Land Use/Land Cover

GeoCover LC

As the Earth's population grows, the stresses on the environment have dramatically increased. Until recently, no consistently prepared, moderate-resolution land cover database has existed to help scientists and decision-makers track environmental changes.

MDA introduces the world's first off-the-shelf medium resolution land cover database: EarthSat GeoCover LC^TM. Prepared from consistently orthorectified Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, GeoCover LC features a standard 13-class land cover legend designed to provide a basic understanding of the landscape to a 1.4-hectare minimum mapping unit (MMU). Data are also available with no MMU applied.

• Complete description of GeoCover LC

National Park Service

MDA is the prime contractor of a team of five organizations selected to provide land cover mapping of the Alaska National Park Area. Under this contract, MDA provides map products based on remotely sensed data through image processing and classification, aerial photography interpretation, field verification, and GIS database and application development.

• Landcover Mapping in the National Parks of Alaska

Ducks Unlimited

As part of the conservation programs of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, there is a need for accurate perennial cover inventories as well as seasonal wetlands inventories. Under a Ducks Unlimited and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreement, MDA developed procedures for classifying land cover unique to the waterfowl habitat of the Prairie Pothole Region of North America. Landsat TM scenes covering both Dakotas east of the Missouri River and Minnesota are being mapped for annual and perennial cover.