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Florida International UniversityFIU Digital Commons
Sea Level Rise Collection
10-6-2014
Eyes in the Sky: ALTA Partners Begin to CaptureRising SeasRobert
E. Gutsche Jr.School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Florida
International University, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at:
http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/sea_level_rise
Part of the Communication Commons, and the Environmental
Sciences Commons
This work is brought to you for free and open access by FIU
Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sea Level
Rise Collection by anauthorized administrator of FIU Digital
Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Recommended CitationGutsche, Robert E. Jr., "Eyes in the Sky:
ALTA Partners Begin to Capture Rising Seas" (2014). Sea Level Rise
Collection. Paper
22.http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/sea_level_rise/22
http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu?utm_source=digitalcommons.fiu.edu%2Fsea_level_rise%2F22&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/sea_level_rise?utm_source=digitalcommons.fiu.edu%2Fsea_level_rise%2F22&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/sea_level_rise?utm_source=digitalcommons.fiu.edu%2Fsea_level_rise%2F22&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://network.bepress.com/hgg/discipline/325?utm_source=digitalcommons.fiu.edu%2Fsea_level_rise%2F22&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://network.bepress.com/hgg/discipline/167?utm_source=digitalcommons.fiu.edu%2Fsea_level_rise%2F22&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/sea_level_rise/22?utm_source=digitalcommons.fiu.edu%2Fsea_level_rise%2F22&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPagesmailto:[email protected]
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Eyes in the Sky: ALTAPartners Begin to CaptureRising SeasOCTOBER
6, 2014 / TED GUTSCHE / 0 COMMENTS
FIU-ALTA Partnership Captures High-Resolution Images of
SLR
http://www.eyesontherise.org/alta/http://www.eyesontherise.org/alta/http://www.eyesontherise.org/author/ted/http://www.eyesontherise.org/
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A collaboration between a Miami area high-tech company and
Florida
International University has improved ways to capture South
Florida’s
environment to help scientists, citizens, and local governments
prepare for
future storms and rising seas.
Already, ALTA Systems (www.altapic.com) and scientists with
Florida
International University collaborated earlier this year to
gather high
resolution images of all of the City of Sweetwater. In that
project,
researchers used five balloons from 100 to 200 feet in the sky
and a ground
image system to capture 18,305 aerial images and 32,320 street
level images.
Images provided city officials with information about random
objects that
have been abandoned on rooftops that could become “wind
missiles,” clogged
storm drains that could contribute to street flooding, and
potential property
violations.
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In partnership with FIU, ALTA uses its proprietary systems and
software
which relies on flying lighter than air platforms and
high-resolution cameras
as high as 150 feet above the ground to capture images that may
never
before have been seen in such detail.
ALTA’s balloons can be tethered to the ground and directed
remotely.
Captured images are then converted into Virtual Field Reports
(VFR) to
provide a bird’s-eye view of a geography’s built and natural
environments
with significant clarity that can help in times of hurricane
preparedness by
identifying dangerous possible flying objects, electric lines,
fire hydrants,
street drains, pollution, and illegal dumping places which all
can contribute to
problems during storms.
Such field reports will help city officials identify and map the
coordinates and
address potential environmental hazards. This novel approach
will allow
officials and citizens to quickly find potential problems and to
address such
problems quickly and efficiently. Watch VFRs here.
Measuring Sea Level Rise From the Sky
ALTA technology has a direct influence on how citizens and
public officials
can understand environmental changes and impacts – particularly
of sea
level rise in South Florida.
“When it comes to sea level rise, like
everything else, seeing is believing,” said
ALTA CEO John Ciampa. “For this reason
imagery has become the main staple of
modern media. ALTA imagery provides a
unique perspective from ground level and
low altitude aerial cameras collecting a
mosaic of revealing oblique angled, super resolution
images.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdj0cQS2PGkhttp://i2.wp.com/www.eyesontherise.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screen-Shot-2014-10-05-at-11.49.04-AM.png
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ALTA’s approach to gathering detailed images of landscapes
and
environments is a unique one that provides outcomes unlike
current options
of making georeferenced images. “All other methods of capturing
oblique
georeferenced imagery involve aircraft and pilots,” Ciampa said.
“These
methods are less revealing because of the altitude
limitations and other
obstructions between the airplane camera and the ground; they
are also less
frequent because of the cost of such missions.”
ALTA’s products also offer more impactful images for lower
financial
investment. “ALTA imagery provides unobstructed views and is
more current
because of its low cost,” said ALTA’s Ciampa. “ALTA aerial
images are
captured from smart balloons which also sense air quality and
other
atmospheric data all of which is instantly available to any
device which has
access to the Internet.”
Capturing Oct. 9 Tides on Miami Beach
Beginning early on Oct. 9, FIU students and faculty will be
using boats and
vehicles to deploy these balloons and cameras as more than 70
high school
and college students from Miami-Dade County spend several
hours
examining potential flood waters on Miami Beach as part of King
Tide Day,
the day when tides have led to massive flooding throughout parts
of South
Florida.
Ciampa said the Oct. 9 King Tide Day event will be a perfect
opportunity to
once again use ALTA’s technology to capture Miami’s environments
through
collaboration with college and high school students who will not
only learn
about the company’s technology but to see how such technology
can help
inform citizens about their environments.
Water samples and other data gathered on Oct. 9 will be used by
MAST @
FIU high school students throughout October to conduct
classroom
experiments, while high-resolution images of the Miami Beach
coastline, in
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some instances using ALTA balloons to make aerial photographs,
will record
the movement of water during the King Tide.
“We’re very excited about this project,” said FIU journalism
professor Susan
Jacobson. “As far as I know, it’s the first of its kind to
harness personal
technology and open data sources to help inform average citizens
about the
impact of sea-level rise on their homes and businesses.”
The Oct. 9 event will kick-off at 8 a.m. with a public
discussion about climate
change led by The CLEO (Climate Leadership Engagement
Opportunities)
Institute on the fourth floor of the Miami Beach Urban Studios,
420 Lincoln
Road. CLEO was also involved in a Sept. 29 rally that announced
the King
Tide event at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami and
worked with 30
MAST students in preparation of the King Tide events on Oct. 9.
More than
200 students, educators, and representatives of the local tech
community
attended the event.
UPCOMING EVENT
WHO: Florida International University’s School of Journalism
andMass Communication
WHAT: eyesontherise.org King Tide Day
WHERE: Miami Beach
WHEN: Oct. 9 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Florida International UniversityFIU Digital Commons10-6-2014
Eyes in the Sky: ALTA Partners Begin to Capture Rising
SeasRobert E. Gutsche Jr.Recommended Citation
tmp.1456505014.pdf.P35Oi