Publications

Massachusetts is the seventh smallest U.S. State in land area, but its size is surpassed by its contributions to U.S. history and the economy, its academic and medical expertise, and its natural features. The Atlantic Ocean to the east gives the “Bay State” more than 1,500 miles of coastline that were important in past fishing and maritime trade industries and in the tourism industry of...

Climate change is thawing and potentially mobilizing vast quantities of organic carbon (OC) previously stored for millennia in permafrost soils of northern circumpolar landscapes. Climate-driven increases in fire and thermokarst may play a key role in OC mobilization by thawing permafrost and promoting transport of OC. Yet, the extent of OC mobilization and mechanisms controlling...

Assessment of temporal trends in vegetation greenness and related influences aids understanding of recent change in terrestrial ecosystems and feedbacks from weather, climate, and environment. We analyzed 1-km normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) timeseries data (1989–2016) derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and developed growing season time...

Missouri, one of only two States that borders eight different States, lies in the heart of the United States. Distinguished by its farm fields and forests, substantial rivers and lakes, and cities filled with culture and industry, the “Show Me State” has abundant beauty and a long history of connecting the East and the West. The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and California...

Idaho may be popular for potatoes, but the State’s richness also lies in its scenery and natural resources. Its terrain varies from mountains, rivers, and waterfalls to forests, volcanic rock, and hot springs. A growing population gives Idaho even more reason to use the best information available to serve the needs of its residents while wisely managing its environment and natural...

Illinois is home to more than 12 million residents, including those living in Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States. Yet farmland claims about 75 percent of the largely flat terrain in Illinois. Tallgrass prairie once covered “The Prairie State,” and some remnants remain, but corn and soybeans are a far more common sight now. Adding variety to the landscape, beaches line...

Mangrove surface elevation is the crux of mangrove vulnerability to sea level rise. Local topography influences critical periods of tidal inundation that govern distributions of mangrove species and dictates future distributions. This study surveyed ground surface elevations of the extensive mangroves of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, integrating four survey technologies to...

We analyzed impacts of interannual disturbance on the water balance of watersheds in different forested ecosystem case studies across the United States from 1985 to 2016 using a remotely sensed long-term land cover monitoring record (U.S. Geological Survey Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) Collection 1.0 Science products), gridded precipitation and evaporation...

South Carolina, the eighth State admitted to the union, transcends its size with its deep, rich history; striking beauty; vast natural resources; and extensive cultural diversity. Home to part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Central Appalachians, the Upstate is graced with more than 100 waterfalls, while the Lowcountry borders the Atlantic Ocean with 187 miles of coastline and 35...

Sample-based estimates augmented by complete coverage land-cover maps were used to estimate area and describe patterns of annual land-cover change across the conterminous United States (CONUS) between 1985 and 2016. Most of the CONUS land cover remained stable in terms of net class change over this time, but a substantial gross change dynamic was captured by the annual and cumulative...

Aims: Natural resource management and biodiversity conservation rely on inventories of vegetation that span multiple management or political jurisdictions. However, while remote sensing data and analytical tools have enabled production of maps at increasing spatial resolution and reliability, there are limited examples where national or continental-scaled maps are produced to represent...

Colorado’s geography seems designed to impress. Although the Rocky Mountains takes up only one-half of the State, more than 50 of its peaks rise at least 14,000 feet above sea level—far more “fourteeners” than any other State. Many of these mountains receive hundreds of inches of snow annually. The Rocky Mountains provide the Continental Divide, or watershed boundary, for North America...