Mount St. Helens Quick Response Damage Assessment Using High-Altitude Infrared Photography

Richard E. Hinkle; James C. Prill; John R. Pruitt

doi:10.1117/12.931924

6 November 1981 Mount St. Helens Quick Response Damage Assessment Using High-Altitude Infrared Photography

Richard E. Hinkle, James C. Prill, John R. Pruitt

Proceedings Volume 0278, Electro-Optical Instrumentation for Resources Evaluation; (1981) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.931924
Event: 1981 Technical Symposium East, 1981, Washington, D.C., United States

Abstract

After the destructive volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, there was a need for a quick response damage assessment. Timeliness of the information was emphasized because of the need to immediately devise land man-agement plans for timber sale operations, rehabilitation efforts, fire protection activities, and areas to be preserved. High-altitude color-infrared photography was collected during May and June by the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-tion (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC). Interpretation of the photography plus a helicopter trip into the area provided the basis for the construction of 58 map-registered overlays within a 3-week period. These overlays depicted in detail the damage to timber resources, the transportation network, and the watershed. Using the 14 timber loss overlays, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service personnel were able to digitize cells depicting ownership, degree of damage, and the preeruption cover classes. These digitized data provided such informa-tion as the total area affected within and outside the national forest, total timber acreage destroyed and damaged, the sizes of timber destroyed, and the acreage of barren land both before and after the eruption. The hydrology and transportation overlays provided information for an alert system to locate areas needing in-depth studies. These problem areas were then studied in detail on low-altitude color photography so that potential erosion sites could receive preventive treatments and essential access roads needed for fire control and timber salvage could be repaired.

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Richard E. Hinkle, James C. Prill, and John R. Pruitt "Mount St. Helens Quick Response Damage Assessment Using High-Altitude Infrared Photography", Proc. SPIE 0278, Electro-Optical Instrumentation for Resources Evaluation, (6 November 1981); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.931924

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KEYWORDS

Photography

Roads

Cameras

Infrared photography

Hydrology

Photointerpretation

Imaging systems

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