A land use classification scheme for use with remote sensor data

Abstract

The needs of Federal agencies for a broad overview of national land use patterns, trends, and environmental impacts, with data inputs from both conventional sources and some of the more exotic sensors in high altitude aircraft and satellite platforms led to the formation in early 1971 of an Inter-Agency Steering Committee on Land Use Information and Classification. The work of this Committee, composed of representatives from the Geological Survey of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Earth Observations Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the Association of American Geographers and the International Geographical Union, has been supported by NASA and the EROS Program of the Interior Department and coordinated by the USGS Geographic Applications Program. The Chairman of the Inter-Agency Committee was Dr. Arch C. Gerlach, Chief Geographer of the Geological Survey until his death in May 1972. Shortly before Dr. Gerlach's death, Dr. James R. Anderson was appointed Acting Chairman of the Committee.