Publications
Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Core Science System scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications please click the button below.
Filter Total Items: 289
Toward a set of essential biodiversity variables for assessing change in mountains globally Toward a set of essential biodiversity variables for assessing change in mountains globally
Mountain regions harbor unique and rich biodiversity, forming an important part of our global life support system. This rich biodiversity underpins the ecological intactness and functioning of mountain ecosystems, which are imperative for the provision of key ecosystem services. A considerable amount of data are required to assess ecological intactness and ecosystem functioning and...
Authors
Dirk Schmeller, James Thornton, Davnah Urbach, Jake Alexander, Walter Jetz, Aino Kulonen, Robert Mills, Claudia Notornicola, Elisa Pallazi, Harald Pauli, Christophe Randin, Sergey Rosbakh, Roger Sayre, Nasrin Tehrani, William Verbiest, Tom Walker, Sonja Wipf, Carolina Adler
Evaluation of classified ground points from National Agriculture Imagery program photogrammetrically derived point clouds Evaluation of classified ground points from National Agriculture Imagery program photogrammetrically derived point clouds
Studies have shown that digital surface models and point clouds generated by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) can measure basic forest parameters such as canopy height. However, all measured forest parameters from these studies are evaluated using the differences between NAIP digital surface models (DSMs) and available lidar...
Authors
Jung-Kuan Liu, Samantha Arundel, Ethan Shavers
Assessing the utility of uncrewed aerial system photogrammetrically derived point clouds for land cover classification in the Alaska North Slope Assessing the utility of uncrewed aerial system photogrammetrically derived point clouds for land cover classification in the Alaska North Slope
Uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) have been used to collect “pseudo field plot” data in the form of large-scale stereo imagery to supplement and bolster direct field observations to monitor areas in Alaska. These data supplement field data that is difficult to collect in such a vast landscape with a relatively short field season. Dense photogrammetrically derived point clouds are created...
Authors
Jung-Kuan Liu, Rongjun Qin, Samantha Arundel
System characterization report on the Gaofen-6 System characterization report on the Gaofen-6
Executive SummaryGaofen-6 represents a series of Chinese high-resolution Earth observation satellites. More than 12 satellites have been launched in the Gaofen series, beginning with Gaofen-1 in 2013. Satellites within the series have varying infrared, radar, and optical imaging capabilities. The primary goal for the satellites in this series is to provide near real-time observations for...
Authors
Aparajithan Sampath, Jon Christopherson, Seonkyung Park, Minsu Kim, Gregory Stensaas, Cody Anderson
Increasing seasonal variation in the extent of rivers and lakes from 1984 to 2022 Increasing seasonal variation in the extent of rivers and lakes from 1984 to 2022
Knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of surface water is important for water resource management, flood risk assessment, monitoring ecosystem health, constraining estimates of biogeochemical cycles and understanding our climate. While global-scale spatiotemporal change detection of surface water has significantly improved in recent years due to planetary-scale remote...
Authors
Bjorn Nyberg, Roger Sayre, Elco Luijendijk
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Unravelling spatial heterogeneity of inundation pattern domains for 2D analysis of fluvial landscapes and drainage networks Unravelling spatial heterogeneity of inundation pattern domains for 2D analysis of fluvial landscapes and drainage networks
Fluvial landscape analysis is an essential part of geomorphology, hydrology, ecology, and cartography. It is traditionally focused on the transition between hillslopes and channel domain, in which the network drainage is represented by static flow lines. However, the natural fluctuations of the processes occurring in the watershed induce lateral and longitudinal expansions and...
Authors
Pierfranco Costabile, Carmelina Costanzo, Margherita Lombardo, Ethan Shavers, Larry Stanislawski
Physics-based satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) using Landsat OLI images Physics-based satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) using Landsat OLI images
The estimation of depth in optically shallow waters using satellite imagery can be efficient and cost-effective. Active sensors measure the distance traveled by an emitted laser pulse propagating through the water with high precision and accuracy if the bottom peak intensity of the waveform is greater than the noise level. However, passive optical imaging of optically shallow water...
Authors
Minsu Kim, Jeffrey Danielson, Curt Storlazzi, Seonkyung Park
Segment anything model can not segment anything: Assessing AI foundation model's generalizability in permafrost mapping Segment anything model can not segment anything: Assessing AI foundation model's generalizability in permafrost mapping
This paper assesses trending AI foundation models, especially emerging computer vision foundation models and their performance in natural landscape feature segmentation. While the term foundation model has quickly garnered interest from the geospatial domain, its definition remains vague. Hence, this paper will first introduce AI foundation models and their defining characteristics...
Authors
Wenwen Li, Chia-Yu Hsu, Sizhe Wang, Yezhou Yang, Hyunho Lee, Anna Liljedahl, Chandi Witharana, Yili Yang, Brendan Rogers, Samantha Arundel, Matthew Jones, Kenton McHenry, Patricia Solis
Monitoring polar ice change in the twilight zone Monitoring polar ice change in the twilight zone
Landsat’s new extended data collection program is mapping Arctic and Antarctic regions year-round, even in polar twilight.
Authors
Theodore Scambos, Christopher Shuman, Mark Fahnestock, Tasha Snow, Christopher J. Crawford
Remote sensing-based 3D assessment of landslides: A review of the data, methods, and applications Remote sensing-based 3D assessment of landslides: A review of the data, methods, and applications
Remote sensing (RS) techniques are essential for studying hazardous landslide events because they capture information and monitor sites at scale. They enable analyzing causes and impacts of ongoing events for disaster management. There has been a plethora of work in the literature mostly discussing (1) applications to detect, monitor, and predict landslides using various instruments and...
Authors
Hessah Albanwan, Rongjun Qin, Jung-Kuan Liu
Need and vision for global medium-resolution Landsat and Sentinel-2 data products Need and vision for global medium-resolution Landsat and Sentinel-2 data products
Global changes in climate and land use are threatening natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the ecosystem services people rely on. This is why it is necessary to track and monitor spatiotemporal change at a level of detail that can inform science, management, and policy development. The current constellation of multiple Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites collecting imagery at...
Authors
Volker C. Radeloff, David P. Roy, Mike Wulder, Martha Anderson, Bruce D. Cook, Christopher J. Crawford, Mark Friedl, Feng Gao, Noel Gorelick, Matthew Hansen, Sean Healey, Patrick Hostert, Glynn Hulley, Justin Huntington, Dave Johnson, Christopher Neigh, Alexei Lyapustin, Leo Lymburner, Nima Pahlevan, Jean-Francois Pekel, Theodore Scambos, Crystal Schaaf, Peter Strobl, Eric Vermote, Curtis Woodcock, Hankui Zhang, Zhe Zhu