Photo Committee explores use of satellite imagery to monitor threats to cultural heritage in Iraq, Syria, Oct. 19

The next National Press Club Photo Committee meeting will focus on the use of high resolution satellite imagery to monitor threats to and destruction of cultural heritage sites in Syria and Iraq.

The session will be held at noon Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the McLendon Room. The speaker will be Jonathan Drake of the Geospatial Technologies Project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

All National Press Club members are welcome; no RSVP is necessary. Lunch will be available for purchase at the Reliable Source buffet.

​Drake will show how ​the unprecedented capabilities of high-resolution commercial satellite imagery are being used by AAAS to identify and quantify damage to sites across Syria and Iraq. These capabilities are of particular importance in the current Mideast conflicts in which there have been widespread reports of intentional destruction of cultural heritage designed to erase the presence and history of rival social or ethnic groups.

Drake came to AAAS after working more than 10 years in remote sensing at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. At AAAS, he is involved in interpreting visible and near infrared satellite data, performing geospatial analysis, and developing new and innovative applications of remote sensing instruments, platforms, and data products in a human rights and humanitarian context.