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Uncategorized Friday, January 13th 2012 at 1:40 pm

This is a Map of All the Trees in the United States

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This map is the result of years of research by NASA, the National Geological Survey, and the U.S. Forest Service. It shows, in staggering detail, the total of woody biomass (read trees) across these United States. Presenting the entire nation at a 30 meter resolution, with 4 pixels representing an acre land, it’s one amazing map. While impressive in its own right, this tree map aims to help keep a record of the amount of carbon being held in Earth’s plant matter. With concerns over carbon’s role in climate change, surveys like this are invaluable tools.

(NASA Earth Observatory via Business Insider)

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  • Enthusiast

    “With concerns over carbon’s alleged role in climate change, surveys like this are invaluable tools.”
    There, fixed it for you.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6OHPEHB4CY3X6GEGFS63DAC6MI TannerE

    Some of the rivers on that map are completely wrong… OR they’re not major rivers.

  • Sslide458

    8 States are desert in americaN

  • Anonymous

    “With concerns over carbon’s role in climate change, surveys like this are invaluable tools.”
    Fixed it right back.

  • http://sdhardie.tumblr.com Sheila

    Is anyone else sort of appalled that it’s not, well, GREENER? D:

  • Mentalflow

    those aren’t the states!?!?

  • http://www.facebook.com/briancmckinley Brian C McKinley

    Actually Sheila, as for here in Oregon we have 24% more tees than historians can estimate, I think it was an OSU study n the early 2000′s. Flood control, reforestation and fire control has increased the actual number of trees in America. So there ya go. :)

  • Type2jake

    New Hampshire FTW!

  • Chris Cheney

    Yes!!!!

  • Iananewton

    It’s deceiving you if you think it tells a sad story. Above-ground woody bio-mass means trees, so that white area in the middle (the Great Plains that sustained millions of bison back in the day) should not be green. Not three hundred years ago, and not now. ‘Cause grass isn’t woody :)

  • Dave Nyberg

    Not really due to the resolution they are using.  Google maps will show you more trees if you wish to see them.

  • Nuker1110

    No trees=/=Desert

    Ever heard of grasslands?

  • None1

    surveys or pictures, neither 

  • guiness

    bullshit

  • Palazzoloc

    Is there a history on this  – like what did this look like 50 years ago? 100 years ago?

  • http://twitter.com/BirdsofVermont Birds of VT Museum

    Carbon has a *definite* and quantifiable role in climate regulation and feedback. This is not in debate (except perhaps by non-scientists and non-readers?).

    What is discussed, debated, and analyzed is how big an impact *anthropogenic* carbon dioxide has–i.e., what are the consequence(s) of our fossil fuel use (burning) and damage carbon sinks (intact forests, phytoplankton, etc.).

    So fixed, and explained a bit more.

    (Mind you, despite the hoopla, something like 95-98% of climate science researchers agree that anthropogenic carbon dioxide has effectively warmed the planet. That’s a pretty significant majority; heck, 67% percent would be a significant majority and we’re long past that. Further, it’s intriguing to notice the demographics–age, locale, profession(s), etc. of who is “skeptical” and who isn’t.)

  • Per Kele

    I noticed that too. Only thing i could thing of was different watershed areas or something. what ARE those??