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Assessments of surface urban heat island (UHI) have focused on using remote sensing and land cover data to quantify UHI intensity and spatial distribution within a certain time period by including land cover information. In this study, we implemented a prototype approach to characterize the spatiotemporal...

Declines in riparian ecosystem greenness and water use have been observed in the delta of the Lower Colorado River (LCR) since 2000. The purpose of our case study was to measure these metrics on the U.S. side of the border between Hoover and Morelos Dams to see...

The State of Texas has the largest land area of any in the contiguous United States, and its sprawling landscapes show rich geographic diversity. The Lone Star State has cactus flats in the high plains of its far western panhandle, rolling hills in its western Trans-Pecos region, farms and ranchlands...

Multispectral remote sensing data acquired by the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor were analyzed using a new, automated technique to generate a map of exposed mineral and vegetation groups in the western San Juan Mountains, Colo., and the Four Corners Region of the United States. Band ratio results...

Monitoring temporal dynamics of rangelands to detect and understand change in vegetation cover and composition provides a wealth of information to improve management and sustainability. Remote sensing allows the evaluation of both abrupt and gradual rangeland change at unprecedented spatial and temporal extents. Here, we describe the production of the...

BackgroundThe need for basic information on spatial distribution and abundance of plant species for research and management in semiarid ecosystems is frequently unmet. This need is particularly acute in the large areas impacted by megafires in sagebrush steppe ecosystems, which require frequently updated information about increases in exotic...

The Landsat 8 (L8) spacecraft and its two instruments, the operational land imager (OLI) and thermal infrared sensor (TIRS), have been consistently characterized and calibrated since its launch in February 2013. These performance metrics and calibration updates are determined through the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat image assessment system...

We collected ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and frequency‐domain electromagnetic induction (FDEM) profiles in 2011 and 2012 to identify the extent of permafrost relative to surface biomass and solar insolation around Twelvemile Lake near Fort Yukon, Alaska. We compared a Landsat‐derived biomass estimate and modeled solar insolation from...

Operational satellite remote sensing products are transforming rangeland management and science. Advancements in computation, data storage and processing have removed barriers that previously blocked or hindered the development and use of remote sensing products. When combined with local data and knowledge, remote sensing products can inform decision‐making at multiple...

Landsat Collections ensure that all Landsat Level-1 data are consistently calibrated and processed and retain traceability of data quality provenance. Landsat Collection 2 introduces improvements that harness recent advancements in data processing, algorithm development, data access, and distribution capabilities. Collection 2 includes Landsat Level-1 data for all sensors since 1972...

Estimates of the area or percent area of the land cover classes within a study region are often based on the reference land cover class labels assigned by analysts interpreting satellite imagery and other ancillary spatial data. Different analysts interpreting the same spatial unit will not always...

Reliable information on water use and availability at basin and field scales are important to ensure the optimized constructive uses of available water resources. This study was conducted with the specific objective to estimate Landsat-based actual evapotranspiration (ETa) using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model across the state...

Shrublands occupy about 13% of the global land surface, contain about one-third of the biodiversity, store about half of the global terrestrial carbon, and provide many ecosystem services to a large amount of world's human population and livestock. Because phenology is...

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Postfire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing postfire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis, we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery,...

Landsat 9 is currently undergoing testing at the integrated observatory level in preparation for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2021. Landsat 9 will replace Landsat 7 in orbit, 8 days out of phase with Landsat 8. Landsat 9 is largely a copy of Landsat 8 in terms of...

Small waterbodies are numerically dominant in many landscapes and provide several important ecosystem services, but automated measurement of waterbodies smaller than a standard Landsat pixel (0.09 ha) remains challenging. To further evaluate sub‐Landsat pixel techniques for estimating inundation extent of small waterbodies (basin area: 0.06–1.79 ha), we used a partial spectral unmixing...

Studies integrating mangrove in-situ observations and remote sensing analysis for specific sites often lack precise estimates of carbon stocks over time frames that include disturbance events. This study quantifies change in mangrove area from 1985 to 2018 with Landsat time series analysis, estimates above and belowground stored carbon using field data, and...

An investigation was conducted to determine optimal locations within the continental United States for insitu measurements to validate the U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Surface Reflectance product. Site assessment involved analysis of aerosol optical depth, precipitable water vapor, land cover, cloud cover, and elevation models. Nineteen sites were selected...

In response to a co-occurring non-native scale infestation and Phragmites australis dieback in southeast Louisiana, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) satellite mapping was implemented to track P. australis condition in the lower Mississippi River Delta. While the NDVI mapping successfully documented relative condition changes, identification of cause required a quantitative-biophysical...

Introduction Lack of consistent spatial and temporal fire information with relevant spatial resolution hinders land management and broad-scale assessments of fire activity, especially in the eastern United States and the Great Plains where fi re is important ecologically and culturally. Remote sensing can be used to monitor fi re activity, augment...

Alaska’s landscapes are changing at a more rapid rate than those of the lower 48. Its large size makes the collection of aerial surveys—a biannual occurrence for the conterminous United States—cost-prohibitive. That means the Landsat series of land imaging satellites offer the only publicly available, up-to-date imagery of land conditions...

Maine is a place of rocky coastlines, of rich maritime history symbolized by lighthouses dotting the ocean bluffs, and of wondrous nature areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park. But Maine is a place of changes, too. Climate variability has brought the state heavier and more...

In Ohio, remote-sensing systems such as Landsat play an important role in monitoring natural resources and informing management decisions on everything from dangerous freshwater algal blooms to gypsy moth defoliation and more. Landsat imagery underpins public and private sector decisions in Ohio and across the Nation for effective adaptation to...

New Mexico relies on observations from the Landsat series of satellites operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. Data from Landsat also assist New Mexico in managing its precious water resources for agriculture, recreation, and industrial and community consumption. Landsat supports a variety of public and private sector decisions across New...