File:SIR-C X-SAR Raco, Michigan vegitation map.jpg

English: (P-43922)

A vegetation map of Raco, Michigan area, centered around 46 degrees north latitude and 85 degrees west longitude. SIR-C/X-SAR acquired radar imagery on April 9, 1994, during the 6th orbit of the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-59), and a science team at the University of Michigan produced this map of biomass in Raco. Accurate information about land cover is important for area resource management and for scientific models used to understand global change.

The area shown is approximately 24 by 40 kilometers (15 by 25 miles). Located at the eastern end of Michigan's upper peninsula, at the boundary between boreal and northern temperate forests, Raco occupies a transitional zone that may be ecologically sensitive to possible global changes resulting from climatic warming. The light grey area in the upper right corner is an ice-covered portion of Lake Superior.

Each 30- by 30-meter (98- by 98-foot) spot is identified as water surface and bare ground (light grey), short vegetation (red), deciduous forest (yellow), lowland conifer (blue), or upland conifer (green). The different types of ground cover have varying effects on chemical, water, and energy cycles. By cataloging ground cover in a specific region, scientists expect to better understand the processes of these cycles in that region.