Terry Sohl
Terry Sohl is a Research Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Terry Sohl serves as the acting Chief of the Integrated Science and Applications Branch. After college he began his career with the Defense Intelligence Agency at Bollings Air Force Base in Washington, DC, working with a team exploiting the use of Landsat and classified image sources to support needs of the DoD and Intelligence communities. He began his career at USGS EROS in 1993, serving as a contractor on the original team to help develop the first National Land Cover Database (NLCD) using Landsat imagery. In subsequent years, he also was on the original team that developed the Land Cover Trends project strategy and data products, assessing US land change from 1973 to 2000. With a funded NASA proposal in 2005, he initiated EROS research and development of a land-change modeling capability, developing the Forecasting Scenarios of Land Use (FORE-SCE) framework to model both historical and future land use for time periods when remote sensing data are not available. He moved from the contractor to USGS in 2009, where land-change modeling has been the core of his research interests. He's led the development of many peer-reviewed journal publications and led work on associated applications assessing feedbacks of land use and climate change on biodiversity, hydrology, carbon and greenhouse gases, and regional weather and climate. He has served as the acting Chief for the Integrated Science and Applications Branch since March of 2021, where he has emphasized a broad Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection approach to EROS science that synthesizes research and development activities across multiple projects to provide comprehensive assessments of past, present, and future US land change.
More information on the work of his land-cover modeling group at USGS EROS may be found at:
https://landcover-modeling.cr.usgs.gov/
Science and Products
An evaluation of sampling strategies to improve precision of estimates of gross change in land use and land cover
The characteristics and interpretability of land surface change and implications for project design
Using an ecoregion framework to analyze land-cover and land-use dynamics.
Statistical sampling to characterize recent United States land-cover change
Detecting trends in landscape pattern metrics over a 20-year period using a sampling-based monitoring programme
Land use and land cover change in the North Central Appalachians ecoregion
A strategy for estimating the rates of recent United States land-cover changes
The land cover trends project: A strategy for monitoring land cover change at a national scale
Creation of a 30-meter land cover database for the conterminous United States—Accomplishments and future goals
Change analysis in the United Arab Emirates: An investigation of techniques
Regional land cover characterization using Landsat thematic mapper data and ancillary data sources
Science and Products
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An evaluation of sampling strategies to improve precision of estimates of gross change in land use and land cover
Statistical sampling offers a cost-effective, practical alternative to complete-coverage mapping for the objective of estimating gross change in land cover over large areas. Because land cover change is typically rare, the sampling strategy must take advantage of design and analysis tools that enhance precision. Using two populations of land cover change in the eastern United States, we demonstratAuthorsS.V. Stehman, Terry L. Sohl, Thomas R. LovelandThe characteristics and interpretability of land surface change and implications for project design
The need for comprehensive, accurate information on land-cover change has never been greater. While remotely sensed imagery affords the opportunity to provide information on land-cover change over large geographic expanses at a relatively low cost, the characteristics of land-surface change bring into question the suitability of many commonly used methodologies. Algorithm-based methodologies to deAuthorsTerry L. Sohl, Alisa L. Gallant, Thomas R. LovelandUsing an ecoregion framework to analyze land-cover and land-use dynamics.
The United States has a highly varied landscape because of wide-ranging differences in combinations of climatic, geologic, edaphic, hydrologic, vegetative, and human management (land use) factors. Land uses are dynamic, with the types and rates of change dependent on a host of variables, including land accessibility, economic considerations, and the internal increase and movement of the human popuAuthorsAlisa L. Gallant, Thomas R. Loveland, Terry L. Sohl, D.E. NaptonStatistical sampling to characterize recent United States land-cover change
The U.S. Geological Survey, in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is conducting a study focused on developing methods for estimating changes in land-cover and landscape pattern for the conterminous United States from 1973 to 2000. Eleven land-cover and land-use classes are interpreted from Landsat imagery for five sampling dates. Because of the high cost and potential effecAuthorsS.V. Stehman, Terry L. Sohl, Thomas R. LovelandDetecting trends in landscape pattern metrics over a 20-year period using a sampling-based monitoring programme
Temporal trends in landscape pattern metrics describing texture, patch shape and patch size were evaluated in the US Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain Ecoregion. The landscape pattern metrics were calculated for a sample of land use/cover data obtained for four points in time from 1973-1992. The multiple sampling dates permit evaluation of trend, whereas availability of only two sampling dates allowsAuthorsJ. A. Griffith, S.V. Stehman, Terry L. Sohl, Thomas R. LovelandLand use and land cover change in the North Central Appalachians ecoregion
The North Central Appalachians ecoregion, spanning northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, has a long history of land use and land cover change. Turn-of-the-century logging dramatically altered the natural landscape of the ecoregion, but subsequent regeneration returned the ecoregion to a forest dominated condition. To understand contemporary land use and land cover changes, the U.S. GeologicAuthorsD.E. Napton, Terry L. Sohl, Roger F. Auch, Thomas R. LovelandA strategy for estimating the rates of recent United States land-cover changes
Information on the rates of land-use and land-cover change is important in addressing issues ranging from the health of aquatic resources to climate change. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of information on land-use and land-cover change except at very local levels. We describe a strategy for estimating land-cover change across the conterminous United States over the past 30 years. Change ratesAuthorsThomas R. Loveland, Terry L. Sohl, S.V. Stehman, Alisa L. Gallant, K. L. Sayler, D.E. NaptonThe land cover trends project: A strategy for monitoring land cover change at a national scale
Policy-makers and scientists often require comprehensive data on the types and rates of land use and land cover change at a variety of scales. However, there is generally a lack of local, regional, and national land use and land cover data of sufficient reliability and temporal and geographic detail for providing accurate estimates of landscape change. The U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Data CenterAuthorsTerry L. Sohl, Thomas Loveland, Kristi Sayler, Alisa L. Gallant, Roger F. Auch, Darrell E. NaptonCreation of a 30-meter land cover database for the conterminous United States—Accomplishments and future goals
No abstract available.AuthorsTerry L. Sohl, James Vogelmann, B.K. Wylie, Charles R. Larson, J. Nicholas Van DrielChange analysis in the United Arab Emirates: An investigation of techniques
Much of the landscape of the United Arab Emirates has been transformed over the past 15 years by massive afforestation, beautification, and agricultural programs. The "greening" of the United Arab Emirates has had environmental consequences, however, including degraded groundwater quality and possible damage to natural regional ecosystems. Personnel from the Ground- Water Research project, a jointAuthorsTerry L. SohlRegional land cover characterization using Landsat thematic mapper data and ancillary data sources
As part of the activities of the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Interagency Consortium, an intermediate-scale land cover data set is being generated for the conterminous United States. This effort is being conducted on a region-by-region basis using U.S. Standard Federal Regions. To date, land cover data sets have been generated for Federal Regions 3 (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, VirAuthorsJames E. Vogelmann, Terry L. Sohl, P.V. Campbell, D.M. Shaw - Science
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