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Project Description
Project Tasks
Task
27
Task 29
Task 30
Task 31
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Project Description
Statement of Problem
This project investigates how both human-environment interactions
and natural processes have changed the land surface in the Eastern
Region. Key areas of study include:
- land use and cover change (especially those with significant
metropolitan areas),
- trends in land use/cover change,
- natural and human-induced processes contributing to change,
- and impacts of land use/cover change.
New and innovative approaches to
- monitoring the landscape and understanding the driving forces
that shape the landscape will be developed,
- identify the consequences of land use/cover change on ecosystem
health and services,
- water availability (water quality and quantity),
- materials flow,
- natural resource utilization,
- air quality,
- contaminant transport,
- and natural hazard risk potential.
Analyses and modeling approaches to land use/cover change are investigated
so that alternative future landscapes can be created in response to
a variety of possible scenarios on the future state of human-environment
systems. Partnerships with other disciplines, regions, bureaus, agencies,
States, cities, universities, and other interested organizations are
key components. These partnerships help focus products and deliverables
resulting from the tasks. This Project is broken up into four Tasks.
Objectives
This Project supports the U.S. Geological Survey Director’s yearly
guidance, Circular 1281, “Geography for a Changing World.” Multiple
Project tasks support studies at various temporal and geographic
scales, to monitor, measure, quantify, understand, model, and forecast
changes to the landscape and help understand their consequences.
The use of remotely sensed and other discipline data in geographic
and multi-disciplinary analysis will be performed in support of
the Director's yearly guidance.
Strategy and Approach
Through these long-term studies, Eastern Geographic Science Center
(EGSC) will develop an understanding of the land’s surface at various
spatial and temporal scales and an understanding of the rates, causes,
and consequences of natural and human-induced processes and their
interactions that affect the landscape over time. EGSC will use
this project as a foundation to build relationships with various
Eastern Region disciplines and external partners.
Relevance and Impact
This
project addresses land use short and long term dynamics through
the understanding of the landscape change, analyzing key driving
forces, and forecasting future trends.
- Eastern Region has 8 of the 10 fastest growing counties as well
as 9 out of 10 fastest declining counties and as a consequence
its landscape has changed, sometimes drastically.
The need to understand the consequences of human habitation on
the environment is necessary for state and local governments to
make good decisions on regional and local issues. |
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey