Forest Alert Triage — Rubric

project: forest-alerts spec_version: 0.1.0

A satellite system flagged possible forest loss at this spot. Your job: look at a satellite image from before the alert and one from after, then decide (1) is there a real new clearing at the alert location, and (2) if so, what most likely caused it? You are the human-style second look that the automated alert system doesn't have.

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1. What you receive (payload)

{
  "center": { "lat": -9.9312, "lon": -63.0145 },
  "window_km": 2.56,
  "alert": {
    "first_detected": "2026-08-14",
    "last_detected": "2026-09-02",
    "approx_area_ha": 12.4,
    "pixel_box": { "x0": 110, "y0": 115, "x1": 145, "y1": 140 }
  },
  "before": { "date": "2026-06-20", "url": "…/before.jpg", "cloud_cover": 1.2 },
  "after":  { "date": "2026-09-11", "url": "…/after.jpg",  "cloud_cover": 0.3 }
}

• Both images are 256 × 256 px, true color, north up, covering the same 2.56 km square. 1 px = 10 m (the sensor's native resolution).
• pixel_box is where the alert is: x from the left edge, y from the top edge, in pixels. Judge the alert box first. Glance at the surroundings for context only.
• 1 hectare = 10 × 10 px. A 12 ha alert covers ≈ 35 × 35 px.
• Download and look at both images. If either fails to load, answer uncertain with confidence: 0 and say which failed.

2. Labels

clearing_confirmed

In the alert box, an area that was tree canopy in before (dark green, rough/textured, irregular natural edges) is non-forest in after: bare soil (tan/orange/red-brown), burned ground (black/charcoal), smooth light-green grass, water, or a road. Typical signs:

• straight edges, rectangles, or a new block cut from a forest patch;
• a new road or track with clearing beside it;
• an existing clearing whose edge has visibly advanced into forest;
• a ragged scar with burned (dark) ground.

The cleared area should be at least ~0.5 ha (≈ 7 × 7 px). Alerts often cover only the first part of a clearing that is still growing.

no_clearing

• The alert box looks like the same forest in both images.
• The area was already non-forest in before and only changed color (pasture greening or browning, crop harvested, field plowed). Seasonal change on already-cleared land is not a clearing.
• Differences are only lighting, haze, or color balance across the whole image.

uncertain

• Cloud, cloud shadow, haze, or smoke covers the alert box in either image.
• You can't tell whether the area was forest or already-cleared land in before.
• The change is real but too small or too blurry to call.
• An image failed to load or the two images don't show the same place.

3. Answer fields

{
  "label": "clearing_confirmed",
  "answer": {
    "driver": "pasture_or_crops",
    "extends_existing_clearing": true,
    "cloud_obstructed": false
  },
  "confidence": 0.8,
  "notes": "Alert box: ~30x25 px rectangular block of former canopy now bare tan soil with straight N and E edges, adjoining an older pasture to the west."
}

answer.driver is required. Use "unknown" unless the label is clearing_confirmed. Pick the single best fit:

driver	Looks like
pasture_or_crops	Geometric blocks, often joining existing fields; bare soil or light grass; may show windrows (parallel lines of piled debris)
mining	Bright, discolored ground, pits, ponds of muddy or turquoise water, usually along a river or stream
road	A new thin line through forest, with little clearing beside it
selective_logging	Forest mostly still standing but speckled with small gaps, skid trails, and small log yards; canopy thinned rather than removed
fire	Black/charcoal or dull-brown scar with irregular edges, often ignoring property lines; canopy browned but not geometrically removed
plantation_harvest	A uniform tree plantation (even rows, uniform texture) cut in blocks
natural	River erosion, a meander shift, a landslide, wind-throw; no human geometry
urban_or_infrastructure	Buildings, lots, dam or power-line corridors
unknown	A real clearing whose cause you can't tell, or the label isn't clearing_confirmed

• extends_existing_clearing: true if the new clearing touches non-forest that already existed in before.
• cloud_obstructed: true if cloud, shadow, or smoke hides any part of the alert box in either image.

4. Confidence

Range	Meaning
0.85–1.0	Unmistakable. You'd bet on it.
0.6–0.85	Clear, with a plausible alternative explanation.
0.4–0.6	Leaning. Consider uncertain.
< 0.4	Use uncertain.

Confidence is about the label. If you're sure there's a clearing but unsure of the driver, keep the confidence high and pick unknown for the driver.

5. Notes

At least 20 characters. Say where (use the alert box, plus compass directions within it), what changed (from what to what), and what shape. Do not speculate about who did it, whether it was legal, or why. Imagery can't show that.

6. Common mistakes

• Calling a harvested or plowed field a clearing. Check: was it forest in before?
• Calling cloud shadow a burn scar. Shadows sit beside a cloud, with the same shape offset.
• Calling dry-season browning of standing forest a clearing. The texture is still canopy.
• Judging the whole image instead of the alert box.