Hyperspectral

During late summer and autumn, Pacific walruses are resting on shore north of the Bering Strait more often and in larger numbers in both the United States and Russia.  Historically, walruses rested primarily on floating sea ice over their offshore foraging grounds in this region, but climate warming has reduced availability of sea ice.  With greater numbers of walruses gathering on shore, USGS scientists an

The USGS National Geospatial Program, National Land Imaging Program, and other elements of USGS, have a compelling national interest in operationalizing technologies that increase the accuracy and efficiency of mapping the Nation.

Tens of millions of trees reportedly died in California during the 2012–2016 drought, resulting in marked increases in heavy fuel loads on the landscape. In conjunction with warming temperatures, drier conditions, and over a century of fire suppression, the accumulation of fuel can result in catastrophic fires that are beyond the predictive capacity of traditional fire behavior models.

In recent decades, forests worldwide have experienced dramatic and often unexpected drought-related tree mortality events. California recently suffered its most extreme drought on record, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of trees.

Microbial biofilm communities, which are comprised of bacteria, diatoms, protozoa, and fungi, inhabit the surface of intertidal mudflats. They play a major role in intertidal food webs and comprise a large proportion of shorebirds’ diets, so understanding biofilm distribution, quantity, and nutritional value is important for shorebird conservation and management.

Non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) includes the residual material left on a field after crop harvest, such as stalks, stubble, and seeds. Satellite-based detection and mapping of NPV supports better understanding of soil health, adoption of conservation tillage practices, and vegetation dynamics in cropland, pasture, and rangeland settings.

Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic inland waters are a worldwide concern. Blooms are exacerbated by high nutrient inputs and warmer waters and have been appearing with increasing frequency in water bodies used for drinking water or recreation.  This problem will likely worsen as the climate warms.

The USGS, in partnership with a network of national and global institutes, is developing a comprehensive Global Hyperspectral Imaging Spectral-library of Agricultural-Crops (GHISA).

Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic inland waters are a worldwide concern and are exacerbated by high nutrient inputs and warm waters. Blooms are appearing with increasing frequency in water bodies used for drinking water supply or recreation, a problem that will likely worsen as the climate warms.