Land Surface Characterization Research
and Satellite Data Management

The Earth's global environmental systems on land and in the oceans and atmosphere constantly change. Society's uses of land and water resources can significantly influence natural environmental variability. Whether natural or human-induced, global environmental change impacts national and international social and economic systems, including nationally managed lands and water resources. Quality data and information about conditions and changes on the Earth's land surfaces are essential for maintaining productive lands and other globally important environmental resources. The objectives of the Land Surface Characterization Research and Satellite Data Management element are to:

• Meet the growing demands for satellite data to support research focused on understanding the conditions and changes in earth systems.
• Provide easy and efficient access to data describing the land surface for public and private use.
• Develop and apply multi-resolution and multi-temporal data sets and descriptions of land characteristics to understand and model land processes and land-atmosphere interactions.
• Enhance and apply technology for monitoring, analyzing, and predicting rates, patterns, and impacts of landscape changes resulting from natural and human causes.

Research projects:

• Satellite Archive
• Earth Explorer
• Global Elevation data
• Land Surface Characterization in Alaska and Arctic Regions
• Landscape Change-Geographic Analysis and Modeling
• Land Cover Characterization Program
• Landscape Change Detection (Reno and Lake Tahoe example)
• Earthshots: Satellite Imagery of Environmental Change
• Global Land Cover Characterization
• Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
• Urban Dynamics

Information Contact:

Patricia Jellison U.S. Geological Survey MS 519 National Center Reston, VA 20192