NEW ROLES FOR RECCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000100190004-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: October 1, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
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ARTICLE D
ON PAGE
Why
reconnais'
predict and h
natural disasters?
BY DINO BRUGIONI
R ECENTLY, the Subcommittee
for Investigations and Over-
sight of the House Committee on
Science and Technology issued its
report, information Technology for
Emergency Management, culmin-
ating two years of hearings on the
use of modem technology to deal
with both natural and man-made di-
sasters.
Opening the hearings, Subcom-
mittee Chairman (now Senator) Al-
bert Gore, Jr., said: "We are all
aware of the tremendous technolog-
ical advances made in the last few
years. We have seen and benefited
from their applications in the areas
of health and medicine, the environ-
ment, and other scientific fields.
But we must ensure that this tech-
nology is applied to our nation's
ability to predict, prevent, and re-
spond quickly and effectively to
natural or man-made disasters."
I testified at those hearings that
there was one resource not being
used to its full potential. If it were
properly employed it could save
countless lives and billions of dol-
lars in property damage each year.
That resource is the nation's aerial
reconnaissance and inter retation
.
technology
Few outside the military and in-
telligence fields are aware of this
resource. Fewer still know how to
interpret that technology, and even
fewer know how and when to apply
it. Yet it is the same technology with
which the United States monitors
SALT and the Middle East Truce
Agreement; observes and predicts
crop yields in the Soviet Union,
Australia, Canada, Argentina, and
India; and assesses damage caused
by such catastrophes as the Italian,
Guatemalan, and Alaskan earth-
quakes.
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Aerial reconnaissance and photo-
graphic and mu tisensor interpreta-
tion are sciences born of wartime
necessity to obtain accurate in or-
mation on t e enemy rapidly. Since
World War 11, these sciences have
been advanced and refined by the
intelligence an mapping agencies
until today s overhead reconnais-
sance systems provide more data
with a greater re uenc and cover
larger areas than ever before. Com-
puter and soffWare developments
make the entire information-gather-
ing and interpretation system man-
a8ea e.
Re-mote sensing of the earth can
be done from a variety of p at orms,
suc as low-flying helicopters, light
aircraft, reconnaissance resources
of the militar services, the U-2 and
X71, NASA satellites and Shut-
tles, and the -meteorological satel-
lites that photograph the emi-
s heres from 22,300 miles ins ace.
Surveying t e earl from ig s ace.
or orbiting platforms fitted with
remote sensing devices could be the
most significant technological de-
velopment of our time.
Looking down on our planet to
observe the complex and continu-
ously changing interrelationship of
land, sea, and air has added immea-
surably to our knowledge of the
fragile relationship between man
and his environment. The combina-
tion of an established data base,
broad area coverage, and large-
scale photography has created
unique opportunities for interpret-
ing both natural and technological
phenomena and disasters.
Properly interpreted, the remote
sensing of our environment can pro-
vide current, definitive information
that should be used in the decision-
making and problem-solving proce-
dures we apply on earth. The pace
of remote sensing techniques will
accelerate since imagery can now
be digitized. Combining imagery in-
terpretation expertise with comput-
er technology provides numerous
innovative applications. It is now
possible to analyze entire countries,
regions, or continents. Remote
sensing can provide data with speed
and accuracy that cannot be at-
tained from other sources.
Dimensions of the Problem
The resources of our planet are
limited and in many instances are
being depleted at an alarming rate.
At the same time, world population
is expanding geometrically. Those
who interpret pertinent reconnais-
sance data are always impressed
with the fragile web of life that is
visible in the imagery. All cultural
and economic activity conforms to
definite, identifiable patterns. The
imagery interpreter knows these
patterns as "signatures." Building
codes, regulations, customs, prac-
tices, and procedures govern the
methods by which man farms the
land, builds homes, constructs fac-
tories, and extracts resources.
Visible also in the imagery are
current activities that will affect our
future livelihood adversely, such as
building on flood plains, stripping
the earth's timber for lumber and
firewood, poor agricultural prac-
tices that cause the erosion of farm-
lands, the misuse or contamination
of water, improper and indiscrimi-
nate disposal of wastes, and the im-
pact of weather-related disasters,
earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Natural and technological disas-
ters kill and injure thousands of peo-
ple and cause property damage of
astronomical proportions. The 1983
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Climate
Impact Assessment Report for the
United States reveals more than $27
billion of property damage in the US
directly attributable to weather phe-
nomena. That year, the worst flood-
ing in fifty years occurred in Latin
America, while there were major
droughts in Africa and Australia.
And we have become all too familiar
with such man-made disasters as
chemical spills, explosions, fires,
nuclear accidents, and waste and
sewage problems.
Potential Applications of
Reconnaissance
Aerial photography and multisen-
sor imagery can have three impor-
tant applications in relation to natu-
ral and technological disasters.
First, they are a valuable historical
record; second, they could become
the most important means for pre-
dicting disasters; third, this imag-
ery is an unparalleled source of
quick and accurate damage assess-
ment. These are not discrete func-
tions, of course. In actual use, there
often would be considerable over-
lap. And they are by no means the
only applications of overhead imag-
ery.
Several years ago, Arthur C.
Lundahl, Director of _tFe-IR-a-ti-on-al
Photo gra hic Interpretation Center
from 1956 to 1973, discussed with
[ e Director entra me igence
and the President's Science Advisor
the wisdom of sharing these re-
sources wrt civi ian a encies. In
-as a result of a formal study
recommending sharing, the Direc-
tor of Central Intelligence entered
into agreements with a number of
federal agencies, giving them ac-
cess to classified overhead photog-
raphy. Subsequently ; the National
Photographic Interpretation Center
was directed to use aerial photog-
raphy for such projects as assessing
natural and man-made disasters,
conducting route surveys for the
Alaska pipeline, compiling national
forest inventories, determining the
extent ot snow cover in the Sierras
to forecast runo , an emoting
crop ig t in the Plains states.
In 19 55, the Rockefeller Commis-
sion reviewed the concept of shar-
ing classified data and concluded:
"The Commission can find no im-
propriety in permitting civilian use
of aerial photographic systems. The
economy of operating a single aerial
photographic program dictates the
use of these photographs for appro-
priate civilian purposes."
Nevertheless, fora variety of rea-
sons, aerial photography and multi-
sensor imagery are hardly being
used in emergency management.
The most familiar reason heard in
Washington is that "it's not in our
budget (or our charter)." Else-
where, regional experts concerned
with emergency management know
little or nothing about these capabil-
ities. Congressman Gore noted "the
inertia on the part of emergency
agencies that leads to a failure to use
the data."
Images of History
Consider the three key civilian
applications of this little-used imag-
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CI \ As a hiv?) /t , / 0,( 4,11/. aeI ial
photograph' ha, te'\ equal,. I he
t tilted state, ha, an ent,l illous data
base of aercd photograph' and nlill-
ti,ensor inlager\ gathered o'er the
past sl\I\ 'ears. Hor e\,Inlple. the
Department, of Interior ;old \'-
'Ii-culture ha'e more than 1`.000,0011
print, of the l'nited St;ues. In uddi-
ton. there ame hundred, of other re-
positories holdnlu photo, taken b'
pri'ate citi/en,,Ind local. state. nlil-
itar\, and Iedeial agencies. I he
,te:uiil\ mere .me \olunle of inl,tg-
er\ collection nla' prove useful in
w,l\ s that we can hardll\ e'en tile tuda\.
During tile 1931". fur evanlple.
harmers ere paid hH the federal
t'u\ernlllellt to ploy under part of
their crops. To prove there \'as
compliance with agreements. pho-
tographic mission, were flown over
faun, area,. Most of that film found
its way into the National .Archives.
ort\ ears biter. when the l.n-
' uonnlental Protection 'gene' was
charged \\ ith locating old to\ic
chemical .lumps. the' found that
these pictures pro ided the most re-
liable data on the e\istence of the
waste sites used decades before and
then ah,lndoned and forgotten. Hut
in most c,l,c, still ha/ardous.
I'.\er\ da\. the two Landsat ,,Itel-
lites now aloft collect more than
IUI) Images worldwide. I?.aeh inl-
111-Ie co\CI , .shoat Iii)) square miles
.slid Is ,in irreplaceable record l,l a
moment in tinge. Each establishes a
baseline that Is of cynic, l impor-
tance in recognising changes that
near occur in the future.
An Ounce of Prevention
Landsat photograph', supple-
mented by other source, of inlaccr\.
has a vast and largely unused poten-
tial for the second inlportaiit ci' ilian
application-predu Il/1; 41/44141(14.
After studying Lands;tt photo-
graphs. I testified in congressional
hearings that the federal govern-
ment has the technology, methodol-
ogy, data. and expertise to have pre-
\ tinted. or at least greatly mitigated.
the massive tlooding in the west
caused by snow melt in the spring of
1983. The Lail. sat photographs
were cle detailed; *ad encom-
passed the area of snow-meW'l::un-
cern.
Additional data could have been
c oI lec ted by gk- T recc~90{cc
t 4O-mile length of tht
Klver 111 rcci t~~u.,:
and by U-'- aircraft eyutpp
lm.iety of sensors. These mission*
could have been tlown as part of
the routine pilot-training programs.
The US Geological Survey had
maps of sufficient detail and in
scales appropriate for snow-melt
measurement and analysis. the De-
fense Mapping Agency, the US
(ieological Survey. and the CIA
have ereeffent-pFitogrammetnc ca-
pabilities that could have been used
to measure accurately the amount
of snow and compute runoff from
the snow pack. A\ ith the 00-w com-
puted. dams and reser'oirs could
have been drawn do" n enough to
control flooding.
Property damage from the snow
melt was estimated at more than SI
billion. No nlonetar\ 'aloe can he
placed on the I;t, lives that were lost
in the flooding. The only warning
Horny people had was "hen water
and mud crashed through their.
homes. Had federal and region;
task forces been established, most
of the flood damage and loss of life
could ha\e been prevented. The
war of Implementing such a pro-
gramwould have been only about S5
million, compared to the more than
Si billion of property damage that
occurred.
A Lost Opportunity
Here's another example of a lost
opportunity to prevent disaster. It
took television crews to awakeT!
conscience of the world to the
sands dying from starvation or 540.,
vation-induced diseases in Africa.
If existing multisensor imagery
had been analyzed, the plight of
150,000,000 people in Ethiopia and
other African countries not only
could have been predicted, but ac-
tion might have been taken before
disaster struck. Evidence of the nat-
ural phenomena that caused crop
failure occurs gradually over large
areas and can be recorded through
aerial photography or by multisen-
sor imagery. Detailed analysis of
large-area coverage over a period of
time can identify drought or desert
encroachment.
The science of determining crop
conditions was developed after the
USSR, experiencing it disastrous
drought, secretly purchased mil-
lions of tons of US grain at bargain
prices. When that became known.
President Nixon called together
those involved and issued an ul-
timatum that neither he nor any
other President of the United States
should ever again he caught short in
similar circumstances.
Those familiar with reconnais-
sance and interpretation agreed that
Landsat imagery could he used to
monitor the distribution and vigor of
crop growth and that such data.
combined with other information.
could produce a quantitati\e analy-
sis of future yields. analysis of the
near-infrared spectrum can deter-
mine the degree of hiomass. or the
greenness of the crops. the more
abundant and healthy the .eceta
tion, the greater the field. this
method of determining crop y fields
resulted from the Large .\rea Crop
Inventory Experiment (LACIE) in
1973 and from the later Agriculture
and Resource ln'entorv Through
Aerospace Remote Sensing (.-\GRI-
STARS) program.
.A comparison of the greenness in
the African drought area in 1982 and
1983 indicated that there was con-
siderably less vegetation in 1983
than there had been the rear before.
This was true not only of the crop-
growing areas hut in pastures as
well. In other words, the area was
experiencing a devastating drought.
Technology exists not only to esti-
mate the magnitude of the drought
but also to predict potential food
shortages.
~.r!aurlti
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rng-
gines can
nic Ash
xample:.Ash clouds
ruptions can create a
f particular interest
n he given warn-
ducts of aerial
ingesting volcanic."
the eruption of Moun
ante. Jet en-
maged by
ollowing
on May 18. 1980. meteorological
satellites photographed the ash
cloud as it moved eastward. and
warnings were issued to aircraft fly-
ing in or near the cloud.
Two years later, two Boeing 747s
flying in the Indian Ocean area were
not so fortunate. On June 24 and
July 13. 1982, these aircraft experi-
enced severe engine problems re-
sulting in shutdowns, caused by in-
gesting volcanic ash from eruptions
of Mount Galunggung in Indonesia.
Both aircraft were forced to make
emergency landings at Djakarta.
The loss of an airliner with all pas-
sengers would he a calamitous
event, and that sobering fact
prompted a series of investigations.
It was found that sulfur dioxide in
the volcanic eruption plumes is de-
tectable from space. The Nimbus 7
Total Ozone ;dapping Spectrometer
( FOMS), which produces daily
global image, that measure how
much sunlight in the ultraviolet
spectral region is absorbed by
oione in the atmosphere, is also ca-
pable of determining the ,ize and
the shape of solcanic ash clouds.
Another experiment resealed that
the Geostationar} Operational En-
~ironmental Satellite (GOES) and
the NOAA polar-orbiting mete-
orological and em ironmental satel-
lites-hecause of their niultispectral
capabilities. especiall` in the in-
frared range-ha'se a ,trong poten-
tial for distinguishing and tracking
ash clouds.
Infrared sensors in polar-orbiting
satellites have many other warning
applications. The dread of foresters
is tire in inaccessible areas. Recent
experiments with thermal infrared
sensors aboard NOAA polar-orbit-
ing satellites have shown the useful-
ness of these sensors as effective
and economical means of detecting
and monitoring forest, tundra, and
open-range tires.
Using the 3.8-micron channel,
the NOAA satellites "paint'' a
22.6(X)-kilometer longitudinal swath
with a
fifteen degr
example, can be
frame, and forest or
one square mile can be d
Reporting the Bad News
Finally, photographic and multi-
sensor imagery has a potential for
daina e assessment that has not
been fully exploited. Whenever a
natural disaster strikes, there is an
attendant breakdown in transporta-
tion, communications, public safe-
ty, and health care. The need for
timely and accurate information on
the scope and magnitude of the di-
saster becomes paramount for
emergency management efforts.
Aerial photography is unequaled in
providing the data needed.
U-2s have been used to collect
data essential in assessing t e am-
age caused by earthquakes, hurri-
canes, floods, tornadoes, and oil
spills. Both the U-2 and the SR-71
were employed during the eruption
of Mount Saint Helens, gathering
photographs and multisensor imag-
ery for a quick assessment of the
immediate dangers posed by the
eruption.
Pre- and posteruption multisen-
sor images provide a dramatic view
of the destruction caused by that
event. Almost a cubic mile of the
crown of Mount Saint Helens was
blown away. Trees as far as twenty-
eight kilometers more than seven-
teen miles) from the mountain were
toppled like matchsticks, and tim-
her was scorched for some distance
beyond that. Sediment and debris
tilled Swift Reservoir and Spirit
Lake. The massive Clow of debris
that ,wept down the North Toutle
Valley raised its floor more than 600
feet. damming trihutary rivers and
creating new lakes and ponds.
The formation of these lakes
posed a serious problem. since the
dams created by the eruption might
erode sw if tly arnd release a deluge of
water and mud down adjacent sal-
ley s. Evidence of volcanic ash car-
ried into neighboring states by high-
altitude winds could he seen clearly
on aerial photos. Those photos were
used for devising methods of allevi-
ating problems created by swollen
lakes and ponds. Foresters also
used the images to search for ways
to retrieve the blown-down and
damaged timber.
New and Future Developments
It is generally agreed by emergen-
cy preparedness officials that a thir-
ty- to forty-minute warning is ade-
quate to prepare for most disasters.
Warning of disasters that could oc-
cur at night is especially important.
Satellites have a vital role to play in
achieving this goal. In my testimony
before Congress, I stated: "Al-
though there is some collaboration
among people on the ground and the
aerial collector, in the future, sen-
sors on the ground will be read by
collectors in space."
An emplaced sensor that sends its
data to a satellite or that can be in-
terrogated from space has many ad-
vantages. It can he set to any de-
sired specification, it operates twen-
ty-four hours a day. and it can be
implanted in remote locations
where conditions make it impossi-
ble for man to survive. A variety of
gauges and sensors that will uplink
data to satellites for warning pur-
poses is now being implanted. The
US Army Corps of Engineers and
the Tennessee Valley Authority are
placing in remote areas hundreds of
gauges that will transmit data to the
Geostationary Operational Envi-
ronmental Satellite )GOES) for
flood warnings.
Other sensors are being im-
planted in earthen dams to give
warning of potential trouble. The
Bureau of Reclamation is using
gauges and sensors to monitor
snowfall and snow melt in order to
alleviate potential flooding prob-
lems. In the Pacific, tidal gauges and
sensors have been located on the
coast to transmit tsunami (tidal
wave) warnings via GOES satel-
lites. In hurricane-prone areas,
gauges and sensors are being em-
placed along streams susceptible to
flash flooding, with the warning
data flashed to GOES satellites. Sci-
entists have also determined that
sudden surges of hydrogen have
often preceded volcanic and earth-
quake activity. Sensors are being
emplaced along major earthquake
zones in California and around vol-
canoes in Hawaii and at Mount
~qw
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S
Saint Helens to record hydrogen ac-
tivity. Here again, data is sent via
GOES to a US Geological Survey
data center, where it is compared
with other scientific data.
We are entering a new era of re-
connaissance in which satellites will
be able to collect data or interrogate
sensors on earth, analyze gases in
space, digest data, photograph
areas of concern, and send warnings
to emergency centers.
At the Subcommittee hearings, it
was obvious that most of the state,
county, and city emergency officials
knew little or nothing about t e
aerial reconnaissance and multisen-
sor imagery capabilities that could
be applied to their work. It would be
a valuable contribution t ddomestic
security if the De artment of De-
tense, the military services (includ-
ing t eir Reserve Forces n-te i-
gence organizations), other federal
agencies, and the intelligence munity y snared their knowledge of
reconnaissance and multisensor im-
agery with local and regional disas-
ter management o icia s.
We have invested heavily in sci-
ence and technology to protect this
nation from external threats. Now
we must apply appropriate elements
of that science and technology to
mitigate or prevent natural and tech-
nological disasters. I know of no en-
deavor where the funds and effort
expended offer so bountiful a re-
turn. U
Dino Bru Toni writes regularly for AIR FORCE Magazine. His by-line last
appeared in the March '84 issue with the article "The Tyuratam Enigma." During
World War Il, he flew sixty-six bombing missions and a number of
reconnaissance missions over North Africa, Italy, France, Germany, and
Yugoslavia. After the war he received a B.A. and an M.A. in foreign affairs from
The George Washington University. He joined the CIA in 1948, becomin a
senior official and a reconnaissance and photo-interpretation expert for the
agency before his retirement.
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