NDVI change for Icy Bay, Alaska from May 2015 to May 2016

• Main Author: Charles M. Cannon
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: USGS Science Data Catalog 2017
• Subjects: environment; NDVI; normalized difference vegetation index; landcover change; Icy Bay; Alaska; Taan Fiord; Tyndall Glacier; Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park; Wrangell-Saint Elias National Preserve; Taan Fjord; glacier
• Online Access: https://search.dataone.org/view/b28581cb-c4d5-4d45-a189-cd749a073073

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is an indicator of vegetation health and density. High NDVI values generally correspond to dense vegetation and low NDVI values generally correspond to sparsely vegetated or barren areas. NDVI was calculated for pan-sharpened Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager images acquired on May 13, 2015 and May 15, 2016 for the region around Icy Bay, Alaska. NDVI results from 2015 were subtracted from results for 2016 to produce a change image. The change image can be used to assess changes in vegetation patterns resulting from a landslide that occurred near Tyndall Glacier in October, 2015 and generated a tsunami in Taan Fiord, an arm of Icy Bay. Positive change in NDVI generally indicates areas where vegetation is denser or more vigorous in 2016 than in 2015, whereas negative values generally imply a decrease or loss of vegetation between 2015 and 2016.