Geobotanical and Impact Map Collection for Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska, 1972-2010

This data set provides a collection of maps of geoecological characteristics of areas within the Beechey Point quadrangle near Prudhoe Bay on the North slope of Alaska: a geobotanical atlas of the Prudhoe Bay region, a land cover map of the Beechey Point quadrangle, and cumulative impact maps in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield for ten dates from 1968 to 2010. The geobotanical atlas is based on aerial photographs and covers 145 square kilometers of the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield. The land cover map of the Beechey Point quadrangle was derived from the Landsat multispectral scanner, aerial photography, and other field and cartographic methods. The cumulative impact maps of the Prudhoe Bay Oilfield show historical infrastructure and natural changes digitized from aerial photos taken in each successive analysis year (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1990, 2001, and 2010). Nine geoecological attributes are included: dominant vegetation, secondary vegetation, tertiary vegetation, percentage open water, landform, dominant surface form, secondary surface form, dominant soil, and secondary soil. These data document environmental changes in an Arctic region that is affected by both climate change and rapid industrial development.