The project is a component of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Landsat Pathfinder program of experiments to study global change issues. The purpose of the project is to produce land cover and land cover change data products at sub-kilometer spatial resolution across major portions of the North American continent (Central America, Mexico, Caribbean and Hawaiian Islands, and the United States). The NALC - Pathfinder is designed to provide primary data for national inventories of terrestrial carbon stocks and trace greenhouse gases (CO, CH4, and N2O) emissions in support of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) objectives. The objectives of the NALC project are to produce standardized remote sensing data sets, develop standardized analyses methods, and derive standardized land cover change products for priority locations in the North American continent.

Laboratory Director: Wayne N. Marchant. Branch Chief: Bill Forteâ. NALC Technical Director: Ross Lunetta. "The North American Landscape Characterization (NALC) project is a component of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Landsat Pathfinder program of experiments to study global change issues"--Page 1. "July 1993." Includes bibliographical references.