top of page
Writer's pictureAnna Phommachanthone

Learning from declassified U.S. satellite imagery

From the desk of Philipp Barthelme


In October 2021 I started a PhD to study the long-term impacts of the Vietnam War on the environment and local community livelihoods in Southeast Asia. I had come across the project proposal, advertised by the Centre for Satellite Data in Environmental Science (SENSE), one year earlier, and it sparked my interest. Not because I knew much about satellite data or the Vietnam War at the time, but because a few weeks earlier I had come across a map showing the bombing missions of the Vietnam War. It was one of those “Did you know…” moments that you can’t help but share with the people around you. 


Did you know that the U.S. dropped more bombs on Laos during the American Secret War in Laos than on Japan and Germany combined during the entire World War II?


Did you know that more than 20% of the land in Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia are estimated to remain contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO) today?


Did you know that 50 years after the end of the war people are still dying from UXO every year?


Early during my PhD I came across the declassified KH-9 satellite imagery and downloaded an image showing parts of Quang Tri province, Vietnam in 1973. My first reaction was surprise. The image was incredibly detailed. To give some context, the only satellite imagery from that time I had known about was the Landsat 1 imagery with a resolution of about 80m. In comparison, the KH-9 images had a resolution of 0.6-1.2m, not far off from what we can see on Google Maps today. It would take more than 25 years, until 1999, before the first commercial satellite mission (IKONOS) achieved a comparable resolution.


KH-9 image D3C1205-100113A010_c showing parts of Quang Tri province, Vietnam in 1973. The image is available as part of the Declassified Satellite Imagery – 3 collection courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.


My second reaction was disbelief. I knew more facts about the war by now but I didn’t know what they meant. Looking at the destruction visible in the KH-9 image it started to dawn on me. It took a moment for me to understand that all the white circles I was looking at were in fact bomb craters, tens of thousands of bomb craters.


Zoomed in view of KH-9 image D3C1205-100113A010_c showing a large number of bomb craters.


I have since spent countless hours zooming in and out of KH-9 images, a habit I expect to keep up for the remainder of my PhD. Unfortunately, looking at old images alone isn’t quite enough these days to get a PhD. So I started working on machine learning methods to automatically detect the bomb craters in the KH-9 imagery. Although the presence of bomb craters means that the corresponding bombs exploded, any unexploded bombs from the same bomb strike are likely to be located nearby. My hope was therefore that the imagery and derived bomb crater locations would be useful for non-technical survey and residual risk management in Southeast Asia.


I realized that, in order to create anything useful, I needed to understand more about mine action in Southeast Asia. With the help of the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), who have been supporting my PhD, I started reaching out to people. Finally, in autumn 2023, I was able to visit Vietnam and Lao PDR to present my research on the bomb crater detection, which is now also available online. I had great conversations and learned a lot from the people I met and I hope to work together with them in the future. 


Now, back in Edinburgh, I can’t help but wonder if maybe, almost 50 years after the end of the war, there isn’t anything new I can contribute. Then I think about the journey of that first KH-9 image of Quang Tri I had looked at about two years ago. I keep thinking about the U.S. analyst who looked at that same image in 1973 before it disappeared into an archive for almost 50 years when someone pulled out the now declassified film roll, scanned the image and put it online. I think about all the other KH-9 images, all the other declassified documents in the archives and all the documents that remain classified until today. I think about all the people in Southeast Asia that still can’t move on from the war, as much as they would like to. And I can’t help but wonder if maybe, almost 50 years after the end of the war, there is still more I can do to contribute. Maybe, at the very least, I can ask someone did you know…?

167 views5 comments

5 commentaires


Acacia Hary
Acacia Hary
16 sept.

Thank you so much for sharing such great information with us. Your website is awesome. We are impressed by the details you have on your website. We have bookmarked this website. Keep it up and thanks again. Game dordle for relaxing everyone

J'aime

Ariel wilson
Ariel wilson
16 sept.

Learning from declassified U.S. satellite imagery provides invaluable historical and geographical insights, aiding researchers in various fields. Analyzing this data requires precision, much like ensuring your research is flawless. That's why many students turn to phd dissertation proofreading services to refine their work and achieve the highest standards of academic writing.

Modifié
J'aime

lyfybor
25 août

Undercoating services typically involve a thorough cleaning of the underside of the car, followed by the application rocklear coating of a protective coating.

J'aime

han gu
han gu
10 juil.

正确使用作业代写服务,留学生应积极参与写作过程,而不是完全依赖代写者。可以通过与代写者沟通,讨论作业的主题、结构和论点,提出自己的想法和疑问。这种互动不仅可以帮助代写者更好地理解学生的需求,还能使学生在讨论和沟通中深入理解作业题目和写作要求。


参与写作过程还包括对代写作业进行修改和调整。收到代写作业 https://www.lunwenhelp.com/assignment-daixie/ 后,留学生应仔细阅读并分析其中的每一个部分,标注不理解或有疑问的地方,然后与代写者沟通,寻求解释和修改建议。通过这种方式,留学生可以逐步掌握写作技巧和学术规范,提升自己的写作能力和学术水平。

J'aime

Cris Porper
Cris Porper
05 juil.

Accentuate the uniqueness and style of your car with car films from Tinfit, which are sold in their online store at https://www.tintfit.com/shop/car-window-film. The films are available in a variety of shades and designs, allowing you to create a customized look for your car. Combine aesthetics and functionality with films that are one of the best solutions for your car.

J'aime
20th year logo (3)_edited.png
bottom of page