A picture is worth a thousand words. SkyTruth uses pictures taken from orbiting satellites and aircraft to show people the impacts of our activities on the planet.

These images reveal the landscape disruption and habitat degradation caused by mining, oil and gas drilling, deforestation and urban sprawl. And because satellites have global reach and can repeatedly capture images of any area, they can be used to monitor industrial sites, logging operations, environmentally sensitive areas, shipping traffic, fisheries, and resource-management practices no matter where in the world they occur. With a global archive of satellite images now stretching back more than 30 years, we can also use current and historical images to show changes in the landscape over time.

At SkyTruth, we specialize in designing and conducting projects that use images to study and communicate environmental impacts. Our technical staff uses advanced image processing techniques to turn raw image data into a wide range of useful products, including large-format maps and posters, page-sized brochures and flyers, virtual globes (Google Earth) and Web-friendly digital graphics. We also provide custom-processed images in digital formats compatible with the most widely used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.

We work closely with environmental NGOs and government management agencies to conduct projects that address critical environmental issues and provide timely information to inform decisionmaking processes.

Image processing is the analysis, manipulation and display of digital image data from sources such as satellite images, photographs and video. It involves three basic steps:

1) Data input converts the colors and shading in a picture into binary values that a computer can interpret; the digital data are then "imported" into an image processing environment.

2) Processing refers to all of the digital manipulations that are done to make the image data useful for analysis and display. These steps typically include color and contrast enhancement, spatial filtering, and resampling the image to fit a standard cartographic reference system (or map projection) so that it may be used within a GIS database.

3) Output generates various products from the processed image: hardcopy maps, digital graphics that can be added to reports, publications or Web sites, and GIS-ready information or analyses derived from the image.