New composite strategy leaves coverage questions behind, researchers report

Answers could be cloudy for researchers using Landsat images to investigate the coverage of the continental United States. The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) are useful products for scientists to understand how things like tree canopy and road coverage changes over time, but something as simple as cloud coverage can be misinterpreted in the satellite images as a significant surface coverage change. How can researchers be sure they're getting a truly representative understanding of any one area?