PGC Updates & Insights
Approval for Publishing Imagery
PGC Users planning on attending the upcoming AGU fall meeting and presenting and/or publishing any commercial satellite imagery of the Vantor (formerly Maxar) constellation, WorldView 1/2/3, QuickBird, GeoEye, in a poster or session must receive approval from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency prior to public release.
PGC makes the approval process simple and streamlined. We ask you to submit the release request form and pre-published material to PGC and we will do the rest. More information about the approval process and acknowledgement policy can be found at the links below. Processing typically takes 24-48 hours so please plan accordingly.
Imagery for Public Release Template
PGC Citation and Publication Guide
Arctic Satellite Tasking Due Jan 30th
PGC is partnering with NGA to coordinate Vantor (formerly Maxar) satellite imagery collections for the 2026 Arctic field season. Researchers and logistics teams with NSF-OPP funding are invited to submit tasking requests for their points of interest to their PGC Point of Contact.
PGC Support for USAP 2025-26
PGC support to United States Antarctic Program (USAP) projects and operations is ongoing, despite our absence in McMurdo Station, Antarctica due to funding circumstances earlier this year. PGC’s remote sensing expertise and products may still be requested. Contact our User Service team to discuss possibilities of how PGC can help your objectives this season.
EarthDEM Updates in CSDA
In case you missed it, a major update to EarthDEM is now available through the NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program, expanding coverage to over half of Earth’s non-polar land areas — including most of the Americas and significant portions of Africa, Eurasia, and Australia/Oceania. The October release includes 2-meter strip DEMs, 50×50 km mosaics, and accompanying vector index files. Eligible users include U.S. federal employees, U.S. federal contractors, and U.S. Government-funded partners. This includes the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded scientists.
Student Spotlight
PGC congratulates Nicole Schiller, whose updated Ross Island with Beaufort Island map earned multiple top awards this year! Nicole won the 2025 U-Spatial Student Mapping Prize for Best Cartography (Graduate Student) and the 2025 North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Student Map Competition Best Design awards. Her map is also featured in the MN GIS/LIS Member Showcase — all well-deserved recognitions of her outstanding cartographic work.
Her map is a beautifully styled general reference map of Ross Island with an inset of nearby Beaufort Island, using vector snow and rock outcrop styling complemented by hillshade and inspired by original work of former PGC cartographer, Brad Herried, and classic USGS Antarctic Reference map series of the 1960s-1980s.
Access the map in PGC Map Catalog:
https://maps.apps.pgc.umn.edu/id/2399
Check out the original PGC Newsletter post here.