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STATEWIDE MAP OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AREAS UNVEILED

Penn State researchers have concluded a two-year mapping project detailing the extent of impervious surface area (ISA) for the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the first state to have mapped ISA available at the state scale. “ISA is a term that refers to artificial surface cover, such as roads, buildings, sidewalks and parking lots, through which water cannot evaporate to the atmosphere or infiltrate into the soil,” explains Toby Carlson, professor of meteorology. ISA can serve as a major conduit to waterways for pollutants and affect the local climate and flooding problems. Carlson, Eric Warner, research associate with the Penn State Institutes of the Environment, and Deborah Slawson, a planning consultant for Adams and York Counties, mapped the ISA based on satellite measurements and derived fractional vegetative cover maps. The results can be seen at http://www.pasda.psu.edu/access/newdata.shtml

For the full story by Patricia Craig, visit