2010/11 Level 2 Aquatic Areas - Upper Mississippi River System

The U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has created high-resolution land cover/use data sets for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). Aerial images of Pools 3-13 Upper Mississippi River System and Pools, Alton-Marseilles, Illinois River were collected in color infrared (CIR) in August of 2010 at 8/pixel and 16/pixel respectively using a mapping-grade Applanix DSS 439 digital aerial camera. In August 2011, CIR aerial images of Pools 14-Open River South, Upper Mississippi River and Dresden Pool, Illinois River were collected at 16/pixel with the same camera. The CIR aerial images were interpreted and automated using a 31-class LTRM vegetation classification. These data have been used to create a variety of products, one of which is a data set used to classify aquatic areas. The 2010/11 aquatic areas data sets were created by first generalizing the available land cover/use data into a land/water data set, then reinterpreting the areas classified as water to determine the type of aquatic area. This level 1 aquatic areas data set was then further modified to produce the level 2 aquatic areas data set.

The purpose of the second level classification was to further distinguish geomorphic features not easily interpreted visually. Bathymetric and land cover data and automated approaches were used to reclassify select level 1 classes for level 2. In addition, all of the Contiguous Floodplain Shallow Aquatic class was reclassified to Contiguous Floodplain Lake or Side Channel, and parts of the Contiguous Impounded class were reclassified to Contiguous Floodplain Lake or Side Channel. Also, side channels were further classified into both Side Channel and also Tertiary Channels. The second level classification consists of all of the classes and polygons described for the first level classification, unless noted below. Specifically, there are no Contiguous Impounded, or Contiguous Floodplain Shallow Aquatic classes in Level 2.

The geographic extent of the UMRS is the Mississippi River floodplain from Cairo, IL to Minneapolis, MN and the Illinois River floodplain from its confluence with the Mississippi near Grafton, IL to Lake Michigan.