Engineering Center, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers. Current Status Research support services are available to those components within the Army and DoD engaged in geospatial analysis Voyager can be accessed on TEC’s Intelink-S homepage (http://www.voyager.tec.army.smil.mil). Point of Contact Email address: Allan.S.Wiley@usace.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: awiley@tec.army.smil.mil   Topographic Engineering Center Source Acquisition Team Description and Background 2004 saw the addition of a new team within the Information Services Branch of the Operations Division. This new team is aptly named the Source Acquisition Team (SAT). The mission of the SAT is twofold. First, to produce base imagery, utilizing both commercial and NTM imagery, to support the requirements of the Urban Tactical Planner (UTP) program. The SAT’s second mission will be to maintain and disseminate Common Map Background (CMB) information to fielded U.S. Army Topographic Systems, the Marine Corps, and other customers, thereby providing a commonality of data between the services.  Key Capabilities The SAT has produced numerous image base products, filling a niche that was needed to support the warfighter and the Army. There are over 1400 cities on the 2004 Urban Tactical Planner requirements list. The goal is that all of these cities will have high-resolution image bases and elevation information, producing both an orthophoto product, and a TerraExplorer fly-through depicting the city boundary and outlying terrain. In addition, the top 100 cities on the UTP requirements list will use higher resolution imagery; NTM imagery that has been declassified to FOUO by using an Image Derived Product (IDP) process, or commercial imagery such as Quickbird or Ikonos. These image bases will be given to the UTP team to produce full or partial UTP’s . It was quickly determined that the higher resolution image bases that use NTM, Ikonos or Quickbird as their source take much longer to produce than products which are readily available from NGA. The users in the field need a product they can use now, in addition to the UTP high-resolution image bases. Responding to this need, the SAT has started at the top of the UTP priority list to download all corresponding NGA Controlled Image Base (CIB), Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED), and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM). Product Development Information Services Branch, Operations Division, Topographic Engineering Center, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers. Current Status SAT production has undergone various enhancements and is continuing to evolve. It was determined that the best way to showcase the numerous base images and elevation data, which have been downloaded, was to produce fly-throughs utilizing the CIB and elevation data. This decision became the “100 cities project”. Using Terra-explorer, analysts are adding new cities to the “world” view on a daily basis, as new image bases are produced. Users will be able to “fly” around the world, zooming in on areas with high-resolution data insets. The CIB insets will be replaced with the higher resolution UTP bases as they are produced, providing an even more refined and useable product. Following the development and implementation of the Common Map Background, the SAT will be responsible for the maintenance of the database, the dissemination of the data, as well as keeping abreast of new products to incorporate in the database. The envisioned database will include the best and latest NGA data. The SAT will provide data on a scheduled basis to army fielded systems, the joint services, and other requestors. Point of Contact Theresa Rasmussen COMM: (703) 428-7889, DSN: 364-7889, Internet e-mail address: Theresa.H.Rasmussen@usace.army.mil

    5.   Topographic Engineering Center Water Resources Data Base (WRDB)   Description and Background:  The Water Resource Data Base (WRDB) is produced and maintained by TEC’s Operations Division. The WRDB provides information on quality, quantity, and availability of water resources in areas of the world of interest to the Department of Defense (DoD). The WRDB is produced under DoD Directive 4705.1, which specifies for “the development of an improved, expanded and automated water resource intelligence data base for the rapid retrieval of selected data.” TEC’s water resource overlays are the primary data set populating the WRDB Geographic Information System (GIS); these are keyed to 1:250,000-scale Joint Operations Graphics maps and depict the location, quantity, quality and accessibility of existing water facilities, surface water supplies, and ground water resources. Digital Hydrologic Analysis Data (DHAD): DHAD is a standard digital terrain analysis output of the WRDB. It is an online, interactive, digital representation of the water resource thematic overlays. DHAD feature and attribute data are encoded in the Feature Attribute Coding Catalog (FACC). WRDB Country Summaries: Water resource information is also provided at a country or regional scale as a Water Resources Areal Appraisal or Water Resources Assessment or as part of the Military Capabilities Study or Terrain Analysis Engineering Review. This format often is more suitable for non-arid areas and for strategic planning purposes than the level of detail provided in the standard WRDB/DHAD output. Most of these studies are available online. WRDB Information Requests: Surface water, ground water, and water facility information can be provided to users via a variety of methods (online, hardcopy, CD, etc.) to meet customer requirements. Special WRDB analyses, reports, and coverages can be provided or posted to the INTELINKS upon request. Key Capabilities: OD developed an improved, expanded and automated water resources intelligence database to assist commanders in making water support logistics decisions. The commercial-off-the-shelf GIS software used for the WRDB is ESRI’s ARCGIS. Current Status: More than 2,400 hardcopy water resource overlays (1:250,000 scale) have been completed; this coverage includes more than 80 percent of the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility (AOR) and partial coverage of the U.S. European Command AOR. To date, nearly half of the hardcopy overlays have been digitized into the WRDB GIS and are currently available online as DHAD. An additional 20% of the hardcopy overlays are available online as scanned images. Country or regional water studies are available online for nearly 40 countries. These are available on TEC's Intelink-S (http://www.tec.army.smil.mil) and Intelink-TS (http://www.tec.ic.gov) websites under "Products Available/Water Resources”. An FOUO subset of the WRDB is planned for the TEC NIPRNET with PKI security. Point of Contact: Laura C. Dwyer, Laura.C.Dwyer@erdc.usace.army.mil, (703) 428-6895, DSN: 364-6895     Topographic Engineering Center Water Detection Response Team (WDRT)   Description and Background: In January 1985, the Office of the Chief of Engineers established a multi-agency team to assist well-drilling detachments from all the military services in locating sources of ground water.  This action was made in response to a growing concern by many, and expressed best by a former director of Combat Developments, U.S. Army Engineer School: "The number one problem facing the Army well-drilling program remains our inability to detect subsurface water prior to drilling."  The team was designed around four components called elements: the database, remote sensing, supporting specialist and geophysical elements.  The team is staffed on an as-needed basis from a pool of civilian scientists and engineers representing various government agencies. Key Capabilities: The WDRT is the Department of Defense's (DOD) prime organization for assisting military well drillers, whether for military or humanitarian, or nation-building activities.  Its primary function is to assist and advise well-drilling teams on the location of the best well-drilling sites and depths, and to provide information on drilling conditions for logistical planners.  A staff of ground water experts is available on-call to provide information and assistance, and to produce studies for military well-drilling-related activities.  The team possesses an inventory of state-of-the-art remote sensing and geophysical equipment, and has numerous bibliographic sources readily available for most areas of the world. The WDRT also offers a “Hydrogeology for Military Well Drillers” short course upon request. Current Status: The WDRT has had a better than 95% success rate for wells drilled with WDRT support in the last ten years. Hundreds of well logs returned to TEC following the completion of military well drilling missions have become part of the DoD Water Resource Data Base and are available for future mission planning. Point of Contact: Laura C. Dwyer, Laura.C.Dwyer@erdc.usace.army.mil, (703) 428-6895, DSN: 364-6895.                             Topographic Engineering Center Water Resources Data Base (WRDB)   Description and Background:  The Water Resource Data Base (WRDB) is produced and maintained by TEC’s Operations Division. The WRDB provides information on quality, quantity, and availability of water resources in areas of the world of interest to the Department of Defense (DoD). The WRDB is produced under DoD Directive 4705.1, which specifies for “the development of an improved, expanded and automated water resource intelligence data base for the rapid retrieval of selected data.” TEC’s water resource overlays are the primary data set populating the WRDB Geographic Information System (GIS); these are keyed to 1:250,000-scale Joint Operations Graphics maps and depict the location, quantity, quality and accessibility of existing water facilities, surface water supplies, and ground water resources. Digital Hydrologic Analysis Data (DHAD): DHAD is a standard digital terrain analysis output of the WRDB. It is an online, interactive, digital representation of the water resource thematic overlays. DHAD feature and attribute data are encoded in the Feature Attribute Coding Catalog (FACC). WRDB Country Summaries: Water resource information is also provided at a country or regional scale as a Water Resources Areal Appraisal or Water Resources Assessment or as part of the Military Capabilities Study or Terrain Analysis Engineering Review. This format often is more suitable for non-arid areas and for strategic planning purposes than the level of detail provided in the standard WRDB/DHAD output. Most of these studies are available online. WRDB Information Requests: Surface water, ground water, and water facility information can be provided to users via a variety of methods (online, hardcopy, CD, etc.) to meet customer requirements. Special WRDB analyses, reports, and coverages can be provided or posted to the INTELINKS upon request. Key Capabilities: OD developed an improved, expanded and automated water resources intelligence database to assist commanders in making water support logistics decisions. The commercial-off-the-shelf GIS software used for the WRDB is ESRI’s ARCGIS. Current Status: More than 2,400 hardcopy water resource overlays (1:250,000 scale) have been completed; this coverage includes more than 80 percent of the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility (AOR) and partial coverage of the U.S. European Command AOR. To date, nearly half of the hardcopy overlays have been digitized into the WRDB GIS and are currently available online as DHAD. An additional 20% of the hardcopy overlays are available online as scanned images. Country or regional water studies are available online for nearly 40 countries. These are available on TEC's Intelink-S (http://www.tec.army.smil.mil) and Intelink-TS (http://www.tec.ic.gov) websites under "Products Available/Water Resources”. An FOUO subset of the WRDB is planned for the TEC NIPRNET with PKI security. Point of Contact: Laura C. Dwyer, Laura.C.Dwyer@erdc.usace.army.mil, (703) 428-6895, DSN: 364-6895     Topographic Engineering Center Water Detection Response Team (WDRT)   Description and Background: In January 1985, the Office of the Chief of Engineers established a multi-agency team to assist well-drilling detachments from all the military services in locating sources of ground water.  This action was made in response to a growing concern by many, and expressed best by a former director of Combat Developments, U.S. Army Engineer School: "The number one problem facing the Army well-drilling program remains our inability to detect subsurface water prior to drilling."  The team was designed around four components called elements: the database, remote sensing, supporting specialist and geophysical elements.  The team is staffed on an as-needed basis from a pool of civilian scientists and engineers representing various government agencies. Key Capabilities: The WDRT is the Department of Defense's (DOD) prime organization for assisting military well drillers, whether for military or humanitarian, or nation-building activities.  Its primary function is to assist and advise well-drilling teams on the location of the best well-drilling sites and depths, and to provide information on drilling conditions for logistical planners.  A staff of ground water experts is available on-call to provide information and assistance, and to produce studies for military well-drilling-related activities.  The team possesses an inventory of state-of-the-art remote sensing and geophysical equipment, and has numerous bibliographic sources readily available for most areas of the world. The WDRT also offers a “Hydrogeology for Military Well Drillers” short course upon request. Current Status: The WDRT has had a better than 95% success rate for wells drilled with WDRT support in the last ten years. Hundreds of well logs returned to TEC following the completion of military well drilling missions have become part of the DoD Water Resource Data Base and are available for future mission planning. Point of Contact: Laura C. Dwyer, Laura.C.Dwyer@erdc.usace.army.mil, (703) 428-6895, DSN: 364-6895.                          

    6.   Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/ Urban Team Urban Tactical Planner™ (UTP)  Description and Background Urban terrain information at your fingertips! In 1996 TEC developed a new product in response to the warfighter's growing need for up-to-date geospatial information describing the urban environment. This data set, the Urban Tactical Planner™ or UTP, provides the warfighter with an entirely new capability to assist in the planning and visualization of military operations in the world's urban areas. It will assist, for example, the planning and execution of Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT), Support and Stabilization Operations (SASO), and threat assessment. It will also support Operations Other Than War (OOTW). The data set is kept as simple as possible, and a low-end PC notebook with CD-ROM running ArcView is capable of the intended services. Enhancements will provide ArcMap format for those with ArcGIS and ArcReader format for those users without ArcGIS. Shapefiles will be resident on the CD for those customers still using ArcView or wanting greater flexibility. Key Capabilities TEC has investigated the urban mapping problem and has developed an expeditious process to analyze, map and display layers of urban area information. This information, terrain and cultural, is presented and easily manipulated with the use of ArcView software -- a user-friendly, flexible, geospatial tool. The digital data formats in ArcView are very flexible and can be adjusted to meet specific customer needs. This software will run on a notebook PC and NT platform. The product is capable of exploiting numerous data inputs such as Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED), commercial imagery, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) topographic products, and intelligence sources. TEC can produce this data set in about six weeks depending on the size of the urban area. The capability of meeting rapid response requirements is addressed by providing only mission essential data for valid DA requirements. Therefore, it is not inclusive nor strictly an intelligence data set in the traditional sense; it is a terrain analysis data set. The data set can be produced to operate at the unclassified level by using the appropriate data sources for that level (such as imagery, maps, and ground photos). The urban environment is displayed as an aggregate of features that affect urban area operations, such as building form and function (broken out as polygons of like-building types), building height, vertical obstructions, terrain features, bridges, lines of communication, key cultural features, landmarks, etc. These features are shown as themes or layers that can be displayed, on-or-off, as decided by the user. Attribute tables that provide additional information, e.g., building data, vertical obstruction data, road and bridge data, are linked to these layers. In addition, with the click of a button, hot-links provide the user with more information: ground photos of the terrain and building types, and architectural drawings or site plans. These themes or layers are displayed on top of a map or image base at the user's discretion. Fly-throughs can be viewed through TerraExplorer.  The user can apply this data to their specific needs. For example, an Army aviator can display only those features that affect navigation (landmarks), route choice, and landing. Planners for ground operations can display urban areas that will likely be occupied by noncombatants, show the approach routes to town, and also display key terrain on their area of operation, such as a ridge surrounding the town or the tallest buildings in the town. Each urban area is presented at varying degrees of detail. A user can show an overview of the area (showing relief and major routes for example), zoom into an urban view or larger scale, and finally down to a one square kilometer view of a selected site or sites within the urban area. The product can be tailored to specific customer requirements. The data is deliverable via Intelink, SIPRNET, OSIS, CD-ROM, and/or in hard copy output. A requestor can have TEC produce the data and product or TEC can provide data (images, maps, GIS files, etc.) to the customer for their own analysis using ArcView or ArcGIS. A library of UTP's can be accessed using Arc Internet Map Server (ArcIMS) and TerraExplorer on SIPRNET and JWICS. Product Development Terrain Analysis Branch, Operations Division, Topographic Engineering Center, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers. Current Status The product has undergone various enhancements and is continuing to evolve. Requirements production started in FY98. TEC employs in-house and contract capabilities to generate this data set and product. Potential users can now view a prioritized list of cities that reflect national priorities to identify urban information requirements. This can be accessed on the TEC Intelink-S homepage (http://www.tec.army.smil.mil). A reprioritization or any new requirements can be submitted to the HQDA DCS G-2. Product specifications have been compiled. As of 26 April 2004, 46 Limited Distribution (LIMDIS) and 13 classified data sets have been completed. The newest versions will be built with Arc Geodatabases utilizing NIMA Feature Attribute Coding Catalogue structure for portability. Currently, the level of information over an urban area is tied to its priority. In 2003, an information-based approach was applied to over 1400 urban areas worldwide. Previously, UTPs were created in their entirety and the users had to wait until a complete UTP was produced before they got any information over an area. Now, users will get varying levels of information ranging from image-only up to full UTPs as the information is produced. Additionally, TerraExplorer models have been created and posted with UTP data over them in order to enhance the ease of use and visualization of the data. These data can be accessed with a free viewer and streamed over the network. Point of Contact Elisa M. Carmona COMM: (703) 428-6894, DSN: 364-6894, Internet e-mail address: Elisa.M.Carmona@usace.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: ecarmona@tec.army.smil.mil    Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/Mobility Counter Mobility Team Engineering Route Study (ERS)   Description and Background: The Engineering Route Study (ERS) is an unclassified country-scale graphic designed to provide basic information on the major surface transportation systems in conjunction with terrain and climate data. The ERS is intended for use by Army and other Department of Defense contingency planners who are responding to crisis events or other international situations. Key Capabilities: The ERS graphic provides current information on transportation systems and terrain and environmental data. Highway system information includes road classification such as expressway, all-weather or fair-weather, surface type such as hard or loose surface, and distance in kilometers. The ERS graphic can include steep grades, sharp curves, ferry locations, key bridges and tunnels, border stations, and other man-made or environmental hazards affecting the major transportation routes. Other transportation systems delineated includes C-130 capable airfields, strategic sealift capable ports, and major railroad lines. Terrain and environmental data includes key streams and rivers, surface configuration (plains, hills or mountains), areas of potential flooding and landslides, and descriptions of drainage and climate data. Supporting Technology: The ERS is a stand-alone graphic product produced using ArcView and ArcGIS. The base map is created using VMAP level 0 or 1 data. Transportation information comes from a variety of data sources including native and commercial maps, native, United States Government and international intelligence sources, imagery and other open sources. Surface Configuration is derived from DTED or GTOPO30 data. Individual themes or layers are available for some of the studies. During FY04, production will switch from ArcView to ArcGIS. Benefits: The user can apply the ERS data to their specific needs. The ERS is intended to provide data at the country or operational level to assist the warfighter in planning a variety of missions including military operations, humanitarian relief, transportation studies, and drug enforcement. Current Status As of 1 August 2004,68 studies covering 80 countries have been completed. Point of Contact Gregory Jameson COMM: (703) 428-7247, DSN: 364-72474, Internet email address: gjameson@tec.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: gjameson@tec.army.smil.mil      Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/Mobility Counter Mobility Team Manual of Environmental Effects   Description and Background: This unclassified document is designed to provide basic environmental effects, and associated climatic and terrain information on military operations for a given country or region Key Capabilities: Terrain and climate information are provided as background for environmental effects data on such topics as ground operations; smoke, chemical and biological operations; construction equipment; supplies; and health. Current Status: New studies are not currently in the FY04 production program, but can be requested IAW AR115-11 through the Army G2. All existing studies remain available on TEC's lntelink-S and lntelink-TS sites under the "Products Available" section. Point of Contact: Gregory Jameson COMM: (703) 428-7247, DSN: 364-72474, Internet email address: gjameson@tec.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: gjameson@tec.army.smil.mil      Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/Current Ops 3D Solid Modeling Description and Background Military operations in cities, mountainous areas, or other complex terrain often require a way to accurately depict the complexity of geographic features and their interrelationships. Traditionally, sand tables or scale models have been used to do this. These methods are generally labor intensive, may take weeks or longer to build, and have difficulty depicting relief or vertical features to scale. Using state-of-the-art technology, the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) will soon have the capability to produce durable, solid 3D models quickly, easily, and inexpensively from digital geospatial information. Key Capabilities Ability to import and exploit digital elevation models produced from a variety of sources such as IFSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar), LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging), and ortho-imagery. Ability to import and drape high-resolution imagery over digital elevation models to produce models that portray operational environments realistically. Solid terrain blocks take only hours to print and can be connected for unlimited size models. Easily transportable models are lightweight, yet durable enough to withstand chipping and common wear and tear in a variety of operational environments. Detailed models increase the users’ ability to depict and understand the interaction between complex geospatial features, particularly in built-up areas. Potential Applications Course-of-action development, mission planning and rehearsal, site selection and modeling, terrain visualization, and terrain analysis are all possible applications of 3D solid modeling. Current Status The Current Operations Team of the Terrain Analysis Branch has recently acquired (May 04) the ZCorp Model 810 3D printer (see photos above). It has the capability to produce 3D solid models with a maximum build volume of 20" x 24" x 16" (500 x 600 x 400 mm). Anticipated initial operational capability is June 2004. Point of Contact For more information on 3D Solid Modeling, please contact the Current Operations Team, Terrain Analysis Branch, TEC Operations Division. POCs: Joe Pimenta, jpimenta@tec.army.mil, (703) 428-7890 or Julie Kolakowski, jkolakow@tec.army.mil, (703) 428-6013.    Topographic Engineering CenterTerrain Analysis Branch/ Urban Team Urban Tactical Planner™ (UTP)  Description and Background Urban terrain information at your fingertips! In 1996 TEC developed a new product in response to the warfighter's growing need for up-to-date geospatial information describing the urban environment. This data set, the Urban Tactical Planner™ or UTP, provides the warfighter with an entirely new capability to assist in the planning and visualization of military operations in the world's urban areas. It will assist, for example, the planning and execution of Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT), Support and Stabilization Operations (SASO), and threat assessment. It will also support Operations Other Than War (OOTW). The data set is kept as simple as possible, and a low-end PC notebook with CD-ROM running ArcView is capable of the intended services. Enhancements will provide ArcMap format for those with ArcGIS and ArcReader format for those users without ArcGIS. Shapefiles will be resident on the CD for those customers still using ArcView or wanting greater flexibility. Key Capabilities TEC has investigated the urban mapping problem and has developed an expeditious process to analyze, map and display layers of urban area information. This information, terrain and cultural, is presented and easily manipulated with the use of ArcView software -- a user-friendly, flexible, geospatial tool. The digital data formats in ArcView are very flexible and can be adjusted to meet specific customer needs. This software will run on a notebook PC and NT platform. The product is capable of exploiting numerous data inputs such as Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED), commercial imagery, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) topographic products, and intelligence sources. TEC can produce this data set in about six weeks depending on the size of the urban area. The capability of meeting rapid response requirements is addressed by providing only mission essential data for valid DA requirements. Therefore, it is not inclusive nor strictly an intelligence data set in the traditional sense; it is a terrain analysis data set. The data set can be produced to operate at the unclassified level by using the appropriate data sources for that level (such as imagery, maps, and ground photos). The urban environment is displayed as an aggregate of features that affect urban area operations, such as building form and function (broken out as polygons of like-building types), building height, vertical obstructions, terrain features, bridges, lines of communication, key cultural features, landmarks, etc. These features are shown as themes or layers that can be displayed, on-or-off, as decided by the user. Attribute tables that provide additional information, e.g., building data, vertical obstruction data, road and bridge data, are linked to these layers. In addition, with the click of a button, hot-links provide the user with more information: ground photos of the terrain and building types, and architectural drawings or site plans. These themes or layers are displayed on top of a map or image base at the user's discretion. Fly-throughs can be viewed through TerraExplorer.  The user can apply this data to their specific needs. For example, an Army aviator can display only those features that affect navigation (landmarks), route choice, and landing. Planners for ground operations can display urban areas that will likely be occupied by noncombatants, show the approach routes to town, and also display key terrain on their area of operation, such as a ridge surrounding the town or the tallest buildings in the town. Each urban area is presented at varying degrees of detail. A user can show an overview of the area (showing relief and major routes for example), zoom into an urban view or larger scale, and finally down to a one square kilometer view of a selected site or sites within the urban area. The product can be tailored to specific customer requirements. The data is deliverable via Intelink, SIPRNET, OSIS, CD-ROM, and/or in hard copy output. A requestor can have TEC produce the data and product or TEC can provide data (images, maps, GIS files, etc.) to the customer for their own analysis using ArcView or ArcGIS. A library of UTP's can be accessed using Arc Internet Map Server (ArcIMS) and TerraExplorer on SIPRNET and JWICS. Product Development Terrain Analysis Branch, Operations Division, Topographic Engineering Center, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers. Current Status The product has undergone various enhancements and is continuing to evolve. Requirements production started in FY98. TEC employs in-house and contract capabilities to generate this data set and product. Potential users can now view a prioritized list of cities that reflect national priorities to identify urban information requirements. This can be accessed on the TEC Intelink-S homepage (http://www.tec.army.smil.mil). A reprioritization or any new requirements can be submitted to the HQDA DCS G-2. Product specifications have been compiled. As of 26 April 2004, 46 Limited Distribution (LIMDIS) and 13 classified data sets have been completed. The newest versions will be built with Arc Geodatabases utilizing NIMA Feature Attribute Coding Catalogue structure for portability. Currently, the level of information over an urban area is tied to its priority. In 2003, an information-based approach was applied to over 1400 urban areas worldwide. Previously, UTPs were created in their entirety and the users had to wait until a complete UTP was produced before they got any information over an area. Now, users will get varying levels of information ranging from image-only up to full UTPs as the information is produced. Additionally, TerraExplorer models have been created and posted with UTP data over them in order to enhance the ease of use and visualization of the data. These data can be accessed with a free viewer and streamed over the network. Point of Contact Elisa M. Carmona COMM: (703) 428-6894, DSN: 364-6894, Internet e-mail address: Elisa.M.Carmona@usace.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: ecarmona@tec.army.smil.mil    Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/Mobility Counter Mobility Team Engineering Route Study (ERS)   Description and Background: The Engineering Route Study (ERS) is an unclassified country-scale graphic designed to provide basic information on the major surface transportation systems in conjunction with terrain and climate data. The ERS is intended for use by Army and other Department of Defense contingency planners who are responding to crisis events or other international situations. Key Capabilities: The ERS graphic provides current information on transportation systems and terrain and environmental data. Highway system information includes road classification such as expressway, all-weather or fair-weather, surface type such as hard or loose surface, and distance in kilometers. The ERS graphic can include steep grades, sharp curves, ferry locations, key bridges and tunnels, border stations, and other man-made or environmental hazards affecting the major transportation routes. Other transportation systems delineated includes C-130 capable airfields, strategic sealift capable ports, and major railroad lines. Terrain and environmental data includes key streams and rivers, surface configuration (plains, hills or mountains), areas of potential flooding and landslides, and descriptions of drainage and climate data. Supporting Technology: The ERS is a stand-alone graphic product produced using ArcView and ArcGIS. The base map is created using VMAP level 0 or 1 data. Transportation information comes from a variety of data sources including native and commercial maps, native, United States Government and international intelligence sources, imagery and other open sources. Surface Configuration is derived from DTED or GTOPO30 data. Individual themes or layers are available for some of the studies. During FY04, production will switch from ArcView to ArcGIS. Benefits: The user can apply the ERS data to their specific needs. The ERS is intended to provide data at the country or operational level to assist the warfighter in planning a variety of missions including military operations, humanitarian relief, transportation studies, and drug enforcement. Current Status As of 1 August 2004,68 studies covering 80 countries have been completed. Point of Contact Gregory Jameson COMM: (703) 428-7247, DSN: 364-72474, Internet email address: gjameson@tec.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: gjameson@tec.army.smil.mil      Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/Mobility Counter Mobility Team Manual of Environmental Effects   Description and Background: This unclassified document is designed to provide basic environmental effects, and associated climatic and terrain information on military operations for a given country or region Key Capabilities: Terrain and climate information are provided as background for environmental effects data on such topics as ground operations; smoke, chemical and biological operations; construction equipment; supplies; and health. Current Status: New studies are not currently in the FY04 production program, but can be requested IAW AR115-11 through the Army G2. All existing studies remain available on TEC's lntelink-S and lntelink-TS sites under the "Products Available" section. Point of Contact: Gregory Jameson COMM: (703) 428-7247, DSN: 364-72474, Internet email address: gjameson@tec.army.mil, Intelink S e-mail address: gjameson@tec.army.smil.mil      Topographic Engineering Center Terrain Analysis Branch/Current Ops 3D Solid Modeling Description and Background Military operations in cities, mountainous areas, or other complex terrain often require a way to accurately depict the complexity of geographic features and their interrelationships. Traditionally, sand tables or scale models have been used to do this. These methods are generally labor intensive, may take weeks or longer to build, and have difficulty depicting relief or vertical features to scale. Using state-of-the-art technology, the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) will soon have the capability to produce durable, solid 3D models quickly, easily, and inexpensively from digital geospatial information. Key Capabilities Ability to import and exploit digital elevation models produced from a variety of sources such as IFSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar), LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging), and ortho-imagery. Ability to import and drape high-resolution imagery over digital elevation models to produce models that portray operational environments realistically. Solid terrain blocks take only hours to print and can be connected for unlimited size models. Easily transportable models are lightweight, yet durable enough to withstand chipping and common wear and tear in a variety of operational environments. Detailed models increase the users’ ability to depict and understand the interaction between complex geospatial features, particularly in built-up areas. Potential Applications Course-of-action development, mission planning and rehearsal, site selection and modeling, terrain visualization, and terrain analysis are all possible applications of 3D solid modeling. Current Status The Current Operations Team of the Terrain Analysis Branch has recently acquired (May 04) the ZCorp Model 810 3D printer (see photos above). It has the capability to produce 3D solid models with a maximum build volume of 20" x 24" x 16" (500 x 600 x 400 mm). Anticipated initial operational capability is June 2004. Point of Contact For more information on 3D Solid Modeling, please contact the Current Operations Team, Terrain Analysis Branch, TEC Operations Division. POCs: Joe Pimenta, jpimenta@tec.army.mil, (703) 428-7890 or Julie Kolakowski, jkolakow@tec.army.mil, (703) 428-6013.  

    7.   Topographic Engineering Center Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Study Description and Background: The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is one of the most significant space surveys of earth ever undertaken, using precisely positioned radar to map its surface at intervals of 1-arc seconds (~30 meters) or three times the current most widely available detail. Over 11 days, the SRTM mission gathered enough data to produce a three-dimensional database of over 80% of the Earth's landmass (a total area of more than 47.6 million square miles) including previously nearly inaccessible, cloud covered areas. Similar Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) techniques were pioneered by ESA's ERS 1 and 2 satellites, which have been monitoring the entire Earth since the early '90s. SRTM is a joint project between NASA (www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Data Characteristics/Preliminary Findings Advantages: Increased coverage – SRTM DTED2 (~30 meter resolution) covers 80% of the earth including perpetually cloud-covered areas along the equator and in other locations where elevation data had previously been unavailable. Improved terrain visualization (except in smooth terrain areas) – SRTM DTED2 can be used in conjunction with controlled imagery sources to provide better visualization of the terrain and assessment of the terrain’s impact on military operations. Better support to ortho-photo rectification – NGA/St. Louis is currently using SRTM DTED2 data to ortho-rectify CIB 1 & 5 on a routine basis with excellent results. Shortfalls: Unusable contours - Map contour lines in smooth terrain are unusable due to random data noise that remains after final processing. Reflective surface contours can misrepresent “bare earth” characteristics. Negative impact on line-of-sight (LOS) and slope prediction – Noise-induced anomalies create erroneous results in LOS over smooth terrain especially at the low grazing angles required for most Army operations. SRTM DTED2 predicted error tends to increase over rugged terrain and hinders slope analysis. Void Areas – Void data areas may have significant effects on Army applications. Larger void areas (over 16 posts) will only be filled by NGA on a “customer request” bases. ~1% of global one degree cells are expected to have over 20% void areas rendering them virtually unusable. TEC Study Background: In 1997, a DARPA/TEC study validated the mathematical accuracy of reflective surface radar-collected digital elevation data but identified “different properties” and anomalies (void areas/contour interpretation) vs. photogrammetric source. The report recommended further study to determine if functional use of the two products will yield similar performance during operational or training use. SRTM DTED2 is anticipated to eventually comprise the bulk of NGA’s elevation data holdings and become a critical “backbone” mapping tool for the future. The increasing proliferation of data has led to the recognition that a technical evaluation of SRTM DTED2 capabilities/utility is vital to the Army geospatial user community and could steer future enhancements. In response, Army prepared a proposal to conduct a ground-truth validation of SRTM DTED2 to determine operational effectiveness. Methodology/Status: -Compare to traditional DEMs/TINs -Analyze void areas and terrain profiles/contours -Collect ground truth LOS and slope data; use selected algorithms and terrain representations to determine sensitivity of SRTM DTED2 for M&S/C4I systems SRTM DTED2 “finished” data is currently being received at NGA and placed on their distribution gateway; global coverage by September 2004. The Department of the Army has provided funding through the Army Study Program. Preliminary activities/analyses have commenced. Study Activities to Date: -Technical fact finding completed at NGA/St. Louis -SRTM DTED2 “finished” data acquired over 6 study areas (bare earth, sparsely vegetated, vegetated) and some initial analyses completed -Ground truth data validation activities scheduled in FY 04/05 -Point paper and preliminary analysis prepared in February/March 2004 Applied Resources, Inc. Study: Applied Resources, Inc. has provided a proposal for a SRTM study in response to an Engineer Research and Development Center Broad Agency Announcement. Objectives: SRTM terrain data has not yet been thoroughly evaluated for quality and utility. For military aviation, and for military ground use, a significant benefit would accrue if data accuracy were adequate to support either type of operations. The aim of this effort is to measure the inherent capabilities and limitations of the SRTM data in terms of real-world applications and limit the potential for erroneous results in using the data. Evaluation of the accuracy of SRTM data will encompass both aviation and ground-based investigations. The Aviation Evaluation Objective is to evaluate how well the data can assist pilots to fly aircraft safely over different types of terrain. Sub-Objectives are to: Determine how close the database matches the actual terrain. Evaluate a pilot’s ability to readily avoid spiky/cliff type terrain horizontally. Also, evaluate how close a pilot can safely avoid the terrain. Measure how low pilots can safely operate over gently rolling terrain. Evaluate different displays and determine the type of display(s) that work best. The Ground Based Evaluation Objective is to evaluate how well the data supports analysis of line-of-sight (LOS) from terrain point to terrain point. Sub-Objectives are to: Determine how closely the SRTM database matches the actual terrain in vegetated areas (i.e., determine how far the SRTM technology penetrates the canopy and where the reflective surfaces lie within the vegetation). Determine how the SRTM accuracy differs with and without a canopy. Determine the extent random noise in the SRTM data can be filtered out to make the data more accurate. Point of Contact: Louis Fatale, Louis.A.Fatale@ERDC.USACE.ARMY.MIL, (703) 428-6760, DSN: 364-6760. SRTM - PRO’S AND CONS Operations Production Experience with SRTM 2 Data:  -         There are voids (posts with no data) and bad data (posts with elevations greater than 200,000 meters or negative numbers). The bad data posts distort the image severely. These posts have to be manually changed in MET a very tedious process. -         On flat areas the posts generate an undulating terrain. This “undulation” is most apparent on roads and airfield runways. Have had to smooth out the runways by finding the average elevation and manually changing the posts to that average elevation. -         The water bodies should have a uniform elevation, but do not. NGA in their write-ups say this anomaly has been corrected. It may have been in some areas, but not in all.   Topographic Engineering Center Geospatial Intelligence Pilot-Korea (GIP-K) Participation Background GIP-K is an initiative from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that was started this year to create a comprehensive set of digital mapping data over the entire Korean peninsula to support USFK command and control, analysis and combat needs in a Theater Effects Based Operations environment. The Geospatial Information and Imagery Requirements Branch from the Topographic Engineering Center along with Army G2, TPIO-TD and OCE-P are the army representatives to this initiative Goals •            Demonstrate end-to-end data management & support defined by the Geospataial Transition Plan (GTP) •            Demonstrate on-demand printing •            Demonstrate reduced requirement for Hard copy inventory (remote replication) •            Assess NGA support Team resources •            Aggressively build strategic relationships and partnerships •            Refine lines of demarcation •            Demonstrate a solution that can be replicated in other areas Benefits A comprehensive set of digital mapping data over the entire peninsula to support USFK command and control, analysis and combat needs in a Theater Effects Based Operations environment. -          A basic capability to rapidly turn that digital data into paper products for customization and dissemination throughout the theater. -          A digital data library system to USFK staff to search, access and retrieve this data in a timely manner. -          Software tools to help USFK exploit and visualize this information in their C4I environment. -          Additional imagery exploitation expertise in such fields as NK ballistic missiles, WMD, infrastructure and order of battle to support intelligence and net assessments -          Improved reach-back capabilities to allow improved access to this NGA analytical expertise. Army Expectations ·         Establish process and define responsibilities for distributed printing and on-demand replication. Develop a migration strategy (product improvement) from existing hardcopy and softcopy of today to future hardcopy and softcopy. Improve CADRG quality. Synchronize hardcopy, softcopy raster and softcopy vector distribution. ·         Emphasize and reestablish a requirements-based production process. Show plans/develop CONOPs to support TGD, GPLs or GILs. Develop procedures to incorporate and share field generated data TEC POC Ray Caputo, COMM: (703) 428-6784, DNS: 364-6784 e-mail: Raymond.G.Caputo@erdc.usace.army.mil   Topographic Engineering Center Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Study Description and Background: The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is one of the most significant space surveys of earth ever undertaken, using precisely positioned radar to map its surface at intervals of 1-arc seconds (~30 meters) or three times the current most widely available detail. Over 11 days, the SRTM mission gathered enough data to produce a three-dimensional database of over 80% of the Earth's landmass (a total area of more than 47.6 million square miles) including previously nearly inaccessible, cloud covered areas. Similar Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) techniques were pioneered by ESA's ERS 1 and 2 satellites, which have been monitoring the entire Earth since the early '90s. SRTM is a joint project between NASA (www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Data Characteristics/Preliminary Findings Advantages: Increased coverage – SRTM DTED2 (~30 meter resolution) covers 80% of the earth including perpetually cloud-covered areas along the equator and in other locations where elevation data had previously been unavailable. Improved terrain visualization (except in smooth terrain areas) – SRTM DTED2 can be used in conjunction with controlled imagery sources to provide better visualization of the terrain and assessment of the terrain’s impact on military operations. Better support to ortho-photo rectification – NGA/St. Louis is currently using SRTM DTED2 data to ortho-rectify CIB 1 & 5 on a routine basis with excellent results. Shortfalls: Unusable contours - Map contour lines in smooth terrain are unusable due to random data noise that remains after final processing. Reflective surface contours can misrepresent “bare earth” characteristics. Negative impact on line-of-sight (LOS) and slope prediction – Noise-induced anomalies create erroneous results in LOS over smooth terrain especially at the low grazing angles required for most Army operations. SRTM DTED2 predicted error tends to increase over rugged terrain and hinders slope analysis. Void Areas – Void data areas may have significant effects on Army applications. Larger void areas (over 16 posts) will only be filled by NGA on a “customer request” bases. ~1% of global one degree cells are expected to have over 20% void areas rendering them virtually unusable. TEC Study Background: In 1997, a DARPA/TEC study validated the mathematical accuracy of reflective surface radar-collected digital elevation data but identified “different properties” and anomalies (void areas/contour interpretation) vs. photogrammetric source. The report recommended further study to determine if functional use of the two products will yield similar performance during operational or training use. SRTM DTED2 is anticipated to eventually comprise the bulk of NGA’s elevation data holdings and become a critical “backbone” mapping tool for the future. The increasing proliferation of data has led to the recognition that a technical evaluation of SRTM DTED2 capabilities/utility is vital to the Army geospatial user community and could steer future enhancements. In response, Army prepared a proposal to conduct a ground-truth validation of SRTM DTED2 to determine operational effectiveness. Methodology/Status: -Compare to traditional DEMs/TINs -Analyze void areas and terrain profiles/contours -Collect ground truth LOS and slope data; use selected algorithms and terrain representations to determine sensitivity of SRTM DTED2 for M&S/C4I systems SRTM DTED2 “finished” data is currently being received at NGA and placed on their distribution gateway; global coverage by September 2004. The Department of the Army has provided funding through the Army Study Program. Preliminary activities/analyses have commenced. Study Activities to Date: -Technical fact finding completed at NGA/St. Louis -SRTM DTED2 “finished” data acquired over 6 study areas (bare earth, sparsely vegetated, vegetated) and some initial analyses completed -Ground truth data validation activities scheduled in FY 04/05 -Point paper and preliminary analysis prepared in February/March 2004 Applied Resources, Inc. Study: Applied Resources, Inc. has provided a proposal for a SRTM study in response to an Engineer Research and Development Center Broad Agency Announcement. Objectives: SRTM terrain data has not yet been thoroughly evaluated for quality and utility. For military aviation, and for military ground use, a significant benefit would accrue if data accuracy were adequate to support either type of operations. The aim of this effort is to measure the inherent capabilities and limitations of the SRTM data in terms of real-world applications and limit the potential for erroneous results in using the data. Evaluation of the accuracy of SRTM data will encompass both aviation and ground-based investigations. The Aviation Evaluation Objective is to evaluate how well the data can assist pilots to fly aircraft safely over different types of terrain. Sub-Objectives are to: Determine how close the database matches the actual terrain. Evaluate a pilot’s ability to readily avoid spiky/cliff type terrain horizontally. Also, evaluate how close a pilot can safely avoid the terrain. Measure how low pilots can safely operate over gently rolling terrain. Evaluate different displays and determine the type of display(s) that work best. The Ground Based Evaluation Objective is to evaluate how well the data supports analysis of line-of-sight (LOS) from terrain point to terrain point. Sub-Objectives are to: Determine how closely the SRTM database matches the actual terrain in vegetated areas (i.e., determine how far the SRTM technology penetrates the canopy and where the reflective surfaces lie within the vegetation). Determine how the SRTM accuracy differs with and without a canopy. Determine the extent random noise in the SRTM data can be filtered out to make the data more accurate. Point of Contact: Louis Fatale, Louis.A.Fatale@ERDC.USACE.ARMY.MIL, (703) 428-6760, DSN: 364-6760. SRTM - PRO’S AND CONS Operations Production Experience with SRTM 2 Data:  -         There are voids (posts with no data) and bad data (posts with elevations greater than 200,000 meters or negative numbers). The bad data posts distort the image severely. These posts have to be manually changed in MET a very tedious process. -         On flat areas the posts generate an undulating terrain. This “undulation” is most apparent on roads and airfield runways. Have had to smooth out the runways by finding the average elevation and manually changing the posts to that average elevation. -         The water bodies should have a uniform elevation, but do not. NGA in their write-ups say this anomaly has been corrected. It may have been in some areas, but not in all.   Topographic Engineering Center Geospatial Intelligence Pilot-Korea (GIP-K) Participation Background GIP-K is an initiative from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that was started this year to create a comprehensive set of digital mapping data over the entire Korean peninsula to support USFK command and control, analysis and combat needs in a Theater Effects Based Operations environment. The Geospatial Information and Imagery Requirements Branch from the Topographic Engineering Center along with Army G2, TPIO-TD and OCE-P are the army representatives to this initiative Goals •            Demonstrate end-to-end data management & support defined by the Geospataial Transition Plan (GTP) •            Demonstrate on-demand printing •            Demonstrate reduced requirement for Hard copy inventory (remote replication) •            Assess NGA support Team resources •            Aggressively build strategic relationships and partnerships •            Refine lines of demarcation •            Demonstrate a solution that can be replicated in other areas Benefits A comprehensive set of digital mapping data over the entire peninsula to support USFK command and control, analysis and combat needs in a Theater Effects Based Operations environment. -          A basic capability to rapidly turn that digital data into paper products for customization and dissemination throughout the theater. -          A digital data library system to USFK staff to search, access and retrieve this data in a timely manner. -          Software tools to help USFK exploit and visualize this information in their C4I environment. -          Additional imagery exploitation expertise in such fields as NK ballistic missiles, WMD, infrastructure and order of battle to support intelligence and net assessments -          Improved reach-back capabilities to allow improved access to this NGA analytical expertise. Army Expectations ·         Establish process and define responsibilities for distributed printing and on-demand replication. Develop a migration strategy (product improvement) from existing hardcopy and softcopy of today to future hardcopy and softcopy. Improve CADRG quality. Synchronize hardcopy, softcopy raster and softcopy vector distribution. ·         Emphasize and reestablish a requirements-based production process. Show plans/develop CONOPs to support TGD, GPLs or GILs. Develop procedures to incorporate and share field generated data TEC POC Ray Caputo, COMM: (703) 428-6784, DNS: 364-6784 e-mail: Raymond.G.Caputo@erdc.usace.army.mil

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