Revision History for FS 2020-3068 U.S. Geological Survey Alaska and Landsat ----------------------------------------------------- Posted online December 21, 2020 ----------------------------------------------------- Revised and reposted December 12, 2022, version 1.1 The text version was modified. The mosaic image was changed from a Landsat 7 image to a Landsat 8 image. Text in the first section was revised from "The State also contributes to the Nation’s energy security through its mineral and energy resources and is the dominant player in the U.S. seafood industry. Yet Alaska’s landscapes are changing at a more rapid rate than those of the lower 48. It's large size..." to ""The State also contributes to the Nation’s energy security through its mineral and energy resources and is the dominant player in the U.S. seafood industry, yet Alaska’s landscapes are changing at a more rapid rate than those of the lower 48. Alaska's large size..." The final sentence was changed from "Three examples for the State of Alaska follow." to "Here are just a few examples of how Landsat benefits Alaska." An image of erosion along Alaska's Arctic coastline was removed from p. 1. The caption "A color-coded map of permafrost distribution for the State of Alaska, created using data from the Landsat satellite program (Pastick and others, 2015)." was added to the map on p. 1. In the "Land Change and Permafrost Accounting" section, text was modified from "One USGS-led study determined that 13 percent of the State’s land area--an area larger than the State of Wisconsin--has changed over the past 32 years because of glacial retreat, shrub and tree line expansion, wildfires, erosion, pollution disturbances, and more. Landsat was used in 2015 to create a baseline assessment of Alaska’s near-surface permafrost and to project permafrost degradation." to "One USGS-led study determined that 13 percent of the State’s land area--an area larger than the State of Wisconsin--has changed over the past 32 years because of glacial retreat, shrub and tree line expansion, wildfires, erosion, pollution disturbances, and more (Pastick and others, 2019). Landsat was used in 2015 to create a baseline assessment of Alaska’s near-surface permafrost and to project permafrost degradation (Pastick and others, 2015)." In the "Coastlines and Fisheries" section, text was modified from "More than 56,000 Alaskans work in the seafood industry, and many thousands more rely on fisheries for food. Understanding changes to coastlines, inland rivers and lakes, and surrounding ecosystems is critical to managing fisheries for commercial industry and Alaska’s native population. Landsat’s unparalleled historical archive has helped researchers study water clarity in Lake Clark and stream temperatures in the Anchor River, track the vulnerability of coastlines and subsistence resources in the Kotzebue Sound region, model coastal inundation for Cook Inlet, and map thermal erosion across thousands of lakes in the Noatak National Preserve--just to name a few." to ""More than 56,000 Alaskans work in the seafood industry, and many thousands more rely on fisheries for food. Understanding changes to coastlines, inland rivers and lakes, and surrounding ecosystems is critical to managing fisheries for commercial industry and Alaska’s Native population. Landsat’s unparalleled historical archive has helped researchers track the vulnerability of coastlines and subsistence resources in the Kotzebue Sound region (Gorokhovich and others, 2014), model coastal inundation for Cook Inlet (Ezer and Liu, 2010), and map thermal erosion across thousands of lakes in the Noatak National Preserve (Lara and others, 2019)--just to name a few." In the Wildfire and Disaster Response" section, the in-text citation "(National Park Service, 2021)" was added to the first sentence. In the same section, text was modified from "When flooding closed the Dalton Highway in 2015--the only access road to the Prudhoe Bay oil field--Landsat was used to assess the damage." to "When flooding closed the Dalton Highway in 2015--the only access road to the Prudhoe Bay oil field--Landsat was used to assess the damage (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2015)." Two figures were modified and combined on p. 2. The Landsat 8 image showing Dalton Highway in northern Alaska from May 16, 2019, was removed. The Landsat image from July 5, 2019, showing the Marr and Little Crazy Mountain Fires in natural color was removed. The Landsat 8 image showing Dalton Highway in northern Alaska in May 2019 and the Landsat image from July 5, 2019, showing the Marr and Little Crazy Mountain Fires in false color were combined into one figure. In the "Landsat--Critical Information Infrastructure for the Nation" section, the first three paragraphs were modified from "Landsat is the most widely used land remote sensing data source within Federal civilian agencies. Local, State, and Federal agencies use Landsat to monitor and forecast a wide range of land surface phenomena. Information from Landsat contributes to day-to-day decisions on land, water, and resource use that protect life and property; safeguard the environment; advance science, technology, and education; and grow the U.S. economy. Landsat’s imagery provides a landscape-level view of land surface, inland lake, and coastal processes, both natural and humaninduced. Landsat enables us to better understand the scope, nature, and speed of change to the natural and built environment. Businesses draw upon Landsat data to provide customer-specific applications to improve logistics, resource allocation, and investment decisions. Commercial space imaging firms leverage Landsat data to refine product offerings and support new information services. A 2017 USGS study determined the total annual economic benefit of Landsat data in the United States to be $2.06 billion, far surpassing its development and operating costs. Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 provide 8-day repeat coverage of the Earth’s land surfaces. Landsat 9, which will replace the aging Landsat 7, is under development for launch in 2021. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the USGS are currently reviewing the findings from a joint Architecture Study Team, which will inform the design and implementation approach for Landsat Next, the follow-on mission to Landsat 9. Landsat 9 and its successors will provide a sustainable, space-based system to extend the nearly 50-year Landsat series of high-quality global land imaging measurements--the world’s longest time series of the Earth’s land surface." to "Landsat is the most widely used land remote sensing data source within Federal civilian agencies. Local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies use Landsat to monitor and forecast a wide range of land surface phenomena. Information from Landsat contributes to day-to-day decisions on land, water, and resource use that protect life and property; safeguard the environment; advance science, technology, and education; support climate change resiliency; and grow the U.S. economy. Landsat’s imagery provides a landscape-level view of land surface, inland lake, and coastal processes, both natural and human-induced. Landsat enables us to better understand the scope, nature, and speed of change to the natural and built environment. Businesses draw upon Landsat data to provide customer-specific applications to improve logistics, resource allocation, and investment decisions. Commercial space imaging firms leverage Landsat data to refine product offerings and support new information services. A 2017 USGS study determined the total annual economic benefit of Landsat data in the United States to be $2.06 billion, far surpassing its development and operating costs (Straub and others, 2019). Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 provide 8-day repeat coverage of the Earth’s land surfaces. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the USGS are currently reviewing the findings from a joint Architecture Study Team, which will inform the design and implementation approach for Landsat Next, the follow-on mission to Landsat 9. Landsat 9 and its successors are planned to provide a sustainable, space-based system to extend the 50-year Landsat series of high-quality global land imaging measurements--the world’s longest time series of the Earth’s land surface." A "References Cited" section was added.