Research
The Global Land Cover Facility is a research center focusing on the
investigation of land cover dynamics and the development and distribution of
products that explain aspects of land cover and land cover change. Interests
in the Carbon Cycle and Global Climate Change have involved GLCF in
developing forest change products. Past research efforts were directed at
boreal forests in Canada and Russia, and tropical rainforests in the
non-Brazilian Amazon and Central Africa.
Recent focus has concentrated
research and product development in the sub-tropical Atlantic forest of
South America. GLCF research is also coordinated with the MODIS team at the
University of Maryland Geography Department. The MODIS related
investigations aim to develop tools and products to answer Carbon and
Climate questions but also feed into the assessment programs of Federal and
international environmental agencies. GLCF research is also concerned with
global conservation efforts, and helping trans-national and national
agencies to better manager their resources by using land cover products.
In
addition to Earth science efforts, the GLCF's development team is active in
research and implementation of leading computer science explorations. Issues
of interoperability, data sharing, data mining, visualizations and the realm
of metrics have become practical activities at the GLCF. Please contact the
GLCF for further information on any of these research areas.
The Deforestation Mapping Group (DMG) has been a primary component of the
GLCF research team. DMG has focused upon creating baseline forest cover
products and making them available to the various user groups interested in
forest cover extent throughout the world. DMG and GLCF research in general
work with partners in both the NGO and government realms to develop an
operational Global Observation of Forest Cover (GOFC) type activity.