Christopher Soulard
Chris Soulard has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey since 2002. He is currently a supervisory research geographer working with the Western Geographic Science Center in Moffett Field, CA.
I started my career with the U.S. Geological Survey in 2002 as a student intern and have never looked back, fully embracing my role as a civil servant. For over 20 years, I have had the fortune to work on a wide range of remote sensing into projects focusing on multi-temporal change analyses using Landsat imagery and aerial photography, most notably the Land Cover Trends Project. I have also had many opportunities to expand my research scope, including community vulnerability assessments of tsunami and volcanic lahar hazards in the Pacific Northwest, terrestrial laser scanning to monitor soil and vegetation changes in the Mojave Desert and elsewhere, land-use/land-cover forecasting for the Western United States, and vegetation change analyses using Google Earth Engine cloud computing. My career with the U.S. Geological Survey has afforded me the chance to develop technical geospatial and geostatistical research expertise, as well as soft skills like project management, leadership, and communication. I currently serve as the Principal Investigator of the PLACE Project (Patterns in the Landscape – Analyses of Cause and Effect) and supervise the Ecosystem Dynamics Team.
Professional Experience
2020 - present: Supervisory Research Geographer, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
2013 - 2020: Research Geographer, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
2002 - 2013: Geographer, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Education and Certifications
B.A. in Geography, University of California Santa Barbara, 2003*
*Magna Cum Laude
B.A. in Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Barbara, 2003**
**Environmental Studies Honors Award
M.A. in Geographic Information Science with emphasis in remote sensing and land cover change, San Jose State University, 2005
Science and Products
Harmonization of forest disturbance datasets of the conterminous USA from 1986 to 2011
Influence of atmospheric rivers on vegetation productivity and fire patterns in the southwestern U.S.
Community for Data Integration 2015 annual report
Continuous 1985-2012 Landsat monitoring to assess fire effects on meadows in Yosemite National Park, California
Mapping extent and change in surface mines within the United States for 2001 to 2006
USGS lidar science strategy—Mapping the technology to the science
Assessing landscape change and processes of recurrence, replacement, and recovery in the Southeastern Coastal Plains, USA
Methods used to parameterize the spatially-explicit components of a state-and-transition simulation model
Integrated climate and land use change scenarios for California rangeland ecosystem services: wildlife habitat, soil carbon, and water supply
Land cover trends dataset, 1973-2000
Land-use threats and protected areas: a scenario-based, landscape level approach
Spatially explicit modeling of 1992-2100 land cover and forest stand age for the conterminous United States
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 43
Harmonization of forest disturbance datasets of the conterminous USA from 1986 to 2011
Several spatial forest disturbance datasets exist for the conterminous USA. The major problem with forest disturbance mapping is that variability between map products leads to uncertainty regarding the actual rate of disturbance. In this article, harmonized maps were produced from multiple data sources (i.e., Global Forest Change, LANDFIRE Vegetation Disturbance, National Land Cover Database, VegeAuthorsChristopher E. Soulard, William Acevedo, Warren B. Cohen, Zhiqiang Yang, Stephen V. Stehman, Janis L. TaylorInfluence of atmospheric rivers on vegetation productivity and fire patterns in the southwestern U.S.
In the southwestern U.S., the meteorological phenomenon known as atmospheric rivers (ARs) has gained increasing attention due to its strong connections to floods, snowpacks, and water supplies in the West Coast states. Relatively less is known about the ecological implications of ARs, particularly in the interior Southwest, where AR storms are less common. To address this gap, we compared a chronoAuthorsChristine M. Albano, Michael D. Dettinger, Christopher E. SoulardCommunity for Data Integration 2015 annual report
The Community for Data Integration (CDI) continued to experience success in fiscal year 2015. The CDI community members have been sharing, learning, and collaborating through monthly forums, workshops, working groups, and funded projects. In fiscal year 2015, CDI coordinated 10 monthly forums with 16 different speakers from the U.S. Geological Survey and external partners; funded 11 collaborativeAuthorsMadison L. Langseth, Michelle Y. Chang, Jennifer Carlino, J. Ryan Bellmore, Daniella D. Birch, Joshua Bradley, R. Sky Bristol, Daniel D. Buscombe, Jeffrey J. Duda, Anthony L. Everette, Tabitha A. Graves, Michelle M. Greenwood, David L. Govoni, Heather S. Henkel, Vivian B. Hutchison, Brenda K. Jones, Tim Kern, Jennifer Lacey, Rynn M. Lamb, Frances L. Lightsom, John L. Long, Ra'ad A. Saleh, Stan W. Smith, Christopher E. Soulard, Roland J. Viger, Jonathan A. Warrick, Katherine E. Wesenberg, Daniel J. Wieferich, Luke A. WinslowContinuous 1985-2012 Landsat monitoring to assess fire effects on meadows in Yosemite National Park, California
To assess how montane meadow vegetation recovered after a wildfire that occurred in Yosemite National Park, CA in 1996, Google Earth Engine image processing was applied to leverage the entire Landsat Thematic Mapper archive from 1985 to 2012. Vegetation greenness (normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI]) was summarized every 16 days across the 28-year Landsat time series for 26 meadows. DistAuthorsChristopher E. Soulard, Christine M. Albano, Miguel L. Villarreal, Jessica J. WalkerMapping extent and change in surface mines within the United States for 2001 to 2006
A complete, spatially explicit dataset illustrating the 21st century mining footprint for the conterminous United States does not exist. To address this need, we developed a semi-automated procedure to map the country's mining footprint (30-m pixel) and establish a baseline to monitor changes in mine extent over time. The process uses mine seed points derived from the U.S. Energy Information AdminAuthorsChristopher E. Soulard, William Acevedo, Stephen V. Stehman, Owen P. ParkerUSGS lidar science strategy—Mapping the technology to the science
Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) utilizes light detection and ranging (lidar) and enabling technologies to support many science research activities. Lidar-derived metrics and products have become a fundamental input to complex hydrologic and hydraulic models, flood inundation models, fault detection and geologic mapping, topographic and land-surface mapping, landslide and volcano hazardsAuthorsJason M. Stoker, John Brock, Christopher E. Soulard, Kernell G. Ries, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Wesley E. Newton, Patricia K. Haggerty, Kathy Lee, John A. YoungAssessing landscape change and processes of recurrence, replacement, and recovery in the Southeastern Coastal Plains, USA
The processes of landscape change are complex, exhibiting spatial variability as well as linear, cyclical, and reversible characteristics. To better understand the various processes that cause transformation, a data aggregation, validation, and attribution approach was developed and applied to an analysis of the Southeastern Coastal Plains (SECP). The approach integrates information from availableAuthorsMark A. Drummond, Michael P. Stier, Roger F. Auch, Janis L. Taylor, Glenn E. Griffith, D. J. Hester, Jodi L. Riegle, Christopher E. Soulard, Jamie L. McBethMethods used to parameterize the spatially-explicit components of a state-and-transition simulation model
Spatially-explicit state-and-transition simulation models of land use and land cover (LULC) increase our ability to assess regional landscape characteristics and associated carbon dynamics across multiple scenarios. By characterizing appropriate spatial attributes such as forest age and land-use distribution, a state-and-transition model can more effectively simulate the pattern and spread of LULCAuthorsRachel Sleeter, William Acevedo, Christopher E. Soulard, Benjamin M. SleeterIntegrated climate and land use change scenarios for California rangeland ecosystem services: wildlife habitat, soil carbon, and water supply
Context In addition to biodiversity conservation, California rangelands generate multiple ecosystem services including livestock production, drinking and irrigation water, and carbon sequestration. California rangeland ecosystems have experienced substantial conversion to residential land use and more intensive agriculture. Objectives To understand the potential impacts to rangeland ecosystem servAuthorsKristin B. Byrd, Lorraine E. Flint, Pelayo Alvarez, Frank Casey, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Christopher E. Soulard, Alan L. Flint, Terry L. SohlLand cover trends dataset, 1973-2000
The U.S. Geological Survey Land Cover Trends Project is releasing a 1973–2000 time-series land-use/land-cover dataset for the conterminous United States. The dataset contains 5 dates of land-use/land-cover data for 2,688 sample blocks randomly selected within 84 ecological regions. The nominal dates of the land-use/land-cover maps are 1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 2000. The land-use/land-cover mapsAuthorsChristopher E. Soulard, William Acevedo, Roger F. Auch, Terry L. Sohl, Mark A. Drummond, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Daniel G. Sorenson, Steven Kambly, Tamara S. Wilson, Janis L. Taylor, Kristi Sayler, Michael P. Stier, Christopher A. Barnes, Steven C. Methven, Thomas R. Loveland, Rachel Headley, Mark S. BrooksLand-use threats and protected areas: a scenario-based, landscape level approach
Anthropogenic land use will likely present a greater challenge to biodiversity than climate change this century in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Even if species are equipped with the adaptive capacity to migrate in the face of a changing climate, they will likely encounter a human-dominated landscape as a major dispersal obstacle. Our goal was to identify, at the ecoregion-level, protected areas inAuthorsTamara S. Wilson, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Rachel R. Sleeter, Christopher E. SoulardSpatially explicit modeling of 1992-2100 land cover and forest stand age for the conterminous United States
Information on future land-use and land-cover (LULC) change is needed to analyze the impact of LULC change on ecological processes. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced spatially explicit, thematically detailed LULC projections for the conterminous United States. Four qualitative and quantitative scenarios of LULC change were developed, with characteristics consistent with the IntergovernmentalAuthorsTerry L. Sohl, Kristi Sayler, Michelle Bouchard, Ryan R. Reker, Aaron M. Friesz, Stacie L. Bennett, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Rachel R. Sleeter, Tamara S. Wilson, Christopher E. Soulard, Michelle Knuppe, Travis Van Hofwegen - Software
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