Modified soil adjusted vegetation index of the Sarcobatus Flat area of the Death Valley

The raster-based Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index was
derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery data acquired
during June 1989 for Sarcobatus Flat. The index has been
shown to increase the dynamic range of the vegetation signal
while further minimizing the soil background influences,
resulting in greater vegetation sensitivity as defined by
a "vegetation signal" to "soil noise" ratio. The data
set was used in determining phreatophyte boundaries for
a ground-water evapotranspiration study and relative
differences in vegetation density between discharge areas.