NOAA analysis reveals significant land cover changes in U.S. coastal regions

August 18, 2014

(Credit: NOAA Coastal Services Center)

A new NOAA nationwide analysis shows that between 1996 and 2011, 64,975 square miles in coastal regions -- can area larger than the state of Wisconsin -- experienced changes in land cover, including a decline in wetlands and forest coverwith development a major contributing factor.

Overall, 8.2 percent of the nation’s ocean and Great Lakes coastal regions experienced these changes. In analysis of the five year period between 2001-2006, coastal areas accounted for 43 percent of all land cover change in the continental U.S. This report identifies a wide variety of land cover changes that can intensify climate change risks, such as loss of coastal barriers to sea level rise and storm surge, and includes environmental data that can help coastal managers improve community resilience.

"Land cover maps document what's happening on the ground. By showing how that land cover has changed over time, scientists can determine how these changes impact our plant’s environmental health," said Nate Herold, a NOAA physical scientist who directs the mapping effort at NOAA's Coastal Services Center in Charleston, South Carolina.

Among the significant changes were the loss of 1,536 square miles of wetlands, and a decline in total forest cover by 6.1 percent.



http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2014/20140818_landcover.html