Download or read book Using Google Earth Engine to Automate Forest Disturbance Detection in Near-real Time written by Robert A. Chastain and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Google Earth Engine (GEE); (https://earthengine.google.org) is a cloud-based online earth observation data archive and distributed computing environment that represents a potential paradigm shift in processing earth observation data. The Forest Service USDA Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) used GEE to automate and streamline the creation of baseline image products used in the Real-Time Forest Disturbance (RTFD) program.This work was sponsored by the Forest Service Remote Sensing Steering Committee (RSSC). The RTFD program detects changes in forest conditions as compared to an established baseline raster layer. Until recently the creation of the baseline layer was largely a manual process that required approximately 300 hours each year. Using GEE, we have reduced that effort to 60 hours-an 80 percent reduction in labor time. This application represents one of numerous projects wherin RSAC has leveraged GEE capabilities.