Earth Imaging Glossary
A,
B,
C,
D,
E,
F,
G,
H,
I,
J,
K,
L,
M,
N,
O,
P,
Q,
R,
S,
T,
U,
V,
W,
X,
Y,
Z
" B "
BATHYMETRY
The measurement of depths of water in oceans, seas, and lakes. Also, the information derived
from such measurements.
BIA--Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior
The BIA serves Indian and Alaska Native tribes living on or near reservations. The BIA
administers and manages approximately 52 million acres of land held in trust for Indians by
the United States and works with local tribal governments on issues including road
construction and maintenance, social services, police protection, and economic development.
BIL--Band-Interleaved-by-Line
BIL is a CCT tape format that stores all bands of satellite data in one image file. Scanlines
are sequenced by interleaving all image bands. The CCT header appears once in a set.
BILINEAR
The term bilinear is referring to a bilinear interpolation. This is simply an interpolation with
two variables instead of one.
BINARY
Based upon the integer two. Binary Code is composed of a combination of entities that can
assume one of two possible conditions (0 or 1). An example in binary notation of the digits
111 would represent (1 X 2) + (1 X 2) + (1 X 2) = 4 + 2 + 1 = 7.
BIOME
A community of living organisms in a single major ecological region.
BIP--Band-Interleaved-by-Pixel
When using the BIP image format, each line of an image is stored sequentially, line 1 all
bands, line 2 all bands, etc.
For example, the first line of a three-band image would be stored as p1b1, p1b2, p1b3, p2b1,
p2b2, p2b3, where p1b1 indicates pixel one, band one, p1b2 indicates pixel one, band two,
etc.
BIP-2--Band-Interleaved-by Pixel-Pair (CCT-X)
BIP-2 is a CCT tape format available only for MSS data acquired before 1979. Data in each
of four vertical swaths are stored in a separate image file. Scanlines are sequenced and
interleaved-by-pixel- pairs. The CCT header information is recorded on each image file. BIP-
2 is sometimes referred to as CCT-X format.
BIT--BInary digiT
A bit is most commonly a unit of information equaling one binary decision, or one of two
possible and equally likely values or states. It is usually represented as a 1 or 0.
BLM--Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior
Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the BLM administers and
manages approximately 300 million acres of public lands primarily located in the western
half of the lower 48 States and Alaska. Public lands in the U.S. contain mineral and timber
reserves, support habitat for a host of wildlife, and provide recreational opportunities.
BOR--Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior
The BOR was chartered in 1902 with the responsibility to reclaim arid lands in the western
U.S. for farming by providing secure, year-around water supplies for irrigation. The BOR's
responsibilities since have expanded to include generating hydroelectric power; overseeing
municipal and industrial water supplies, river regulation, and flood control; enhancing fish
and wildlife habitats; and researching future water and energy requirements.
BPI--Bits Per Inch
The tape density to which the digital data were formatted.
BSQ--Band-Sequential
BSQ is a CCT tape format that stores each band of satellite data in one image file for all
scanlines in the imagery array. The CCT headers are recorded on each band.
BYTE
Several (usually eight) binary bits of data grouped together to represent a character, digit, or
other value.
BYTE SWAPPED
The order in which the bits are kept in computer memory is typically with the eight most
significant bits first, followed by the eight least significant bits (e.g., 511 appears as
0000000111111111). Some computer systems store data in the reverse form (e.g., 511
appears as 1111111100000001). When data are stored in this fashion, they are commonly
referred to as being byte swapped. This effect is of concern to users for data values greater
than 8-bit bytes (255).
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Initial content for this Glossary of terms has been graciously supplied by RADARSAT International - www.rsi.ca
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