United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program Center
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA/620/SR-94/020 September 1994
EPA Project Summary
Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program
Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Pilot Project
Denice M. Shaw and L. Dorsey Worthy
The major objective of the Environ-
mental Monitoring and Assessment
Program (EMAP) Chesapeake Bay Wa-
tershed Pilot Project was the develop-
ment and testing of methods for
producing detailed digital land cover
and land use data over large geographic
areas using commercially available sat-
ellite imagery. The land cover/use map
generated by this project is intended to
be used by EMAP and by the Chesa-
peake Bay Program Offices non-point
source water quality model and will re-
place the currently used and outdated
map. This project was also intended to
complement other similar remote sens-
ing data products being generated for
the Chesapeake Bay area. These in-
clude the National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal
Change Analysis Program (C-CAP)
Chesapeake Bay Project, and efforts
by both the states of Maryland and
Virginia to map Bay area resources
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program Center, Research
Triangle Park, NC, to announce key find-
ings of the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Results of this and similar projects have
led to the formation of the Multi-Resolu-
tion Land Characteristics (MRLC) consor-
tium, an interagency cooperative effort es-
tablished to pool expertise and defray costs
of production of a satellite-based digital
land cover/use database for the contermi-
nous United States. The MRLC consists
of representatives from U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center, USGS
National Water Quality Assessment Pro-
gram, NOAA C-CAP, EPA North Ameri-
can Landscape Characterization Project,
and EMAP Landscape Characterization.
This project will, therefore, serve as a
model for large-scale projects using re-
mote sensing for environmental monitor-
ing.
A significant accomplishment of this
project was the development and imple-
mentation of tracking forms and instruc-
tion guides developed as part of the quality
assurance/quality control procedures. From
the beginning of this project tracking forms
traced all procedures performed on the
data. The tracking forms allowed for easy
handling of the large number of thematic
mapping scenes. The forms facilitated
monitoring the completion of each step in
the process for each data subset, com-
parison of results between data subsets,
backup and retrieval of data, and tracing
of errors. The instruction guides helped
the analysts perform consistent analyses
on all of the image subsets by providing
step-by-step operating instructions.
-------
The EPA author, Denies M. Shaw (also the EPA Technical Coordinator, see below),
is with EMAP Center, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. L Dorsey Worthy is
with Lockheed ESAT, Las Vegas, NV 89119.
The complete report, entitled "Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program:
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Pilot Project," (Order No. PB95-100061; Cost:
$27.00; subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Center
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
EPA/620/SR-94/020
------- |