Figure1. LAND COVER of North and South America, to a precision of 1 square kilometer based on the interpretation and classification of visible and infrared images taken in 1992 and 1993 by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on a NOAA meteorological satellite. The detailed database from which these maps were constructed is a component of DIScover, a global land cover product being developed as an activity of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme's Data and Information System. The derivation of land cover characteristics from the satellites radiometric data was carried out by scientists from the EROS Data Center of the U.S. Geological Survey and at the University of Nebraska, with the support of NASA, EPA, U.S. Forest Service, and the United Nations Environment Programme. More information and the data themselves can be found at http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/landdaac