United States Environmental Monitoring and

Environmental Protection Assessment Program Center

Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711

Research and Development EPA/620/SR-94/020 September 1994

E AP Project Summary

Environmental Monitoring and

Assessment Program

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Pilot Project

The major objective of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Program (EMAP) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Pilot Project was the development and testing of methods for

producing detailed digital land cover

and land use data over large geographic

areas using commercially available satellite imagery. The land cover/use map

generated by this project is intended to

be used by EMAP and by the Chesapeake Bay Program Offices non-point

source water quality model and will replace the currently used and outdated

map. This project was also intended to

complement other similar remote sensing data products being generated for

the Chesapeake Bay area. These include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 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 findings 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-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) consortium, an interagency cooperative effort established to pool expertise and defray costs

of production of a satellite-based digital

land cover/use database for the conterminous United States. The MRLC consists

of representatives from U.S. Geological

Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center, USGS

National Water Quality Assessment Program, NOAA C-CAP, EPA North American Landscape Characterization Project,

and EMAP Landscape Characterization.

This project will, therefore, serve as a

model for large-scale projects using remote sensing for environmental monitoring.

A significant accomplishment of this

project was the development and implementation of tracking forms and instruction 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, comparison 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.

Denice M. Shaw and L. Dorsey Worthy
2

The EPA author, Denice 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

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EPA/620/SR-94/020

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EPA

PERMIT No. G-35