NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Land Cover Data

The Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) is developing a nationally standardized database on land cover and habitat change in the coastal regions of the United States. C-CAP inventories wetland habitats and adjacent uplands and monitors changes in these habitats on a 1 to 5 year cycle. The monitoring cycle will vary according to the rate and magnitude of change in each geographic region. Satellite imagery (primarily Landsat Thematic Mapper), aerial photography, and field data are interpreted, classified, analyzed, and integrated with other digital data in a geographic information system (GIS). The resulting land cover change databases are disseminated in digital form for use by anyone wishing to conduct geographic analysis in the completed regions.