Dear GLIMS colleagues, YOUR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE NEEDED. BELOW ARE TWO ASTER IMAGE ACQUISITION RE-PRIORITIZATION SCHEMES (FOR FUTURE IMAGING). ONE IS BASED SIMPLY ON A RANK ORDERING OF CLOUDINESS. CLOUDIER AREAS GET HIGHER PRIORITY. (PLEASE NOTE THAT NO REGIONS ARE SO CLOUDY THAT IT IS CONSIDERED HOPELESS. EVEN BHUTAN HAS SOME CLOUDY IMAGES THAT NEVERTHELESS HAVE MAJOR CLEAR AREAS WHERE GLACIERS ARE VISIBLE, AS ANDY KAAB'S WORK HAS SHOWN.) I PREFER THE SECOND SCHEME, AS IT SHOULD ACHIEVE ROUGHLY ZERO NET CHANGE IN TOTAL ASTER IMAGING RESOURCES DEDICATED TO GLIMS BUT SHOULD ACHIEVE MORE UNIFORM AND MORE COMPLETE GLOBAL COVERAGE. THE TWO SCHEMES WILL BE SUMMARIZED AT A MEETING WITH ASTER MISSION OPERATIONS IN THE DEC. 11-15 TIMEFRAME. A FINAL PLAN, BASED ON YOUR COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK, WILL BE SUBMITTED IN EARLY JANUARY 2006. -Jeffrey S. Kargel = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = SCHEME 1. REPRIORITIZATION BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF RETURNED IMAGES HAVING ¾10% CLOUDS. THIS IS A SIMPLE RANK ORDERING BASED ON THIS CLOUD CRITERION. REGIONS REQUIRING MAJOR INCREASE OF PRIORITY: Bhutan 0% Canada-Mackenzie Mountains 5% China-far east Tibet/Sichuan 5% Nepal 6% Irian Jaya 11% China-Kunlun Shan, Altun Shan 11% China-mid-eastern Tibet 12% China-western Tibet 17% Alaska-Kuskokwim Mountains 20% India- between Nepal & Pakistan 24% Pakistan/Afghanistan 24% Alaska-Aleutian Is. & Peninsula 24% High-latitude Antarctic "pointing" ring -- REGIONS REQUIRING SMALL INCREASE IN PRIORITY: New Zealand-North Island 25% Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan 26% Canada-Rockies 27% China/Kyrgzstan-Tian Shan 28% Russian Arctic-Novaya Zemlya 28% Iceland 28% Alaska-Brooks Range 29% Ecuador and Colombia 30% Alaska- St. Elias/ panhandle 31% Mongolia and Russia-S Siberia 32% Russia-Kamchatka 33% New Zealand-South Island 34% Norway-Svalbard 34% Alaska-Chugach/Wrangells/AlaskaRg 35% Russia-Arctic-FrJosef/Northland 35% Europe-Alps 36% Peru-Cordillera Blanca 37% Chile/Argentina-S.Patagonia Icefd 39% REGIONS NOT REQUIRING CHANGE OF PRIORITY: Norway-mainland 44% Canadian Arctic-Devon Island 46% Canadian Arctic-Baffin Island 46% Europe-Pyrenees and Appennines 47% Russia-Eastern Siberia 47% U.S. -Cascades 47% Canada-British Columbia 49% REGIONS REQUIRING DECREASE OF PRIORITY: Greenland-East Central 50% Chile-N Patagon. Icefd., N Chile 52% U.S.-Rockies 52% Southern Peru/Bolivia 53% Russia and fmr Soviet-Caucasus 55% Greenland-Northwest 57% Antarctic Peninsula 60% Russia-Ural Mountains 61% East Antarctica-Scott/Borch/Oates 64% Canada Arctic-Axel Heib +Ellesm 65% Greenland- Central 77% Greenland-Northeast 79% Greenland-South 82% West Antarc.-Ellsworth Land 93% East Antarctica-Wilkes Land coast 94% Greenland-West Central 96% West Antarc.-Ronne/Zumberge Coast 97% SCHEME 2. MODIFIED REPRIORITIZATION BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF RETURNED IMAGES HAVING ¾10% CLOUDS, WITH MOVEMENT UP OR DOWN THE LIST BASED ON IMPORTANCE TO PEOPLE (WATER RESOURCES, HAZARDS, TOURISM, POPULATION DENSITY NEARBY); IMPORTANCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE TRACKING; AND DENSITY (FREQUENCY) OF IMAGING AND EXISTENCE OF GAPS IN IMAGE COVERAGE. THE SUGGESTED DECREASED PRIORITIZATION OF THE CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC AND GREENLAND IN SCHEME 2 IS NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE UNIMPORTANT (THEY ARE MAJOR FACTORS FOR SEA LEVEL AND OCEANIC CIRCULATION, HENCE CLIMATE FEEDBACKS), BUT RATHER THEY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY IMAGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GLIMS' OBJECTIVES. OTHER REGIONS FALL WELL SHORT OF GLIMS IMAGING REQUIREMENTS. I AM SUGGESTING A MORATORIUM ON IMAGING OF THE HIGH NORTHERN LATITUDES FOR A PERIOD OF 2 YEARS (SUMMER 2006 AND 2007) WHILE OTHER AREAS CAN BE IMAGED WITH GREATER SUCCESS, HOPEFULLY. REGIONS REQUIRING TRIPLED PRIORITY: Bhutan 0% Canada-Mackenzie Mountains 5% China-far east Tibet/Sichuan 5% Nepal 6% Irian Jaya 11% China-Kunlun Shan, Altun Shan 11% China-mid-eastern Tibet 12% China-western Tibet 17% India- between Nepal & Pakistan 24% Pakistan/Afghanistan 24% Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan 26% China/Kyrgzstan-Tian Shan 28% Ecuador and Colombia 30% Alaska- St. Elias/ panhandle 31% Alaska-Chugach/Wrangells/AlaskaRg 35% Europe-Alps 36% Peru-Cordillera Blanca 37% Chile/Argentina-S.Patagonia Icefd 39% REGIONS REQUIRING DOUBLED PRIORITY: Alaska-Kuskokwim Mountains 20% Alaska-Aleutian Is. & Peninsula 24% New Zealand-North Island 25% Canada-Rockies 27% Russian Arctic-Novaya Zemlya 28% Iceland 28% Alaska-Brooks Range 29% Mongolia and Russia-S Siberia 32% Russia-Kamchatka 33% New Zealand-South Island 34% Norway-Svalbard 34% Russia-Arctic-FrJosef/Northland 35% U.S. -Cascades 47% REGIONS NOT TO HAVE A CHANGE OF PRIORITY: Norway-mainland 44% Canadian Arctic-Devon Island 46% Canadian Arctic-Baffin Island 46% Europe-Pyrenees and Appennines 47% Russia-Eastern Siberia 47% Canada-British Columbia 49% Chile-N Patagon. Icefd., N Chile 52% U.S.-Rockies 52% Southern Peru/Bolivia 53% Russia and fmr Soviet-Caucasus 55% Antarctic Peninsula 60% Russia-Ural Mountains 61% East Antarctica-Scott/Borch/Oates 64% West Antarc.-Ellsworth Land 93% East Antarctica-Wilkes Land coast 94% West Antarc.-Ronne/Zumberge Coast 97% REGIONS REQUIRING DECREASE OF PRIORITY: Greenland-East Central 50% Greenland-Northwest 57% Canada Arctic-Axel Heib +Ellesm 65% Greenland- Central 77% Greenland-Northeast 79% Greenland-South 82% Greenland-West Central 96%