Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Condition and Resilience
Active
By Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
May 31, 2019
Satellite imagery provides a powerful tool to enhance our understanding of how landscapes respond to agents of change, such as extreme climate events, wildfire and other disturbance events, and human land use activities. This research integrates multiple sources of satellite imagery with ancillary datasets to explore how ecosystems respond to and recover from mechanisms of change. Current research is focused on (1) how changes in wetlands and surface water storage inform downstream water availability, (2) improving our capacity to integrate remotely sensed surface water data into decision-making, (3) characterizing patterns and trends in post-wildfire condition and recovery, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of wildfire risk management actions such as fuel treatments, prescribed fires, and post-fire plantings.
Why this Research is Important
Extreme events like droughts, floods, and fires have large impacts on the health and safety of nearby communities. We use data from satellites to help us understand how these extreme events produce changes in water quantity, quality and distribution, as well as the extent of fire damage and post-fire revegetation, information that can help us manage natural systems and protect communities. The analysis of satellite imagery enables us to provide cutting edge science in a cost-efficient manner to both support the needs of local communities and scale easily to support national or global priorities.
Collaboration
Collaborations with research partners are a key component of this project. Currently we are actively collaborating with partners from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tall Timbers Research Station, and Academic partners.
Filter Total Items: 23
Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019) Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019)
Wildfires and prescribed fires are frequent but under-mapped across wetlands of the southeastern United States . High annual precipitation supports rapid post-fire recovery of wetland vegetation, while associated cloud cover limits clear-sky observations. In addition, the low burn severity of prescribed fires and spectral confusion between fluctuating water levels and burned areas have...
The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022) The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally-dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm makes use of predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Data release for tracking rates of post-fire conifer regeneration distinct from deciduous vegetation recovery across the western U.S. Data release for tracking rates of post-fire conifer regeneration distinct from deciduous vegetation recovery across the western U.S.
Post-fire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing post-fire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery, to distinguish evergreen vegetation from deciduous...
Tracking disturbance and inundation to identify wetland loss Tracking disturbance and inundation to identify wetland loss
Global trends in wetland degradation and loss have created an urgency to monitor wetland extent, as well as track the distribution and causes of wetland loss. Satellite imagery can be used to monitor wetlands over time, but few efforts have attempted to distinguish anthropogenic wetland loss from climate-driven variability in wetland extent. We present an approach to concurrently track...
Data Release for the validation of the USGS Landsat Burned Area Product across the conterminous U.S. Data Release for the validation of the USGS Landsat Burned Area Product across the conterminous U.S.
Complete and accurate burned area map data are needed to document spatial and temporal patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. In this study, we developed the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm, an update from the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) algorithm. We present the BA algorithm and products...
Data release for Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River headwaters basin, Montana Data release for Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River headwaters basin, Montana
The Upper Missouri River headwaters (UMH) basin (36 400 km2 ) depends on its river corridors to support irrigated agriculture and world-class trout fisheries. We evaluated trends (1984-2016) in riparian wetness, an indicator of the riparian condition, in peak irrigation months (June, July and August) for 158 km2 of riparian area across the basin using the Landsat normalized difference...
Data release for the potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States Data release for the potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States
Aquatic features critical to watershed hydrology range widely in size from narrow, shallow streams to large, deep lakes. In this study we evaluated wetland, lake, and river systems across the Prairie Pothole Region to explore where pan-sharpened high-resolution (PSHR) imagery, relative to Landsat imagery, could provide additional data on surface water distribution and movement, missed by...
Data release for estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data Data release for estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data
Landscape carbon (C) flux estimates are necessary for assessing the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to buffer further increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Advances in remote sensing have allowed for coarse-scale estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP) (e.g., MODIS 17), yet efforts to assess spatial patterns in respiration lag behind those of GPP. Here, we...
Data release for Time series of high-resolution images enhances efforts to monitor post-fire condition and recovery, Waldo Canyon fire, Colorado, USA Data release for Time series of high-resolution images enhances efforts to monitor post-fire condition and recovery, Waldo Canyon fire, Colorado, USA
Interpretations of post-fire condition and rates of vegetation recovery can influence management priorities, actions, and perception of latent risks from landslides and floods. In this study, we used the Waldo Canyon fire (2012, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA) as a case study to explore how a time series (2011-2016) of high-resolution images can be used to delineate burn extent and...
Data release for Applying high-resolution imagery to evaluate restoration-induced changes in stream condition, Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana Data release for Applying high-resolution imagery to evaluate restoration-induced changes in stream condition, Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana
Degradation of streams and associated riparian habitat across the Missouri River Headwaters Basin has motivated several stream restoration projects across the watershed. Many of these projects install a series of beaver dam analogues (BDAs) to aggrade incised streams, elevate local water tables, and create natural surface water storage by reconnecting streams with their floodplains...
Data Release for "Wetlands inform how climate extremes influence surface water expansion and contraction" Data Release for "Wetlands inform how climate extremes influence surface water expansion and contraction"
Effective monitoring and prediction of flood and drought events requires an improved understanding of how and why surface-water expansion and contraction in response to climate varies across space. This paper sought to (1) quantify how interannual patterns of surface-water expansion and contraction vary spatially across the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) and adjacent Northern Prairie (NP)...
Filter Total Items: 30
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8–10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact of wake effects on vegetation from land cover change. We used hourly wind data to model...
Authors
James E. Diffendorfer, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Zachary H. Ancona
Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019) Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019)
Prescribed fires and wildfires are common in wetland ecosystems across the Southeastern United States. However, the wetland burned area has been chronically underestimated across the region due to (1) spectral confusion between open water and burned area, (2) rapid post-fire vegetation regrowth, and (3) high annual precipitation limiting clear-sky satellite observations. We developed a...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Casey Teske, Andrea Ku, Joe Noble, Joshua J. Picotte
Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA
Development of comprehensive spatially explicit fire occurrence data remains one of the most critical needs for fire managers globally, and especially for conservation across the southeastern United States. Not only are many endangered species and ecosystems in that region reliant on frequent fire, but fire risk analysis, prescribed fire planning, and fire behavior modeling are sensitive...
Authors
Casey Teske, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Joe Noble, J. Kevin Hires
Development of a standard database of reference sites for validating global burned area products Development of a standard database of reference sites for validating global burned area products
Over the past 2 decades, several global burned area products have been produced and released to the public. However, the accuracy assessment of such products largely depends on the availability of reliable reference data that currently do not exist on a global scale or whose production require a high level of dedication of project resources. The important lack of reference data for the...
Authors
Magi Franquesa, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Dimitris Stavrakoudis, Ioannis Gitas, Ekhi Roteta, Marc Padilla, Emilio Chuvieco
Tracking rates of postfire conifer regeneration vs. deciduous vegetation recovery across the western United States Tracking rates of postfire conifer regeneration vs. deciduous vegetation recovery across the western United States
Postfire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing postfire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis, we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery, to distinguish evergreen vegetation from deciduous...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Andrea Ming Ku, Kyle Merriam, Erin Berryman, Megan Cattau
Isolating anthropogenic wetland loss by concurrently tracking inundation and land cover disturbance across the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S. Isolating anthropogenic wetland loss by concurrently tracking inundation and land cover disturbance across the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S.
Global trends in wetland degradation and loss have created an urgency to monitor wetland extent, as well as track the distribution and causes of wetland loss. Satellite imagery can be used to monitor wetlands over time, but few efforts have attempted to distinguish anthropogenic wetland loss from climate-driven variability in wetland extent. We present an approach to concurrently track...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Yen-Ju G. Beal, Ben DeVries, Megan W. Lang, Nora Hwang, Christine Mazzarella, John W. Jones
The Landsat Burned Area algorithm and products for the conterminous United States The Landsat Burned Area algorithm and products for the conterminous United States
Complete and accurate burned area map data are needed to document spatial and temporal patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. In this study, we developed the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm, an update from the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) algorithm. Here, we present the BA algorithm and products...
Authors
Todd Hawbaker, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Gail L. Schmidt, Yen-Ju G. Beal, Joshua J. Picotte, Joshua Takacs, Jeff T. Falgout, John L. Dwyer
Mapping forested wetland inundation in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA: Use of deep learning model Mapping forested wetland inundation in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA: Use of deep learning model
The Delmarva Peninsula in the eastern United States is dominated by thousands of small, forested depressional wetlands that are highly sensitive to climate change and climate variability but provide critical ecosystem services. Due to the relatively small size of these depressional wetlands and occurrence under forest canopy cover, it is very challenging to map their inundation status...
Authors
Ling Du, Greg W. McCarty, Xinhow Zhang, Megan W. Lang, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Xian-Dan Lin, Chengquan Huang, Sangchul Lee, Zhenhua Zou
Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States
This study uses the explores the viability of a proxy model calibration strategy through assessment of the spatiotemporal variability of surface-depression storage and runoff generated with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure for hydrologic response units (HRUs; n=109,951) across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Simulated values for each HRU...
Authors
Jessica M. Driscoll, Lauren Hay, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Roland J. Viger
Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana
The Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin (36,400 km2) depends on its river corridors to support irrigated agriculture and world-class trout fisheries. We evaluated trends (1984-2016) in riparian wetness, an indicator of riparian condition, in peak irrigation months (June, July, August) for 158 km2 of riparian area across the basin using the Landsat Normalized Difference Wetness Index...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, J.R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander
The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States
Aquatic features critical to watershed hydrology range widely in size from narrow, shallow streams to large, deep lakes. In this study we evaluated wetland, lake, and river systems across the Prairie Pothole Region to explore where pan-sharpened high-resolution (PSHR) imagery, relative to Landsat imagery, could provide additional data on surface water distribution and movement, missed by...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Charles R. Lane
Estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data Estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data
Landscape carbon (C) flux estimates are necessary for assessing the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to buffer further increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Advances in remote sensing have allowed for coarse-scale estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP) (e.g., MODIS 17), yet efforts to assess spatial patterns in respiration lag behind those of GPP. Here, we...
Authors
Erin Michele Berryman, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, John B. Bradford, Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Sean P. Burns, John M. Frank, Richard A. Birdsey, Michael G. Ryan
Satellite imagery provides a powerful tool to enhance our understanding of how landscapes respond to agents of change, such as extreme climate events, wildfire and other disturbance events, and human land use activities. This research integrates multiple sources of satellite imagery with ancillary datasets to explore how ecosystems respond to and recover from mechanisms of change. Current research is focused on (1) how changes in wetlands and surface water storage inform downstream water availability, (2) improving our capacity to integrate remotely sensed surface water data into decision-making, (3) characterizing patterns and trends in post-wildfire condition and recovery, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of wildfire risk management actions such as fuel treatments, prescribed fires, and post-fire plantings.
Why this Research is Important
Extreme events like droughts, floods, and fires have large impacts on the health and safety of nearby communities. We use data from satellites to help us understand how these extreme events produce changes in water quantity, quality and distribution, as well as the extent of fire damage and post-fire revegetation, information that can help us manage natural systems and protect communities. The analysis of satellite imagery enables us to provide cutting edge science in a cost-efficient manner to both support the needs of local communities and scale easily to support national or global priorities.
Collaboration
Collaborations with research partners are a key component of this project. Currently we are actively collaborating with partners from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tall Timbers Research Station, and Academic partners.
Filter Total Items: 23
Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019) Wetland burned area extent derived from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern U.S. (2016-2019)
Wildfires and prescribed fires are frequent but under-mapped across wetlands of the southeastern United States . High annual precipitation supports rapid post-fire recovery of wetland vegetation, while associated cloud cover limits clear-sky observations. In addition, the low burn severity of prescribed fires and spectral confusion between fluctuating water levels and burned areas have...
The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022) The Landsat Burned Area products for the conterminous United States (ver. 3.0, March 2022)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally-dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm makes use of predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Data release for tracking rates of post-fire conifer regeneration distinct from deciduous vegetation recovery across the western U.S. Data release for tracking rates of post-fire conifer regeneration distinct from deciduous vegetation recovery across the western U.S.
Post-fire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing post-fire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery, to distinguish evergreen vegetation from deciduous...
Tracking disturbance and inundation to identify wetland loss Tracking disturbance and inundation to identify wetland loss
Global trends in wetland degradation and loss have created an urgency to monitor wetland extent, as well as track the distribution and causes of wetland loss. Satellite imagery can be used to monitor wetlands over time, but few efforts have attempted to distinguish anthropogenic wetland loss from climate-driven variability in wetland extent. We present an approach to concurrently track...
Data Release for the validation of the USGS Landsat Burned Area Product across the conterminous U.S. Data Release for the validation of the USGS Landsat Burned Area Product across the conterminous U.S.
Complete and accurate burned area map data are needed to document spatial and temporal patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. In this study, we developed the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm, an update from the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) algorithm. We present the BA algorithm and products...
Data release for Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River headwaters basin, Montana Data release for Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River headwaters basin, Montana
The Upper Missouri River headwaters (UMH) basin (36 400 km2 ) depends on its river corridors to support irrigated agriculture and world-class trout fisheries. We evaluated trends (1984-2016) in riparian wetness, an indicator of the riparian condition, in peak irrigation months (June, July and August) for 158 km2 of riparian area across the basin using the Landsat normalized difference...
Data release for the potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States Data release for the potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States
Aquatic features critical to watershed hydrology range widely in size from narrow, shallow streams to large, deep lakes. In this study we evaluated wetland, lake, and river systems across the Prairie Pothole Region to explore where pan-sharpened high-resolution (PSHR) imagery, relative to Landsat imagery, could provide additional data on surface water distribution and movement, missed by...
Data release for estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data Data release for estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data
Landscape carbon (C) flux estimates are necessary for assessing the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to buffer further increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Advances in remote sensing have allowed for coarse-scale estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP) (e.g., MODIS 17), yet efforts to assess spatial patterns in respiration lag behind those of GPP. Here, we...
Data release for Time series of high-resolution images enhances efforts to monitor post-fire condition and recovery, Waldo Canyon fire, Colorado, USA Data release for Time series of high-resolution images enhances efforts to monitor post-fire condition and recovery, Waldo Canyon fire, Colorado, USA
Interpretations of post-fire condition and rates of vegetation recovery can influence management priorities, actions, and perception of latent risks from landslides and floods. In this study, we used the Waldo Canyon fire (2012, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA) as a case study to explore how a time series (2011-2016) of high-resolution images can be used to delineate burn extent and...
Data release for Applying high-resolution imagery to evaluate restoration-induced changes in stream condition, Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana Data release for Applying high-resolution imagery to evaluate restoration-induced changes in stream condition, Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana
Degradation of streams and associated riparian habitat across the Missouri River Headwaters Basin has motivated several stream restoration projects across the watershed. Many of these projects install a series of beaver dam analogues (BDAs) to aggrade incised streams, elevate local water tables, and create natural surface water storage by reconnecting streams with their floodplains...
Data Release for "Wetlands inform how climate extremes influence surface water expansion and contraction" Data Release for "Wetlands inform how climate extremes influence surface water expansion and contraction"
Effective monitoring and prediction of flood and drought events requires an improved understanding of how and why surface-water expansion and contraction in response to climate varies across space. This paper sought to (1) quantify how interannual patterns of surface-water expansion and contraction vary spatially across the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) and adjacent Northern Prairie (NP)...
Filter Total Items: 30
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8–10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact of wake effects on vegetation from land cover change. We used hourly wind data to model...
Authors
James E. Diffendorfer, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Zachary H. Ancona
Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019) Mapping wetland burned area from Sentinel-2 across the southeastern United States and its contributions relative to Landsat 8 (2016-2019)
Prescribed fires and wildfires are common in wetland ecosystems across the Southeastern United States. However, the wetland burned area has been chronically underestimated across the region due to (1) spectral confusion between open water and burned area, (2) rapid post-fire vegetation regrowth, and (3) high annual precipitation limiting clear-sky satellite observations. We developed a...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Casey Teske, Andrea Ku, Joe Noble, Joshua J. Picotte
Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA Using the Landsat Burned Area products to derive fire history relevant for fire management and conservation in the state of Florida, southeastern USA
Development of comprehensive spatially explicit fire occurrence data remains one of the most critical needs for fire managers globally, and especially for conservation across the southeastern United States. Not only are many endangered species and ecosystems in that region reliant on frequent fire, but fire risk analysis, prescribed fire planning, and fire behavior modeling are sensitive...
Authors
Casey Teske, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Joe Noble, J. Kevin Hires
Development of a standard database of reference sites for validating global burned area products Development of a standard database of reference sites for validating global burned area products
Over the past 2 decades, several global burned area products have been produced and released to the public. However, the accuracy assessment of such products largely depends on the availability of reliable reference data that currently do not exist on a global scale or whose production require a high level of dedication of project resources. The important lack of reference data for the...
Authors
Magi Franquesa, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Dimitris Stavrakoudis, Ioannis Gitas, Ekhi Roteta, Marc Padilla, Emilio Chuvieco
Tracking rates of postfire conifer regeneration vs. deciduous vegetation recovery across the western United States Tracking rates of postfire conifer regeneration vs. deciduous vegetation recovery across the western United States
Postfire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing postfire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis, we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery, to distinguish evergreen vegetation from deciduous...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Andrea Ming Ku, Kyle Merriam, Erin Berryman, Megan Cattau
Isolating anthropogenic wetland loss by concurrently tracking inundation and land cover disturbance across the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S. Isolating anthropogenic wetland loss by concurrently tracking inundation and land cover disturbance across the Mid-Atlantic Region, U.S.
Global trends in wetland degradation and loss have created an urgency to monitor wetland extent, as well as track the distribution and causes of wetland loss. Satellite imagery can be used to monitor wetlands over time, but few efforts have attempted to distinguish anthropogenic wetland loss from climate-driven variability in wetland extent. We present an approach to concurrently track...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Yen-Ju G. Beal, Ben DeVries, Megan W. Lang, Nora Hwang, Christine Mazzarella, John W. Jones
The Landsat Burned Area algorithm and products for the conterminous United States The Landsat Burned Area algorithm and products for the conterminous United States
Complete and accurate burned area map data are needed to document spatial and temporal patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. In this study, we developed the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm, an update from the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) algorithm. Here, we present the BA algorithm and products...
Authors
Todd Hawbaker, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Gail L. Schmidt, Yen-Ju G. Beal, Joshua J. Picotte, Joshua Takacs, Jeff T. Falgout, John L. Dwyer
Mapping forested wetland inundation in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA: Use of deep learning model Mapping forested wetland inundation in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA: Use of deep learning model
The Delmarva Peninsula in the eastern United States is dominated by thousands of small, forested depressional wetlands that are highly sensitive to climate change and climate variability but provide critical ecosystem services. Due to the relatively small size of these depressional wetlands and occurrence under forest canopy cover, it is very challenging to map their inundation status...
Authors
Ling Du, Greg W. McCarty, Xinhow Zhang, Megan W. Lang, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Xian-Dan Lin, Chengquan Huang, Sangchul Lee, Zhenhua Zou
Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States
This study uses the explores the viability of a proxy model calibration strategy through assessment of the spatiotemporal variability of surface-depression storage and runoff generated with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure for hydrologic response units (HRUs; n=109,951) across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Simulated values for each HRU...
Authors
Jessica M. Driscoll, Lauren Hay, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Roland J. Viger
Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana Influence of multi-decadal land use, irrigation practices and climate on riparian corridors across the Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana
The Upper Missouri River Headwaters Basin (36,400 km2) depends on its river corridors to support irrigated agriculture and world-class trout fisheries. We evaluated trends (1984-2016) in riparian wetness, an indicator of riparian condition, in peak irrigation months (June, July, August) for 158 km2 of riparian area across the basin using the Landsat Normalized Difference Wetness Index...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, J.R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander
The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States
Aquatic features critical to watershed hydrology range widely in size from narrow, shallow streams to large, deep lakes. In this study we evaluated wetland, lake, and river systems across the Prairie Pothole Region to explore where pan-sharpened high-resolution (PSHR) imagery, relative to Landsat imagery, could provide additional data on surface water distribution and movement, missed by...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Charles R. Lane
Estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data Estimating soil respiration in a subalpine landscape using point, terrain, climate and greenness data
Landscape carbon (C) flux estimates are necessary for assessing the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to buffer further increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Advances in remote sensing have allowed for coarse-scale estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP) (e.g., MODIS 17), yet efforts to assess spatial patterns in respiration lag behind those of GPP. Here, we...
Authors
Erin Michele Berryman, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, John B. Bradford, Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Sean P. Burns, John M. Frank, Richard A. Birdsey, Michael G. Ryan