Land Change Science
Land Change Science Program
The Land Change Science (LCS) Program strives to advance the understanding of the rates, causes, and consequences of climate and land use change, and the vulnerability and resilience of the Earth system to such changes.
News
New National Heat Index Uses USGS Data
New National Heat Index Uses USGS Data
USGS and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory release database and interactive map of all large-scale solar energy facilities in the U.S.
USGS and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory release database and interactive map of all large-scale solar energy facilities in the U.S.
Publications
Space-based Earth observation and ecosystem extent: Exploring opportunities
The purpose of this white paper is to explore and communicate potential new opportunities for using space-based Earth observation (EO) for monitoring biodiversity with a focus on ecosystem extent (the distribution of ecosystems on the Earth). It is part of a new activity of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), a collaboration of the world’s space agencies that facilitates cross-ag
Calibration and validation for the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission concept: Recommendations for a multi-sensor system for imaging spectroscopy and thermal imagery
The primary objective of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission is to measure biological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical features of the Earth's surface, realizing a key conceptual component of the envisioned NASA Earth System Observatory (ESO). SBG is planned to launch as a two-platform mission in the late 2020s, the first of the
The global wildland-urban interface
The wildland–urban interface (WUI) is where buildings and wildland vegetation meet or intermingle. It is where human–environmental conflicts and risks can be concentrated, including the loss of houses and lives to wildfire, habitat loss and fragmentation and the spread of zoonotic diseases. However, a global analysis of the WUI has been lacking. Here, we present a global map of the 2020 WUI at 10
Science
Ecosystems on the Edge: Landscape and Fire Ecology of Forests, Deserts, and Tundra
Climate changes and interacting disturbances such as wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, and erosion and flooding can perturb and reorganize ecosystems.
Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow
Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on...
USGS EROS Archive - Landsat - Atmospheric Auxiliary Data – GEOS-5 IT C2
Data from Goddard Earth Observing V5 (GEOS-5 IT) are used in the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 surface temperature algorithm.