Publications

The Center for Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) is a field center of the geography discipline within the US geological survey (USGS) of the Department of the Interior. The EROS Data Center (EDC) was established in the early 1970s as the nation’s principal archive of remotely sensed data. Initially the EDC was responsible for the archive, reproduction, and distribution of black-and-white

A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system transmits electromagnetic (EM) waves at a wavelength that can range from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters. The radar wave propagates through the atmosphere and interacts with the Earth’s surface. Part of the energy is reflected back to the SAR system and recorded. Using a sophisticated image processing technique, called SAR processing (Curlander and

We analyzed RADARSAT-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to compute interferometric SAR (InSAR) images of surface deformation at Uzon caldera, Kamchatka, Russia. From 2000 to 2003 approximately 0.15 m of inflation occurred at Uzon caldera, extending beneath adjacent Kikhpinych volcano. This contrasts with InSAR data showing no significant deformation during either the 1999 to 2000, or 2003 to 20

Landscapes containing differing amounts of ecological disturbance provide an excellent opportunity to validate and better understand the emerging Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) vegetation products. Four sites, including 1‐year post‐fire coniferous, 13‐year post‐fire deciduous, 24‐year post‐fire deciduous, and >100 year old post‐fire coniferous forests, were selected to serve as a

In the early morning of 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane. With wind speeds of about 233 kilometers per hour, a storm surge of 8.5 meters, and heavy rains, Katrina pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi with lifethreatening flooding and destruction. Katrina's high winds and storm surge breached the le

Assessment of the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and precipitation is important in understanding vegetation and climate interaction at a large scale. NDVI response to precipitation, however, is difficult to quantify due to the lag and seasonality effects, which will vary due to vegetation cover type, soils and climate. A time series analysis was performed on

A new land cover database of Greater Mesoamerica has been prepared using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS, 500 m resolution) satellite data. Daily surface reflectance MODIS data and a suite of ancillary data were used in preparing the database by employing a decision tree classification approach. The new land cover data are an improvement over traditional advanced very high res

A data set of the fractional green vegetation cover (FGREEN) for the Conterminous USA was evaluated for regional and seasonal variation. The value of FGREEN was derived monthly for the three most dominant land cover classes per 20 km by 20 km grid cell within the study area. At this grid cell resolution (comprised of 400 1-km pixels), 97 percent of the grid cells included three or fewer land cover

No abstract available.

This book has presented what is known about the extent and causes of amphibian population declines in the United States and what can be done about them. It has also examined life history and natural history features needed to manage for amphibians, with a current assessment of their distribution. In assembling the literature for this project, and with a quick look at the species accounts, what is

This section features the Caudata, which includes the families Ambystomatidae, Amphiumidae, Cryptobranchidae, Dicamptodontidae, Plethodontidae, Proteidae, Rhyacotritonidae, Salamandridae, and Sirenidae. It provides information on their historical versus current distribution, historical versus current abundance, life history features, and conservation.

This section features the Anura, which includes the families Ascaphidae, Bufonidae, Dendrobatidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Microhylidae, Pelobatidae, Pipidae, Ranidae, and Rhinophrynidae. It provides information on their historical versus current distribution, historical versus current abundance, life history features, and conservation.