Land Cover Analysis

Nothing Brings the Big Picture into Focus like Remote Sensing

For coastal management issues, it is sometimes difficult to see the forest for the trees, both literally and figuratively. Remote sensing using satellite imagery can provide a unique view of a community and watershed. Satellite-derived data are one of the best tools for

• Documenting changes in the landscape
• Gaining a better understanding of population growth patterns and habitat distribution
• Creating a resource inventory for a large area

The NOAA Coastal Services Center is developing a nationally standardized database of land cover within the coastal regions of the United States. These land cover products inventory coastal intertidal habitats, wetlands, and adjacent uplands with the goal of monitoring changes in these habitats on a one to five year cycle. The graphic below illustrates a land cover product derived from a Landsat Thematic Mapper image.