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Person

Melanie K Vanderhoof

RESEARCH GEOGRAPHER

Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Email: mvanderhoof@usgs.gov
Office Phone: 303-236-1411
Fax: 303-236-5349
ORCID: 0000-0002-0101-5533

Location
DFC Bldg 25
One Denver Federal Center; Box 25046
MS 980 , Denver CO 80225-0046
USA

Supervisor: Todd J Hawbaker
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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in dense time series of Landsat image stacks to produce the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) products. The algorithm makes use of predictors derived from individual Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference conditions. Outputs of the BAECV algorithm consist of pixel-level burn probabilities for each Landsat scene, and annual burn probability, burn classification, and burn date composites. These products were generated for the conterminous United States for 1984 through 2015. These data are also available for download at https://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/outgoing/baecv/BAECV_CONUS_v1.1_2017/...
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Effective monitoring and prediction of flood and drought events requires an improved understanding of how and why surface-water expansion and contraction in response to climate varies across space. This paper sought to (1) quantify how interannual patterns of surface-water expansion and contraction vary spatially across the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) and adjacent Northern Prairie (NP) in the United States, and (2) explore how landscape characteristics influence the relationship between climate inputs and surface-water dynamics. Due to differences in glacial history, the PPR and NP show distinct patterns in regards to drainage development and wetland density, together providing a diversity of conditions to examine...
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Interpretations of post-fire condition and rates of vegetation recovery can influence management priorities, actions, and perception of latent risks from landslides and floods. In this study, we used the Waldo Canyon fire (2012, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA) as a case study to explore how a time series (2011-2016) of high-resolution images can be used to delineate burn extent and severity, as well as quantify post-fire vegetation recovery. We applied an object-based approach to map burn severity and vegetation recovery using Worldview-2, 3, and QuickBird-2 imagery. The burned area was classified as 51% high, 20% moderate and 29% low burn-severity. Across the burn extent, the shrub cover class showed a rapid recovery,...
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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed and implemented an algorithm that identifies burned areas in temporally dense time series of Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) scenes to produce the Landsat Burned Area Products. The algorithm uses predictors derived from individual ARD Landsat scenes, lagged reference conditions, and change metrics between the scene and reference conditions. Scene-level products include pixel-level burn probability (BP) and burn classification (BC) images corresponding to each Landsat image in the ARD time series. Annual composite products are also available by summarizing the scene-level products. Prior to generating annual composites, individual scenes that had > 0.010 burned proportion...
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Geographically Isolated Wetlands (GIWs) occur along gradients of hydrologic and ecological connectivity and isolation, even within wetland types (e.g., forested, emergent marshes) and functional classes (e.g., ephemeral systems, permanent systems, etc.). Within a given watershed, the relative positions of wetlands and open-waters along these gradients influence the type and magnitude of their chemical, physical, and biological effects on downgradient waters. In addition, the ways in which GIWs connect to the broader hydrological landscape, and the effects of such connectivity on downgradient waters, depends largely upon climate, geology, and relief, the heterogeneity of which expands with increasing scale. Developing...
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