USGS Submissions

Carbon

Carbon Sequestration Potential of Federal Lands

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Federal lands, covering about 23.5% of the conterminous United States, provide and sustain a wide range of ecosystem services including biodiversity preservation, mineral and energy development, recreation, and timber production. However, no systematic information about the spatial patterns and temporal changes of carbon stock and carbon sequestration potentials on Federal lands is available, representing a critical national knowledge gap.

Data-Driven Carbon Fluxes in Rangeland and Cropland

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Understanding current carbon fluxes is important for developing remediation or mitigation strategies in response to  anticipated changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations under future climate scenarios. Although atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes from rangelands and croplands  are small relative to those of forest systems,these land covers make up a large area in the conterminous United States (CONUS).

Mangrove Monitoring and Carbon Assessment

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Mangroves are among the most carbon rich forests globally and they provide numerous ecological and economic services such as coastal erosion protection, water filtration, and breeding grounds for fish.  These coastal ecosystems are among the most threatened and vulnerable worldwide and have experienced a dramatic decline during the last half century. Better scientific understanding of the rates, patterns, causes, and consequences of mangrove change is needed.

Remote Sensing Ecology: Biofuels, Biomass, & Carbon

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Biofuels derived from cellulosic grass, such as switchgrass, have the potential to provide domestic biofuels with minimal adverse effect on food production.  USGS scientists are seeking to identify ecological conditions that may favor switchgrass production over conventional agriculture crops, particularly corn.   The crop-grassland boundary in eastern Nebraska has been identified as a potential area for effective and sustainable switchgrass production; switchgrass production under future climate conditions is predicted to be similar to or greater than current production.

Climate and Land Cover Change

Completion of Historical “Backcast” Modeling to 1938 for the Conterminous United States

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Land use and land cover (LULC) in the United States has changed dramatically over the last century.  With a changing landscape, natural processes have been forever altered, impacting climate, carbon, hydrology, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services.  An understanding of historical LULC is needed to assess the past effects of LULC change on ecological and societal processes, and to facilitate the modeling of potential future LULC change to support planning and mitigation efforts.

Harmonization of Forest Disturbance Datasets

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

A wide range of spatial forest disturbance datasets exist for the conterminous United States, yet inconsistencies among map products arise because of differing programmatic objectives and classification methodologies. Harmonized maps were produced from multiple data sources (i.e., Global Forest Change, LANDFIRE Vegetation Disturbance, National Land Cover Database, Vegetation Change Tracker, Web-enabled Landsat Data, and Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity) using a pixel-based data fusion process.

Identifying Large Areas of Change

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The ability to quickly identify where change on the ground occurs on a national level can enable focused mapping efforts and help identify trends in landscapes over time. The USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center undertook preliminary research into methods to evaluate change. The shift from areas of low or no amounts of vegetation to high, or vice versa, can indicate where larger land cover/ land use changes are occurring due to e.g., landslides or urbanization.

Release of Provisional Climate Data Record and Essential Climate Variable Products

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

For the past several years, the Land Remote Sensing Program has sponsored the development of Landsat science products referred to as climate data records (CDRs) and essential climate variables (ECVs) to support scientific research and applications associated with the study of long-term trends in natural or human-induced changes to the Earth’s land surface.  These products include atmospherically corrected surface reflectance and surface temperature, burned area, dynamic surface water extent, fraction of snow covered area, and aboveground biomass.

Ecosystems - Restoration

Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Assessment at Dauphin Island

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Dauphin Island, Alabama, is a strategically important barrier island along the northern Gulf of Mexico in large part because it serves as the only barrier island providing protection to much of Alabama’s coastal natural resources. The size of the system spans over 200 acres of evolving barrier island habitat including beach, dune, intertidal wetlands, maritime forest, and freshwater ponds. In addition, Dauphin Island provides protection to approximately one-third of the Mississippi Sound and estuarine habitats including oyster reefs, marshes, and seagrasses.