USGS Submissions

Ecosystems – Birds

Shorebird Habitat Usage, Change on Gulf Barrier Islands

Submitted by atripp on

Migratory species depend on a chain of habitats for survival, including breeding habitats, overwintering sites, and migratory stopover locations. Barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico provide habitat for all three of these life-history phases and are important habitat for many shorebird species, such as Red Knots, Piping Plovers, and Western Sandpipers.

Geologic/Minerals Mapping

Special Geologic Studies: Artisanal and Small-scale Mining of Conflict Minerals

Submitted by atripp on

This project focuses on the illegal artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) of small and low-grade mineral and gemstone deposits. Project scientists employ field mapping, geomorphological techniques, and remote sensing to map, monitor, and evaluate mineral deposits and ASM activities in conflict zones and during complex emergencies.

Hazards

Impacts of Meteorological and Anthropogenic Droughts on Hamun Lake, Afghanistan

Submitted by atripp on

Located on the border of Iran and Afghanistan, Hamun Lake is a critical source of water for communities, irrigated agriculture, and wildlife across a river basin that covers 40% of Afghanistan. Two main storage dams regulate flow and support irrigated agriculture in this river valley.

Invasives

Mapping Cheatgrass in the Sagebrush Ecosystem of the Western U.S.

Submitted by atripp on

Cheatgrass is a highly flammable, prolific grass species that invades sagebrush ecosystems and creates extensive fuel beds that spread fire. The fires threaten homes, grazing lands, energy development, and wildlife habitat. To plan for upcoming fire seasons, land managers need spatially explicit maps at relevant spatial resolutions that provide early estimates of cheatgrass cover.

Monitoring Exotic Annual Grasses around Energy Development Sites with Landsat Time Series

Submitted by atripp on

Exotic annual species are of concern in much of the Western U.S. because they have flexible responses to resource availability, high reproductive capacity, and propagules that are readily dispersed, particularly in disturbed areas like those created and maintained for energy development.

Land Use and Land Cover Change

Landscape Change

Mapping Long-term Landscape Dynamics in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Submitted by atripp on

Forest loss, forest succession, and wetland drying have been key issues on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula in recent decades. Spruce bark beetle outbreaks, natural and human-caused wildfires, shrub expansion, lake drying, permafrost thaw, and industrial activities have all contributed to extensive land cover change across the peninsula.

Remote Sensing Missions & Data

3D Elevation Program Status

Submitted by atripp on

The goal of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is to complete acquisition of nationwide lidar (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) in Alaska) in 8 years to provide the first-ever national baseline of consistent high-resolution elevation data—both bare earth and 3D point clouds—collected in a timeframe of less than a decade.