| Satellite Image Interpretation: | Satellite Imaging |
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| Satellites have been used over the past several decades to obtain a wide
variety of information about the earth’s surface, ranging from military applications
to tracking global weather patterns, tectonic activity, surface vegetation, ocean currents
and temperatures, polar ice fluctuations, pollution, and many other aspects. The
application of satellite image analysis to archaeology has emerged alongside these other
uses, but archaeologists are only now beginning to exploit more fully the broad range of
analytical tools available for assessing the satellite image data of the earth’s
surface and sub-surface. The decreasing costs (e.g., as low as $10), the increasing image
resolutions (e.g., under one metre), and the greater availability (e.g., on-line
purchasing) of satellite images for the general public is now making it possible for
archaeologists to use satellite images more fully. The evolution of satellite image
technology is also enabling the manipulation of a greater range of data contained in
increasing types of satellite images (e.g., Aster; Corona; Landsat TM, etc.):
archaeologists can now examine a broad spectrum of reflectivity signatures and bands
within and between archaeological sites, including both surface and sub-surface features. *** |
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| It is with such objectives in mind that S. Parcak has begun to apply
satellite image analysis --(alongside aerial photography)-- to regions in the South Sinai, East Delta,
and Middle Egypt. In the case of the South Sinai Survey and Excavation Project in Egypt
(SS-SEPE), S. Parcak has applied a combination of satellite image analysis (e.g., a
Landsat TM image) and surface surveys ("ground-truthing") in the detection of
new and already identified archaeological sites. For instance, she has used multiple
analytical techniques (e.g., thresholding, and supervised and unsupervised
classifications) to detect vegetation signatures within a satellite image of El-Markha
Plain. This has allowed her to isolate water sources within the overall arid
environment of Sinai, thereby revealing potential archaeological (and other) sites for
surface assessment, reducing the amount of time and costs involved in the surface
detection of vegetation/water signatures in an otherwise vast geographical area. S. Parcak and G. Mumford |
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Selected Links:
For further information, please contact Dr. Sarah H. Parcak (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology and Director, Laboratory for Global Health Observation at the University of Alabama. University of Birmingham (Alabama), Dr. Parcak is noted for being the first Egyptologist to use satellite imaging to identify new archaeological sites in Egypt. She is the author of Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology (Routledge, 2009) |
Return to Links & Sources
Go to Remote Imaging / S.Sinai | Go to Remote Imaging / E.Delta
