Land Cover AnalysisGuamDescription Guam is the southernmost island in the Marianas Islands archipelago, and is located over 1,500 miles southeast of Japan, and over 3,800 miles west of Hawai`i. Guam has 212 square miles of land area, and is home to over 150,000 people (2000 census). The first evidence of human occupation dates back to about 1500 BC. During WWII, Guam housed one of the largest concentrations of troops (100,000) in the western Pacific. Landscape modification during this period was rapid, extensive, and resulted in many of the land cover patterns we see today. Guam has a mix of topography that has volcanic origins in the south, and raised limestone plateaus in the north. Fringing coral reefs add to the overall biological diversity of this small Pacific island. By using remote sensing technology, we can quantify the land cover features on the island and establish a baseline for monitoring changes. 
Project Data The high resolution impervious surface dataset available here can be used to identify the impacts of development on water quality and quantity. The NOAA Coastal Services Center plans to add a high resolution land cover dataset during 2009. Download Data Download Guam 2005 2.4m Impervious Surface Data 1.72 megabytes Complete information about the data-processing procedures can be found in the metadata file that accompanies the downloaded data. Data production was coordinated through the NOAA Pacific Services Center, in partnership with the Guam Coastal Zone Management Program. |
