Geology topics

Katherine Fitzpatrick-Lins

Publications and source records attributed to Katherine Fitzpatrick-Lins.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1989

Alaska Interim Land Cover Mapping Program; final report

In 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a research project to develop an interim land cover data base for Alaska as an alternative to the nationwide Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Program. The Alaska Interim Land Cover Mapping Program was subsequently created to develop methods for producing a series of land cover maps that utilized the existing Landsat digital land cover classifications produced by and for the major land management agencies for mapping the vegetation of Alaska. The program was successful in producing digital land cover classifications and statistical summaries using a common statewide classification and in reformatting these data to produce l:250,000-scale quadrangle-based maps directly from the Scitex laser plotter. A Federal and State agency review of these products found considerable user support for the maps. Presently the Geological Survey is committed to digital processing of six to eight quadrangles each year.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1987

Producing Alaska interim land cover maps from Landsat digital and ancillary data

In 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a research program to produce 1:250,000-scale land cover maps of Alaska using digital Landsat multispectral scanner data and ancillary data and to evaluate the potential of establishing a statewide land cover mapping program using this approach. The geometrically corrected and resampled Landsat pixel data are registered to a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, along with arc-second digital elevation model data used as an aid in the final computer classification. Areas summaries of the land cover classes are extracted by merging the Landsat digital classification files with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Public Land Survey digital file. Registration of the digital land cover data is verified and control points are identified so that a laser plotter can products screened film separate for printing the classification data at map scale directly from the digital file. The final land cover classification is retained both as a color map at 1:250,000 scale registered to the U.S. Geological Survey base map, with area summaries by township and range on the reverse, and as a digital file where it may be used as a category in a geographic information system.

Alaska↗

USGS1985

Interim program for land cover mapping in Alaska utilizing Landsat digital data

The enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980 imposed mandates on all major land management agencies in Alaska to prepare comprehensive resource and management plans to assess wildlife habitat, oil and gas exploration and development, wild and scenic river, land disposals, timber production, and archaeological and cultural resources, To meet these objective, the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has embarked on a plan to classify land cover for the entire State of Alaska using Landsat digital data. the USGS, in cooperation with other agencies, has completely Landsat-derived land use and land cover classification of 115 million acres for the State of Alaska. With this work as a substantial foundation, the USGS has prepared a comprehensive plan for classifying the remaining areas of Alaska. The development of this program will lead to a complete interim land use and land cover classification system for Alaska and provide for the dissemination of map products, statistics, and acreage summaries for all areas of Alaska at 1:250,000 scale. It also allows for the dissemination of Landsat digital data for those areas.

Alaska↗

USGS1984

ANALYSIS OF A CLASSIFICATION ERROR MATRIX USING CATEGORICAL DATA TECHNIQUES.

Summary form only given. A classification error matrix typically contains tabulation results of an accuracy evaluation of a thematic classification, such as that of a land use and land cover map. The diagonal elements of the matrix represent the counts corrected, and the usual designation of classification accuracy has been the total percent correct. The nondiagonal elements of the matrix have usually been neglected. The classification error matrix is known in statistical terms as a contingency table of categorical data. As an example, an application of these methodologies to a problem of remotely sensed data concerning two photointerpreters and four categories of classification indicated that there is no significant difference in the interpretation between the two photointerpreters, and that there are significant differences among the interpreted category classifications. However, two categories, oak and cottonwood, are not separable in classification in this experiment at the 0. 51 percent probability. A coefficient of agreement is determined for the interpreted map as a whole, and individually for each of the interpreted categories. A conditional coefficient of agreement for the individual categories is compared to other methods for expressing category accuracy which have already been presented in the remote sensing literature.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1980

The accuracy of selected land use and land cover maps at scales of 1:250,000 and 1:100,000

Land use and land cover maps produced by the U.S. Geological Survey are found to meet or exceed the established standard of accuracy. When analyzed using a point sampling technique and binomial probability theory, several maps, illustrative of those produced for different parts of the country, were found to meet or exceed accuracies of 85 percent. Those maps tested were Tampa, Fla., Portland, Me., Charleston, W. Va., and Greeley, Colo., published at a scale of 1:250,000, and Atlanta, Ga., and Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., published at a scale of 1:100,000. For each map, the values were determined by calculating the ratio of the total number of points correctly interpreted to the total number of points sampled. Six of the seven maps tested have accuracies of 85 percent or better at the 95-percent lower confidence limit. When the sample data for predominant categories (those sampled with a significant number of points) were grouped together for all maps, accuracies of those predominant categories met the 85-percent accuracy criterion, with one exception. One category, Residential, had less than 85-percent accuracy at the 95-percent lower confidence limit. Nearly all residential land sampled was mapped correctly, but some areas of other land uses were mapped incorrectly as Residential.

Circular↗

USGS1980

Conflict resolution in railroad right-of-way disputes; Columbia, Missouri, and Douglas County, Nebraska

The environmental mediation process has been used to avoid potential disputes and to resolve conflicts once an impasse has been reached. One successful case of dispute avoidance was in the conversion of an abandoned railroad right-of-way to a linear park in Columbia, Missouri. The potential disputes in this case were twofold: the first centered on the question of ownership of the right-of-way where the railroad holds easements; the second was the issue of how the right-of-way would be developed. This second issue was addressed through the use of third party assistance. A member of the American Arbitration Association and a member of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service acted as an outside third party to facilitate negotiations between the city and adjacent landowners. The result of these negotiations is that the proposal to convert the right-of-way to a linear park has met with acceptance and the project to acquire the land is progressing. In a similar case in Douglas County, Nebraska, third party assistance was not employed and an impasse resulted. Plans to convert the railroad right-of-way have been terminated.

Missouri, Nebraska↗

USGS1978

An evaluation of errors in mapping land use changes for the Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site

Land use change maps prepared from high-resolution, high-altitude aerial photographs for the period 1970 to 1972 of the CARETS (Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site) project were analyzed for accuracy. To test for errors of commission, all outlined areas (polygons) of land use change on five l:100000-scale maps were examined for accuracy. An estimate of the errors of omission was obtained by comparing the land use change polygons mapped for the Norfolk SMSA (Norfolk and Virginia Beach Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area) with the changes mapped in a more detailed study of the same area. The results of these studies showed that the largest number of errors was caused by misregistration of the land use change map to the 1970 land use map; however, only a very small percentage of the total land area of the land use change was affected by misregistration. In the Norfolk SMSA, which is an area of rapid urban growth, many of the land use changes had not been mapped. The conclusion is that quality control checks are necessary both during and after map compilation. The experience of the CARETS and other land use mapping experiments conducted in the early 1970's has resulted in the development of carefully designed quality-control procedures implemented in the nationwide mapping of land use and land cover currently being carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Maryland, Virginia↗

USGS1978

Accuracy of selected land use and land cover maps in the Greater Atlanta region, Georgia

The land use and land cover maps at 1:100000 scale and at 1:24 000 scale in the Greater Atlanta Region were tested for accuracy. At 1:100 000 scale, 381 points were selected using a stratified systematic unalined sampling technique. Of these 381 points, 343 points or 90 percent were found to be correct. At 1:24 000 scale, 71 points were tested for accuracy. Of these 71 points, 62 points or 87 percent were found to be accurate. Confidence intervals were determined based on the assumption that the data exhibited a binomial distribution. With 95-percent confidence the accuracy of the 1:100 000-scale maps was between 87 and 93 percent, and the accuracy of the 1:24 000-scale maps was between 79 and 96 percent. The accuracy of the interpretations was consistent from category to category.

Georgia↗

USGS1978

Accuracy and consistency comparisons of land use and land cover maps made from high-altitude photographs and Landsat multispectral imagery

Accuracy analyses for land use and land cover maps of the 74712-km 2 Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site were performed for a 1-percent sample of the area. Researchers compared Level II land use and land cover maps produced at three scales, 1:24000, 1:100000, and 1:250000 from high-altitude photographs, with point data obtained in the field. The same procedures were employed to determine the accuracy of the Level I land use and land cover produced at 1:250 000 scale from high-altitude photographs and color composite Landsat imagery. The accuracy of the Level II maps was 85 percent at 1:24 000, 77 percent at 1:100 000, and 73 percent at 1:250 000. The accuracy of the Level I 1:250000 maps produced from high-altitude photographs was 77 percent and for those produced from Landsat multispectral imagery was 70 percent. The accuracy of the Level I land use maps produced using Landsat imagery is approximately that of the Level I land use maps produced from high-altitude photography with the exception of urban and built-up land. No built-up land was identified from Landsat imagery in the non-urban areas.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗