About 15 million people rely on the Delaware River Basin for drinking water, including residents of Philadelphia, PA, Camden, NJ, and Wilmington, DE. What might happen to the water supply if climate change and population growth continue unabated? How might that impact land cover and land use patterns?
EROS 50th History: Helping the World Through Science
By Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
January 29, 2024
Longtime Research Physical Scientist Terry Sohl has been named branch chief for the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center’s Integrated Science and Applications Branch, which involves about 140 government and contract staff members.
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Sohl has held an acting role in the position since March 2021, but EROS Center Director Pete Doucette announced that the assignment had become permanent on January 28, 2024.
“Terry’s breadth of experience, combined with his forward thinking, made him the right person to take on the role of EROS science branch chief,” Doucette said. “Furthermore, he’s well respected by science staff for his technical accomplishments and calm demeanor.”
Sohl’s history working in EROS science, particularly land cover and change, dates to 1993, when he arrived at EROS after working with Landsat and other imagery in the Defense Intelligence Agency. His first task at EROS turned out to be significant and enduring: helping develop the National Land Cover Database (NCLD), which stands today as the definitive land cover database for the United States.
Sohl broke ground again when he served on the team developing the Land Cover Trends project strategy and data products, and later in developing the Forecasting Scenarios of Land Use (FORE-SCE) framework to model both historical and future land use for time periods when remote sensing data are not available.
In the near term, Sohl is overseeing an effort to incorporate improvements into the NLCD that he helped originate, with a “next generation” release set for later this year. But in his new role, he also sees a broader picture.
“A primary goal for the Integrated Science and Applications Branch is to cement our reputation as the source for land-change monitoring data. And in a rapidly changing field, EROS science will continue to evolve,” Sohl said.
“Moving forward,” he added, “priorities are embracing new artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies, developing new partnerships with not only traditional federal and academic partners but with private industry, and to explore greater harmonization and integration of commercial and data sources other than Landsat.”
Doucette added his thoughts about the future of EROS science: “A vision that Terry and I share is to continue ramping up our use of AI, high performance compute and cloud services, along with a broader spectrum of data inputs, to address pressing challenges we face in landscape and climate science. This approach captures the essence of data science.”
Related Content
Listen to Terry Sohl discuss land cover science at EROS on Eyes on Earth podcast episodes and watch a video about Sohl explaining the FORE-SCE Land Use Model.
Eyes on Earth Episode 107 – EROS 50th: Land Cover, Part 2
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) has a long history as the definitive U.S. land cover product. But the newer Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection (LCMAP) effort takes a longer look back in time.
About 15 million people rely on the Delaware River Basin for drinking water, including residents of Philadelphia, PA, Camden, NJ, and Wilmington, DE. What might happen to the water supply if climate change and population growth continue unabated? How might that impact land cover and land use patterns?
Eyes on Earth Episode 16 – Predictive Modeling
Land cover and land use across the United States are the culmination of a complex web of interwoven factors: Climate, landscape types, and economic factors among them. Remotely-sensed data from satellites like Landsat and a variety of other sources are useful for documenting and monitoring land cover and land use.
Land cover and land use across the United States are the culmination of a complex web of interwoven factors: Climate, landscape types, and economic factors among them. Remotely-sensed data from satellites like Landsat and a variety of other sources are useful for documenting and monitoring land cover and land use.
FORE-SCE Land Use Model with Terry Sohl
Terry Sohl talks about the FORE-SCE Land Use model that is being used to assist a variety of groups. the model uses land cover products from the USGS and extrapolates that data to predict what areas will look like in the future, based on a variety of scenarios.
Terry Sohl talks about the FORE-SCE Land Use model that is being used to assist a variety of groups. the model uses land cover products from the USGS and extrapolates that data to predict what areas will look like in the future, based on a variety of scenarios.
Related Content
Listen to Terry Sohl discuss land cover science at EROS on Eyes on Earth podcast episodes and watch a video about Sohl explaining the FORE-SCE Land Use Model.
Eyes on Earth Episode 107 – EROS 50th: Land Cover, Part 2
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) has a long history as the definitive U.S. land cover product. But the newer Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection (LCMAP) effort takes a longer look back in time.
Eyes on Earth Episode 50 – Delaware River Basin
About 15 million people rely on the Delaware River Basin for drinking water, including residents of Philadelphia, PA, Camden, NJ, and Wilmington, DE. What might happen to the water supply if climate change and population growth continue unabated? How might that impact land cover and land use patterns?
About 15 million people rely on the Delaware River Basin for drinking water, including residents of Philadelphia, PA, Camden, NJ, and Wilmington, DE. What might happen to the water supply if climate change and population growth continue unabated? How might that impact land cover and land use patterns?
Eyes on Earth Episode 16 – Predictive Modeling
Land cover and land use across the United States are the culmination of a complex web of interwoven factors: Climate, landscape types, and economic factors among them. Remotely-sensed data from satellites like Landsat and a variety of other sources are useful for documenting and monitoring land cover and land use.
Land cover and land use across the United States are the culmination of a complex web of interwoven factors: Climate, landscape types, and economic factors among them. Remotely-sensed data from satellites like Landsat and a variety of other sources are useful for documenting and monitoring land cover and land use.
FORE-SCE Land Use Model with Terry Sohl
Terry Sohl talks about the FORE-SCE Land Use model that is being used to assist a variety of groups. the model uses land cover products from the USGS and extrapolates that data to predict what areas will look like in the future, based on a variety of scenarios.
Terry Sohl talks about the FORE-SCE Land Use model that is being used to assist a variety of groups. the model uses land cover products from the USGS and extrapolates that data to predict what areas will look like in the future, based on a variety of scenarios.
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