USGS Science to Support the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative

Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem 

Change on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2014–1140

Version 1.1, June 2015

Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess 

Ecosystem Change on the Arctic Coastal Plain of

Northern Alaska

By Ken D. Tape, John M. Pearce, Dennis Walworth, Brandt W. Meixell, Tom F. Fondell, David D. Gustine, 

Paul L. Flint, Jerry W. Hupp, Joel A. Schmutz, and David H. Ward

USGS Science to Support the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative

Open-File Report 2014–1140

Version 1.1, June 2015

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

First release: 2014

Revised June 2015 (ver. 1.1)

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth,

its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit 

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For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications,

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Suggested citation:

Tape, K.D., Pearce, J.M., Walworth, Dennis, Meixell, B.W., Fondell, T.F., Gustine, D.D., Flint, P.L., 

Hupp, J.W., Schmutz, J.A., and Ward, D.H., 2014, Historical and contemporary imagery to assess 

ecosystem change on the Arctic coastal plain of northern Alaska (ver. 1.1, June 2015): U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2014-1140, 22 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141140.

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)

Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply 

endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual 

copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report.
iii

Contents

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Study Areas, Scientific Objectives, and Associated Imagery...................................................................................... 4

Teshekpuk Lake Special Area ................................................................................................................................ 4

Chipp River ............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Colville Delta ........................................................................................................................................................... 8

Dalton Highway Corridor....................................................................................................................................... 10

Data Archive and Access.......................................................................................................................................... 11

Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................................................... 15

References Cited...................................................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix 1. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem 

Change on the TLSA Coast Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska.......................................... 18

Appendix 2. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem 

Change on the Chipp River Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska........................................... 20

Appendix 3. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem 

Change on the Colville River Delta Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska ............................... 21

Appendix 4. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem 

Change on the Dalton Highway Corridor Study Area on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska ...................... 22

Figures

Figure 1. Northern Alaska showing the Arctic Coastal Plain, Brooks Range, and the location of the four main study 

areas described in the text where historical and contemporary imagery were obtained ............................................. 3

Figure 2. Images from 1948 and 2002, showing an area of subsiding ice wedge polygonal ground 

near the mouth of Garry Creek within the TLSA Coast study area ............................................................................. 5

Figure 3. Images from July 11, 1948 and July 19, 2002, showing areas in the Chipp River study area of lake 

drainage during the period between photographs....................................................................................................... 7

Figure 4. Images from 1948 to 1949 and 2009 showing new water flow paths (blue arrows) on the 

Colville Delta study area where lakes have breached ice wedge polygonal ground. .................................................. 9

Figure 5. Images from 1949 and 2009 to 2010. ....................................................................................................... 11

Table

Table 1. List of aerial images described in this report .............................................................................................. 12
iv

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1

Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess 

Ecosystem Change on the Arctic Coastal Plain of

Northern Alaska

By Ken D. Tape1, John M. Pearce2, Dennis Walworth2, Brandt W. Meixell2, Tom F. Fondell2, David D. 

Gustine2, Paul L. Flint2, Jerry W. Hupp2, Joel A. Schmutz2, and David H. Ward2

Abstract

The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is a complex landscape of lakes, streams, and 

wetlands scattered across low-relief tundra that is underlain by permafrost. This region of the 

Arctic has experienced a warming trend over the past three decades leading to thawing of onshore permafrost and the disappearance of sea ice at unprecedented rates. The U.S. Geological 

Survey’s (USGS) Changing Arctic Ecosystems (CAE) research initiative was developed to

investigate and forecast these rapid changes in the physical environment of the Arctic, and the 

associated changes to wildlife populations, in order to inform key management decisions by the

U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies. Forecasting future wildlife responses to 

changes in the Arctic can benefit greatly from historical records that inform what changes have 

already occurred. Several Arctic wildlife and plant species have already responded to climatic 

and physical changes to the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska. Thus, we located historical 

aerial imagery to improve our understanding of recent habitat changes and the associated

response to such changes by wildlife populations.

In this report, we describe and make available a set of 61 georectified aerial images of the 

Arctic Coastal Plain (taken from 1948 to 2010) that were obtained by the USGS to inform 

research objectives of the USGS CAE Initiative. Here, we describe the origins, metadata, and

public availability of these images that were obtained within four main study areas on the Arctic 

Coastal Plain: Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, Chipp River, the Colville River Delta, and 

locations along the Dalton Highway Corridor between the Brooks Range and Deadhorse. We 

also provide general descriptions of observable changes to the geomorphology of landscapes that 

are apparent by comparing historical and contemporary images. These landscape changes include 

altered river corridors, lake drying, coastal erosion, and new vegetation communities. All 

original and georectified images and metadata are publically available for download.

1

Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 306 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, 

Alaska, 99775. 2

U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Dr., Anchorage, Alaska, 

99508.
2

Introduction

Climate-related physical changes, such as warming temperatures, diminishing sea ice, 

increasing coastal erosion, and deteriorating permafrost, are taking place in the Arctic and are

affecting wildlife populations through (1) alterations in animal behavior (Jay and others, 2012; 

Herriman and Peacock, 2014), (2) changes in abundance and distribution (Flint and others,

2014), and (3) changes to soil and vegetation (Martin and others, 2009; Tape and others, 2013).

Increasing temperatures and shifts in hydrologic regimes have facilitated the conversion of 

tussock tundra to shrubs (Tape and others, 2006), increased the biomass of vegetation in the 

Arctic biome (Martin and others, 2009), and advanced the onset and extended the duration of the 

growing season (Goetz and others, 2005). Herbivores in northern latitudes, such as caribou 

(Rangifer tarandus) and species of migratory geese, rely on the high plant quantity and quality in 

the Arctic for reproduction, feather molt, migration, and winter survival (Barboza and Hume, 

2006; Flint and others, 2008). Consequently, the predominant effects of climate warming to 

populations of northern herbivores are likely to be nutritionally mediated through changes in 

vegetative phenology and productivity during the summer (Klein and others, 2005). Assessing

long-term changes in vegetation types and distribution will help to better understand the potential

impacts of future ‘bottom-up’ effects to populations of northern herbivores.

Changes in size and distribution of several populations of migratory geese in the Arctic

may be linked to alterations to vegetation and phenology (earlier spring snow melt and plant 

emergence). For example, increasing breeding populations of lesser snow geese (Chen

caerulescens) and greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons), and a continuing distributional 

shift in molting Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) toward the Arctic coast over the 

past 30 years (Flint and others, 2008; Lewis and others, 2010, 2011), appear to be associated 

with the conversion of coastal tundra to salt-inundated sedge meadows (Serreze and others, 

2007; Arp and others, 2010; Tape and others, 2013; Flint and others, 2014). However, we have a 

poor understanding of the full spatial and temporal extent of vegetative and phenological 

changes and the associated implications of these changes to populations of herbivores, such as 

caribou and geese on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska.

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated the Changing Arctic Ecosystems 

(CAE) research initiative (Geiselman and others, 2012), which is intended to inform 

management decisions by helping managers understand how wildlife populations will respond to 

the rapid physical changes in the Arctic (Oakley and others, 2012; Pearce and others, 2012; 

McNew and others, 2013). A main objective of the USGS CAE initiative is to understand the 

physical changes in Arctic environments that are occurring as a result of climate warming during 

the 20th and 21st centuries and to determine how these changes may impact wildlife populations

now and in the future.
3

In this report, we describe and make available a series of georectified aerial imagery from

various sources that were used to detect landscape changes in areas of interest to wildlife 

scientists and managers. Our main objective was to make available a series of overlapping 

historical (1940s), intermediate (1970s), and contemporary (2000s) imagery that can be used to 

assess vegetative and landscape changes important to Arctic wildlife, such as herbivores (caribou 

and geese, that feed primarily on grass and other plants,), but potentially also piscivores 

(animals, such as loons that feed primarily on fish), and invertivores (animals, such as shorebirds

that feed primarily on invertebrates). We describe the origins, metadata, and public availability 

of these images, which were obtained within four main study areas on the Arctic Coastal Plain 

(fig. 1). We also summarize some of the general landscape changes detected by comparing 

historical and contemporary photographs, and put these in context of USGS CAE research 

questions.

Figure 1. Northern Alaska showing the Arctic Coastal Plain, Brooks Range, and the location of the four 

main study areas described in the text where historical and contemporary imagery were obtained.
4

Study Areas, Scientific Objectives, and Associated Imagery

Historical and contemporary imagery was obtained for four main study areas on the 

Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, where a portion of USGS CAE research is focused.

These areas were:

• Smith River and Garry Creek drainages in the coastal zone of the Teshekpuk Lake 

Special Area (TLSA Coast), 

• An interior lake area west of Teshekpuk Lake (Chipp River), 

• Coastal areas of the Colville River Delta (Colville Delta), and 

• Ten locations along the Dalton Highway between the Brooks Range and Deadhorse 

(Dalton Highway Corridor) (fig. 1).

For each study area, we obtained historical imagery from the Alaska Satellite Facility 

(ASF) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (https://www.asf.alaska.edu/). Images were black

and white 9 × 9 in. photographic prints from 1948 and 1949. ASF images were scanned at 1,200 

dots-per-inch grayscale and georectified to various contemporary (2002–10) satellite imagery

(table 1) using tie-point methods and splines for interpolation (Tape and others, 2013). Imagery 

from intervening periods (1955 USGS mapping efforts and 1977–82 Alaska High Altitude 

Photography) was acquired from USGS Earth Explorer http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/) and 

University of Alaska’s Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA; 

http://www.gina.alaska.edu/) and georectified. All original and georectified imagery (table 1) and 

associated metadata are archived at the USGS Alaska Science Center. The total time series of 

aerial imagery was acquired to examine evidence for landscape change in Arctic Alaska between 

the earliest set of imagery (1948–49) and the most recent (2002–10). Imagery from intervening 

periods was acquired to constrain the timing of any observed landscape change between the 

historical and contemporary images. 

Teshekpuk Lake Special Area

The main objective for the TLSA Coast imagery was to determine the timing and extent 

of vegetation and landscape changes of coastal wetlands occupied by molting geese. The TLSA

(figs. 1 and 2, appendix 1) annually supports 80,000–90,000 geese during their annual flightless 

wing molting period (Flint and others, 2008), making it the most significant goose molting area 

in the Arctic (Derksen and others, 1979). Recent research has identified significant increases in 

the number of molting greater white-fronted geese and in the shifts in the spatial distribution of 

molting Pacific black brant over the past 30 years in the TLSA Coast. Molting black brant have 

shifted from primarily inland, freshwater lakes towards coastal, brackish wetlands (Flint and 

others, 2008). Of these coastal wetlands, the Smith River and Garry Creek wetland complexes

(within the TLSA Coast study areas, figs. 1 and 2) best exemplify the significant changes in 

distribution and habitat use of molting black brant. Virtually unused in the 1970–1980s, the 

Smith River and Garry Creek wetlands now support upwards of 20,000 black brant geese during 

the flightless period (Tape and others, 2013). Furthermore, during late July and early August, 

when most black brant have regained flight, coastal wetlands, such as the Smith River and Garry 

Creek, support more black brant than all other freshwater wetlands in the TLSA Coast combined 
5

(Lewis and others, 2010). Landscape-scale changes concurrent with the habitat shifts of molting 

brant across the Arctic Coastal Plain are a result of climate warming. Thawing of permafrost and 

shrinking of summer pack ice extent have increased rates of coastal erosion, which in turn has 

increased the frequency and extent of saltwater intrusion into coastal tundra areas. Consequently, 

the plant communities of coastal areas recently inundated by storm surges have likely undergone 

a succession towards salt-tolerant species. These newly colonized salt-tolerant plant species are 

known to be favored food items of black brant in other coastal areas of Alaska, explaining the 

redistribution of black brant (Tape and others, 2013).

Figure 2. Images from 1948 (top, table 1: image 23) and 2002 (bottom, table 1: image 28), showing an 

area of subsiding ice wedge polygonal ground near the mouth of Garry Creek within the TLSA Coast study 

area. Images are 2.8 kilometers wide. The red dotted lines indicate the location of the subsidence front in 

1948 (top line) and 2008 (bottom line), and the arrows indicate the movement during that interval. 
6

For the TLSA Coast study area, we acquired and georectified 15 images from the 1948 to 

1949 ASF set, 1 image from the 1955 USGS cartographic effort, and 5 images from the 1977 to 

1982 USGS Earth Explorer (EE) set (figs. 1 and 2, table 1). Imagery was acquired and scanned 

from the Smith River and Garry Creek, where recent changes in the spatial distribution of geese 

have been observed. Time series imagery revealed a redistribution of ice-wedge polygonal 

ground along the coast that we hypothesize is occurring in response to greater marine water 

influence as sea-ice extent decreases (Tape and others, 2013). Imagery comparisons also showed 

changes to the geometry of the mouth of the Smith River since 1948, and that erosion of the 

coastline is ongoing. The ponds and the river channel of the Smith River estuary have been in the 

same locations since 1948, yet they are consistently larger in the intermediate (1979) and 

contemporary (2002 and 2009–10) imagery (Tape and others, 2013). In the Garry Creek estuary, 

the redistribution of polygonal ground is more evident (fig. 2) and has resulted in conversion to 

salt tolerant sedge habitat that is important to foraging geese. 

Chipp River

Within the Chipp River study area (figs. 1 and 3, appendix 2) the main objective was to 

compare historical and contemporary imagery to inform rates and processes of lake drying that 

may influence food sources, such as plants, fish, and invertebrates to avian consumers including

geese, loons, and shorebirds. This information will inform the temporal and spatial dynamics of 

wetland connections on the Arctic Coastal Plain. Physical connections among lakes and to 

streams are vital for fish passage (Haynes and others, 2013), but these connections are variable in 

size and ephemeral due to the high seasonal and annual variance in water volumes moving 

through these systems in this relatively flat landscape. Because loons are piscivores, their food 

requirements may be strongly influenced by these water regimes. The yellow-billed loon (Gavia 

adamsii) is a species of conservation concern in Alaska, and most of the U.S. breeding 

population occurs on the Arctic Coastal Plain (Earnst and others, 2005). Recent research on the 

Arctic Coastal Plain suggests that changes in lake water levels related to climate change may 

affect loon nesting habitat preferences more quickly than other factors, such as fish community 

composition (Haynes and others, 2014). Implications of lake drying for shorebirds include 

increases in lake water temperature affecting emergence and abundance of invertebrate forage.

For geese, changes in wetland water levels, soil moisture, and subtle differences in elevation may 

influence development of plant communities favored by these geese for forage.

For the Chipp River study area, we georectified six images from the 1948 to 1949 ASF 

set and six images from the 1977 to 1982 EE set, using recent imagery from multiple sets as base 

imagery (table 1). Imagery from the 2002 to 2010 GINA set will be used to identify drained 

lakes, and then sequentially older imagery will inform possible dates of drying or partial drying.

Imagery comparisons revealed that some lakes in the Chipp River study area have dried or 

partially dried during various time frames between 1949 and 2002 (fig. 3).
7

Figure 3. Images from July 11, 1948 (top, table 1: image 34) and July 19, 2002 (bottom, table 1: image 33), 

showing areas in the Chipp River study area of lake drainage during the period between photographs. 

Dotted red lines indicate the lakeshore in 1949 and arrows indicate areas where new emergent vegetation 

has been observed. Images are 7.4 kilometers wide.
8

Colville Delta

Within the Colville Delta study area (figs. 1 and 4, appendix 3), we are using historical 

aerial imagery to identify areas most vulnerable to predicted vegetation changes. We are 

quantifying long-term changes in plant phenology across different biomes of Alaska and 

assessing the ability for Arctic migrants to alter their timing of migration and reproduction in 

response to these changes. There is evidence that global climate change has altered the 

phenology of spring vegetative growth (green-up) and has extended the growing season of plants 

at high northern latitudes (Myeni and others, 1997). However, it is unclear how these changes 

vary across habitats and whether avian migrants have adapted to shifts in plant phenology by 

modifying the timing of migration and nesting. Lack of synchrony between plant phenology and 

these key life-cycle events is often called the ‘phenological mismatch’ hypothesis, which can 

have significant consequences for population dynamics and distribution of bird species (Visser 

and Both, 2005; Visser and others, 2011).

For the Colville Delta study area, we georectified eight images from the 1948 to 1949 

ASF set using 2009 imagery (table 1). Comparison of images from 1948 and 2010 (fig. 4) 

showed new hydrological pathways within the Colville Delta study area where lakes and river 

channels have breached ice wedge polygonal ground.
9

Figure 4. Images from 1948 to 1949 (top, table 1: image 48) and 2009 (bottom, table 1: image 54) showing 

new water flow paths (blue arrows) on the Colville Delta study area where lakes have breached ice wedge 

polygonal ground. Images are 2.9 kilometers wide.
10

Dalton Highway Corridor

As part of the USGS CAE initiative, we are evaluating changes in phenology and 

community structure of forage plants over a 30-year timeframe along the elevational gradient of 

coastal plain habitats that is transected by the Dalton Highway Corridor south of Deadhorse, 

Alaska (figs. 1 and 5, appendix 4). Climate change will influence the distribution and quality of 

habitats utilized by Arctic Coastal Plain ungulates, such as caribou and moose (Alces alces). We 

expect habitat-based effects on ungulate populations to be largely driven by adjustments in the 

annual phenological regime and changes in distribution and composition of major habitat types.

Furthermore, migratory caribou will likely face important climate-driven changes on their winter 

ranges (Gustine and others, 2014). In the late 1970s, Whitten and Cameron (1980) documented 

the phenology and quality of caribou and muskox (Ovibus moschatus) forages at seven sites 

along the Dalton Highway Corridor. Thirty years later, we are repeating vegetation surveys at 

these seven sites using long-term sampling plots to assess changes in seasonal plant phenology 

and forage quality. We are also comparing historical and contemporary satellite imagery to 

quantify broad changes in vegetation and landscapes in this area. This work will quantify the 

effects of documented warming over the last 30 years on patterns of forage growth and quality 

and will provide the basis for reasonable projections regarding effects of future climate change 

on ungulate forage.

ASF imagery from 1948 to 1949 for seven locations where long-term plots are located 

along the Dalton Highway Corridor (figs. 1 and 5) was scanned and georectified using a 2009–10 

image mosaic (table 1, image 19).
11

Figure 5. Images from 1949 (top, table 1: image 59) and 2009 to 2010 (bottom, table 1: image 19). Red 

squares show location of U.S. Geological Survey long-term vegetation plots. Images are 3.8 kilometers

wide.

Data Archive and Access

All images, data, and associated metadata are archived at the USGS Alaska Science 

Center. Images that were not modified from their original source can be accessed at the 

host websites for the University of Alaska’s Geographic Information Network of Alaska 

(GINA; http://www.gina.alaska.edu/) (table 1). Images that were georectified from their 

original source (table 1) and their associated metadata are publically available for download, 

grouped by date range (1948–1949: http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F79021TB; 1955: 

http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F757192K; 1974–1979: http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F71G0J9D ).

Metadata files were created using Metavist 2005 (Rugg, 2004). Geographic coordinates of image 

centerpoints are shown in the appendices.
12

Table 1. List of aerial images described in this report. 

[See figure 1 and appendixes 1-4. Image No.: Numbers correspond to bounding boxes in appendix maps for each 

study area. Image source: ASF, University of Alaska Fairbanks GeoData Center, operated by the Alaska Satellite 

Facility (http://www.asf.alaska.edu/); U.S. Geological Survey Earth Explorer (EE) (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/); 

GINA, University of Alaska Geographic Information Network of Alaska (http://www.gina.alaska.edu/); USGS, U.S. 

Geological Survey]

Image 

No. Filename Date of image

Image 

source

Geo-rectified 

or original

TLSA Coast (Smith River)

1 TLSA_Coast_georectified_landcover_Teshekpuk_1

948-08-08_61-8.tif

8/8/1948 ASF Georectified

2 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-100_8.8.48.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

3 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-98.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

4 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-96.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

5 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-94.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

6 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-36_8.8.48.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

7 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-34_8.8.48.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

8 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-32_8.8.48.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

9 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_61-30_8.8.48.tif

8/8/1948 ASF

Georectified

10 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1955-06-21_6.21.55.tif

6/21/1955 ASF

Georectified

11 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1974-06-21_6.21.74.tif

6/21/1974 ASF

Georectified

12 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

Teshekpuk_1948-08-08_EE_7.15.79_3116.tif

7/15/1979 EE

Georectified

13 tesd1ne.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

14 tesd1sw.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

15 tesd1nw.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

16 hard5nw.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

17 hard5sw.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

18 tesd1se.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

19 tape_large_aoi_image_clip_aa.tif 2009–2010 GINA Original

TLSA Coast (Garry Creek)

20 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

HarrisonBay_1948-07-17_81-158.tif

7/17/1948 ASF Georectified

21 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

HarrisonBay_1948-07-17_81-160.tif

7/17/1948 ASF Georectified

22 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

HarrisonBay_1948-08-08_81-129.tif

7/17/1948 ASF Georectified

23 TLSA_Coast_ georectified _landcover_ 

HarrisonBay_1948-08-08_81-127.tif

7/17/1948 ASF Georectified
13

Image 

No. Filename Date of image

Image 

source

Geo-rectified 

or original

TLSA Coast (Garry Creek)—Continued

24 TLSA_Coast_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1977-07-31_EE_0017.tif

7/31/1977 EE Georectified

25 TLSA_Coast_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1977-15-79_EE_3218.tif

7/15/1979 EE Georectified

26 TLSA_Coast_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1977-07-31_EE_0010.tif

7/31/1977 EE Georectified

27 harc5ne.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

28 harc5se.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

29 harc5sw.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

30 harc5nw.tif 7/19/2002 GINA Original

TLSA Coast (Piasuk River)

31 TLSA_Coast_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948-9_23-121.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

32 TLSA_Coast_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948-9_23-119.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

33 cir_photos_2002_mosaic.img 7/19/2002 USGS Original

Chipp River

34 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948-07-11_16-59.tif

7/11/1948 ASF Georectified

35 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948-07-11_16-57.tif

7/11/1948 ASF Georectified

36 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948-07-11_16-91.tif

7/11/1948 ASF Georectified

37 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948_1949_23-119.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

38 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948_1949_4-135.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

39 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1948_1949_4-158.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

40 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1979-07-15_EE_3200.tif

7/15/1979 EE Georectified

41 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1979-07-15_EE_3202.tif

7/15/1979 EE Georectified

42 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1979-07-15_EE_3140.tif

7/15/1979 EE Georectified

43 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1977-07-31_EE_0030.tif

7/31/1977 EE Georectified

44 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1979-07-15_EE_3273.tif

7/15/1979 EE Georectified

45 Chipp_River_ georectified

_landcover_Teshekpuk_1979-07-15_EE_3279.tif

7/15/1979 EE Georectified
14

Image 

No. Filename Date of image

Image 

source

Geo-rectified 

or original

Colville Delta

46 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_77-186.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

47 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_77-188.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

48 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_272-120.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

49 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_272-122.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

50 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_272-124.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

51 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_272-126.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

52 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_272-128.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

53 Colville_Delta_ georectified

_landcover_HarrisonBay_1948_1949_272-130.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

54 CRDv0112larger.bsq 2009 USGS Original

Dalton Highway Corridor

55 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_ georectified

_landcover_1948_1949_BeecheyPoint_278-6.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

56 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_ georectified

_landcover_1948_1949_BeecheyPoint_280-123.tif

1948–49 ASF Georectified

57 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_ georectified

_landcover_1949-07-15_275-1.tif

7/15/1949 ASF Georectified

58 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_ georectified

_landcover_1949-06-23_207-12.tif

6/23/1949 ASF Georectified

59 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_ georectified

_landcover_1949-06-26_211-202.tif

6/26/1949 ASF Georectified

60 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_ georectified

_landcover_1949-06-14_201-85.tif

6/14/1949 ASF Georectified

61 Dalton_Highway_Corridor_orth georectified

ophoto_landcover_1949-06-14_200-54.tif

6/14/1949 ASF Georectified
15

Acknowledgments

We thank S. Smith and B. Anderson (USGS), J. Grunblatt (GINA), V. Wolf (University 

of Alaska, Fairbanks), and K. Homan (Southeast Alaska GIS Library) for assistance with 

metadata processing, archiving of data, and data access. The University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

GeoData Center operated by the Alaska Satellite Facility graciously allowed us access to the 

1948–49 photographic prints. This work is part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Changing Arctic 

Ecosystem Initiative and is supported by funding from the Wildlife Program of the USGS 

Ecosystem Mission Area. T. DeGange, L. Tibbitts, and B. Uher-Koch provided helpful reviews 

on an earlier version of this paper.

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Appendix 1. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery

to Assess Ecosystem Change on the TLSA Coast Study Area on the Arctic 

Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska.
19

Smith River (top), Garry Creek (middle), and Piasuk River (bottom) study areas. Numbered 

boxes correspond to image numbers in table 1. Image centerpoints: (top) N 70.89°, E –153.15°; 

(middle) N 70.63°, E –152.60°; (bottom) N 70.83°, E –154.74°.
20

Appendix 2. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery 

to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Chipp River Study Area on the Arctic 

Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska. 

Numbered boxes correspond to image numbers in table 1. Image centerpoint: N 70.62°, E –

154.93°.
21

Appendix 3. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery 

to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Colville River Delta Study Area on the 

Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska. 

Numbered boxes correspond to image numbers in table 1. Image centerpoint: N 70.43°, E –

150.51°.
22

Appendix 4. Mosaic Showing Select Historical and Contemporary Imagery 

to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Dalton Highway Corridor Study Area 

on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska. 

Numbered boxes correspond to image numbers in table 1. Image centerpoint: N 69.75°, 

E –148.48°.
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For more information concerning the research in this report, contact the

Director, Alaska Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey

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http://alaska.usgs.gov
Tape and others—Historical and Contemporary Imagery to Assess Ecosystem Change on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska—Open-File Report 2014–1140, ver. 1.1

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141140