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NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program


NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) is dedicated to the development, distribution, and application of land cover and change data for the nation's coastal zone. C-CAP land cover and land cover change products are designed to assist coastal resource managers in their decision-making processes. These national data sets can be used to assess urban growth, determine changes to natural resources, and develop trend analyses.

C-CAP National Baseline

Map of the United States showing the baseline C-CAP mapping boundaries

An immediate objective for C-CAP is to expeditiously complete a national baseline of land cover and change data, from which additional dates of imagery may be used to track coastal trends over time. This is being accomplished through partnerships with private industry and more recently, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 2001 efforts. NOAA and USGS share initial land cover processing procedures, with final agency-specific processing conducted to yield each agency's respective products.

C-CAP Baseline Products

  • Land cover data for two dates, approximately 5 years apart
  • A product illustrating the difference between the two dates

C-CAP Product Specifications

  • Derived from Landsat satellite imagery
  • 30 meter resolution
  • Target 85% overall classification accuracy
  • 22 land cover classes

C-CAP baseline products exist for the Great Lakes region and Hawaii and work is currently underway in Michigan and the entire West Coast. Other C-CAP products are available for the Yakutat Bay in Alaska, the San Francisco Bay in California, the Columbia River Estuary, and a large portion of the east coast.

This Web site contains detailed information about

Benthic habitat mapping, originally envisioned as part of the C-CAP function, is being pursued separately and according to new standards. For more information on benthic habitat mapping, see the Benthic Habitat Mapping Home Page.

C-CAP is part of the Coastal Remote Sensing Program of the NOAA Coastal Services Center, located in Charleston, South Carolina.

For more information, contact

Steve Raber
Program Manager, Coastal Remote Sensing
Steve.Raber@noaa.gov
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E-mail comments to csc@csc.noaa.gov
Updated on February 26, 2004