THE INTERNATIONAL-GEOSPHERE-BIOSPHERE-PROGRAM DATA AND INFORMATION-SYSTEM GLOBAL LAND-COVER DATA SET (DISCOVER)

The International Geosphere Biosphere Programme Data and Information S ystem (IGBP-DIS), through the mapping expertise of the U.S. Geological Survey and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, recently guided the completion of a 1-km resolution global land cover data set from advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) data. The l-km r esolution land cover product, 'DISCover,' was based on monthly normali zed difference vegetation index composites from 1992 and 1993. The dev elopment of DISCover was coordinated by the IGBP-DIS Land Cover Workin g Group as part of the IGBP-DIS Focus 1 activity. DISCover is a 17-cla ss land cover data set based on the scientific requirements of IGBP el ements. The mapping used unsupervised classification and postclassific ation refinement using ancillary data The development of this data set was motivated by the need for global land cover data with higher spat ial resolution, improved temporal specificity, and known classificatio n accuracy. The completed DISCover data set will soon be validated to determine the accuracy of the global classification.