Melanie Vanderhoof
Melanie Vanderhoof is a Research Geographer with the USGS, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center in Denver, CO.
Melanie's research focuses on using satellite imagery to track terrestrial and water ecosystem condition. She is particularly interested in enhancing methods to map wildfire, monitor post-fire recovery, as well as model the impact of drought to flood conditions on wetlands, lakes, and downstream river discharge.
Professional Experience
U.S. Geological Survey, Research Geographer (2015-Present)
ORISE Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (2014-2015)
Education and Certifications
PhD in Geography from Clark University in 2014
M.S. degree in Geography from San Francisco State University in 2007
B.S. degree in Biology and Society from Cornell University in 2004
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering >536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms were...
The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026) The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm uses predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering greater than 536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms...
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release) Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release)
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for fire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have contributed to risk to homes. We fit a random forest using weather, land cover, topography, and past fire history to predict burn probabilities and uncertainty...
Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026) Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026)
Fire history metrics enable rapidly increasing amounts of burned area data to be collapsed into a handful of data layers that can be used efficiently by diverse stakeholders. In this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat Burned Area product was used to identify burned area across CONUS over a 41-year period (1984-2024). The Landsat BA product was consolidated into a suite of...
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8�10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact of wake effects on vegetation from land cover change. We used hourly wind data to model...
Filter Total Items: 44
Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches
The number of large, high-severity wildfires has been increasing across the western United States over the last several decades. It is not fully understood how changes in the frequency of large, severe wildfires may impact the resilience of conifer forests, due to alterations in regeneration success or failure. Our research investigates 30 years of conifer recovery patterns within 34...
Authors
Casey Menick, Wade T. Tinkham, Chad Hoffman, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jody C. Vogeler
Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States
Climate change is projected to impact river, lake, and wetland hydrology, with global implications for the condition and productivity of aquatic ecosystems. We integrated Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based algorithms to track monthly surface water extent (2017–2021) for 32 sites across the central United States (U.S.). Median surface water extent was highly variable across sites, ranging...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander, Charles R. Lane, Heather E. Golden
High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
Frequent observations of surface water at fine spatial scales will provide critical data to support the management of aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites can provide such observations, but algorithms are still needed that perform well across diverse climate and vegetation conditions. We developed surface inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Laurie C. Alexander, Jay R. Christensen, Kylen Solvik, Peter Joseph Nieuwlandt, Mallory Annelle Prentiss
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for wildfire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have altered risk to homes, or the potential for wildfire to threaten homes. We used a random forests model to predict burn probability in relation to weather variables...
Authors
Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Amanda R. Carlson, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff
Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience
Watershed resilience is the ability of a watershed to maintain its characteristic system state while concurrently resisting, adapting to, and reorganizing after hydrological (for example, drought, flooding) or biogeochemical (for example, excessive nutrient) disturbances. Vulnerable waters include non-floodplain wetlands and headwater streams, abundant watershed components representing...
Authors
Charles R. Lane, Irena F. Creed, Heather E. Golden, Scott G. Leibowitz, David M. Mushet, Mark C. Rains, Qiusheng Wu, Ellen D’Amico, Laurie C. Alexander, Genevieve A. Ali, Nandita B. Basu, Micah G. Bennett, Jay R. Christensen, Matthew J. Cohen, Tim P. Covino, Ben DeVries, Ryan A. Hill, Kelsey G. Jencso, Megan W. Lang, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jennifer Rover, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK
One of the main challenges of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in forest data acquisition is the implementation of Ground Control Points (GCPs) as a mandatory step, which is sometimes impossible for inaccessible areas or within canopy closures. This study aimed to test the accuracy of a UAV-mounted GNSS RTK (real-time kinematic) system for calculating tree height and crown height...
Authors
Morteza Pourreza, Fardin Moradi, Mohammad Khosravi, Azade Deljouei, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
Non-USGS Publications**
Vanderhoof, M.K., Alexander, L.C. (2016) The role of lake expansion in altering the wetland landscape of the Prairie Pothole Region. Wetlands, 36(2):309-321, DOI:10.1007/s13157-015-0728-1.
U.S. EPA (2015) Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence (Final Report). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/475F. (co-author on report)
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C. (2015) Persistence of evapotranspiration impacts from mountain pine beetle outbreaks in lodgepole pine forests, south-central Rocky Mountains. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 200:78-91.
Ghimire, B., Williams, C.A., Collatz, G.J., Vanderhoof, M., Rogan, J., Kulaowski, D., Masek, J.G. (2015) Large carbon release legacy from bark beetle outbreaks across the Western United States. Global Change Biology, 21(8):3087-3101.
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C.A., Shuai, Y., Jarvis, D., Kulakowski, D., Masek, J. (2014) Albedo-induced radiative forcing from mountain pine beetle outbreaks in forests, south-central Rocky Mountains: magnitude, persistence, and relation to outbreak severity. Biogeosciences, 11:563-575.
Williams, C., Vanderhoof, M., Khomik, M., Ghimire, B. (2014). Post-clearcut dynamics of carbon, water and energy changes in a mid-latitude temperate, deciduous broadleaf forest environment. Global Change Biology, 20(3):992-1007.
Khomik, M., Williams, C.A., Vanderhoof, M.K., MacLean, R., Dillen, S.Y. (2014). On the causes of rising gross ecosystem productivity in a regenerating clearcut environment: leaf area, species composition, or environmental conditions. Tree Physiology, 34:686-700.
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C.A., Ghimire, B., & Rogan, J. (2013) Impact of mountain pine beetle outbreaks on forest albedo and TOA radiative forcing , as derived from MODIS, Rocky Mountains, USA. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, 118:1461-1471.
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C.A., Pasay, M., & Ghimire, B. (2013) Controls on the rate of CO2 emission from woody debris in clearcut and coniferous forest environments of central Massachusetts. Biogeochemistry, 114:299-311.
Ghimire, B., Williams, C.A, Collatz, G.J., & Vanderhoof, M. (2012) Fire induced regional carbon emissions and fluxes derived by parameterizing post-fire carbon flux trajectories for western United States forests: Accounting for variation across forest types, fire severity, and carbon pools. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, 117:1-29.
Vanderhoof, M. , B. Holzman & C. Rogers. (2009) Predicting the distribution of perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, San Francisco Bay Area, California. Invasive Plant Science and Management, 2(3):260-269.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States Data release for climate change impacts on surface water extents across the central United States
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering >536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms were...
The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026) The Landsat Collection 2 Burned Area Products for the conterminous United States (ver. 5.0, April 2026)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm uses predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference...
Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based frequency of open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
High-frequency observations of surface water at fine spatial scales are critical to effectively manage aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. We developed inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 across 12 sites within the conterminous United States (CONUS) covering greater than 536,000 km2 and representing diverse hydrologic and vegetation landscapes. These algorithms...
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release) Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA (data release)
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for fire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have contributed to risk to homes. We fit a random forest using weather, land cover, topography, and past fire history to predict burn probabilities and uncertainty...
Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026) Contemporary fire history metrics for the conterminous United States (1984-2025)(ver. 5.0, April 2026)
Fire history metrics enable rapidly increasing amounts of burned area data to be collapsed into a handful of data layers that can be used efficiently by diverse stakeholders. In this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat Burned Area product was used to identify burned area across CONUS over a 41-year period (1984-2024). The Landsat BA product was consolidated into a suite of...
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8�10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact of wake effects on vegetation from land cover change. We used hourly wind data to model...
Filter Total Items: 44
Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches Snow-cover remote sensing of conifer tree recovery in high-severity burn patches
The number of large, high-severity wildfires has been increasing across the western United States over the last several decades. It is not fully understood how changes in the frequency of large, severe wildfires may impact the resilience of conifer forests, due to alterations in regeneration success or failure. Our research investigates 30 years of conifer recovery patterns within 34...
Authors
Casey Menick, Wade T. Tinkham, Chad Hoffman, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jody C. Vogeler
Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States Climate change will impact surface water extents and dynamics across the central United States
Climate change is projected to impact river, lake, and wetland hydrology, with global implications for the condition and productivity of aquatic ecosystems. We integrated Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 based algorithms to track monthly surface water extent (2017–2021) for 32 sites across the central United States (U.S.). Median surface water extent was highly variable across sites, ranging...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander, Charles R. Lane, Heather E. Golden
High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021) High-frequency time series comparison of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 for open and vegetated water across the United States (2017-2021)
Frequent observations of surface water at fine spatial scales will provide critical data to support the management of aquatic habitat, flood risk and water quality. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites can provide such observations, but algorithms are still needed that perform well across diverse climate and vegetation conditions. We developed surface inundation algorithms for Sentinel-1...
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Laurie C. Alexander, Jay R. Christensen, Kylen Solvik, Peter Joseph Nieuwlandt, Mallory Annelle Prentiss
Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA Changes in wildfire occurrence and risk to homes from 1990 through 2019 in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA
Wildfires and housing development have increased since the 1990s, presenting unique challenges for wildfire management. However, it is unclear how the relative influences of housing growth and changing wildfire occurrence have altered risk to homes, or the potential for wildfire to threaten homes. We used a random forests model to predict burn probability in relation to weather variables...
Authors
Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Amanda R. Carlson, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff
Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience
Watershed resilience is the ability of a watershed to maintain its characteristic system state while concurrently resisting, adapting to, and reorganizing after hydrological (for example, drought, flooding) or biogeochemical (for example, excessive nutrient) disturbances. Vulnerable waters include non-floodplain wetlands and headwater streams, abundant watershed components representing...
Authors
Charles R. Lane, Irena F. Creed, Heather E. Golden, Scott G. Leibowitz, David M. Mushet, Mark C. Rains, Qiusheng Wu, Ellen D’Amico, Laurie C. Alexander, Genevieve A. Ali, Nandita B. Basu, Micah G. Bennett, Jay R. Christensen, Matthew J. Cohen, Tim P. Covino, Ben DeVries, Ryan A. Hill, Kelsey G. Jencso, Megan W. Lang, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jennifer Rover, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK
One of the main challenges of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in forest data acquisition is the implementation of Ground Control Points (GCPs) as a mandatory step, which is sometimes impossible for inaccessible areas or within canopy closures. This study aimed to test the accuracy of a UAV-mounted GNSS RTK (real-time kinematic) system for calculating tree height and crown height...
Authors
Morteza Pourreza, Fardin Moradi, Mohammad Khosravi, Azade Deljouei, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
Non-USGS Publications**
Vanderhoof, M.K., Alexander, L.C. (2016) The role of lake expansion in altering the wetland landscape of the Prairie Pothole Region. Wetlands, 36(2):309-321, DOI:10.1007/s13157-015-0728-1.
U.S. EPA (2015) Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence (Final Report). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/475F. (co-author on report)
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C. (2015) Persistence of evapotranspiration impacts from mountain pine beetle outbreaks in lodgepole pine forests, south-central Rocky Mountains. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 200:78-91.
Ghimire, B., Williams, C.A., Collatz, G.J., Vanderhoof, M., Rogan, J., Kulaowski, D., Masek, J.G. (2015) Large carbon release legacy from bark beetle outbreaks across the Western United States. Global Change Biology, 21(8):3087-3101.
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C.A., Shuai, Y., Jarvis, D., Kulakowski, D., Masek, J. (2014) Albedo-induced radiative forcing from mountain pine beetle outbreaks in forests, south-central Rocky Mountains: magnitude, persistence, and relation to outbreak severity. Biogeosciences, 11:563-575.
Williams, C., Vanderhoof, M., Khomik, M., Ghimire, B. (2014). Post-clearcut dynamics of carbon, water and energy changes in a mid-latitude temperate, deciduous broadleaf forest environment. Global Change Biology, 20(3):992-1007.
Khomik, M., Williams, C.A., Vanderhoof, M.K., MacLean, R., Dillen, S.Y. (2014). On the causes of rising gross ecosystem productivity in a regenerating clearcut environment: leaf area, species composition, or environmental conditions. Tree Physiology, 34:686-700.
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C.A., Ghimire, B., & Rogan, J. (2013) Impact of mountain pine beetle outbreaks on forest albedo and TOA radiative forcing , as derived from MODIS, Rocky Mountains, USA. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, 118:1461-1471.
Vanderhoof, M., Williams, C.A., Pasay, M., & Ghimire, B. (2013) Controls on the rate of CO2 emission from woody debris in clearcut and coniferous forest environments of central Massachusetts. Biogeochemistry, 114:299-311.
Ghimire, B., Williams, C.A, Collatz, G.J., & Vanderhoof, M. (2012) Fire induced regional carbon emissions and fluxes derived by parameterizing post-fire carbon flux trajectories for western United States forests: Accounting for variation across forest types, fire severity, and carbon pools. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, 117:1-29.
Vanderhoof, M. , B. Holzman & C. Rogers. (2009) Predicting the distribution of perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, San Francisco Bay Area, California. Invasive Plant Science and Management, 2(3):260-269.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.