Earth Observations in Social Science Research for Management of Natural Resources and the Environment: Identifying the Landsat Contribution

This paper surveys the peer-reviewed social science literature in which Landsat data are used to inform public policy in managing natural resources and the environment. The paper differentiates articles in which methodology is developed (for example, developing and testing algorithms or demonstrating how data could be used) and articles in which data are applied for decisionmaking or policy implementation. The studies surveyed in this paper are selected from a wide range of publications within the social sciences. Selection uses social science-oriented bibliographic search indices. Searching the social science literature leads to identification of applications of Landsat by a community of experts unlikely to be identified by surveys or overviews of the Landsat program. Surveys and overview studies have tended to target researchers specializing in remote sensing or photogrammetry rather than researchers drawn from the social sciences. The usefulness of Landsat data as a basis for public investment in the Landsat program is underestimated in the absence of recognizing this body of research.