Two new spaceborne
Earth-observing instruments will help scientists better understand how
global forests and ecosystems are affected by changes in climate and
land use change. This image of the Amazon rainforest is from a 2010
global map of the height of the world's forests based on multiple
satellite datasets. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory
› Larger image
July 30, 2014
NASA has selected proposals for two new
instruments, including one from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, California, that will observe changes in global vegetation
from the International Space Station. The sensors will give scientists
new ways to see how forests and ecosystems are affected by changes in
climate or in land use.
A high-resolution, multiple-wavelength imaging spectrometer from JPL
will study the effectiveness of water use by vegetation. This instrument
will be completed in 2018 and will not cost more than $30 million. A
laser-based system from the University of Maryland, College Park, will
observe the structure of forest canopy. This instrument will be
completed in 2019 and will not cost more than $94 million.
"We are excited to expand the use of the International Space Station
to make critical Earth observations that will help scientists understand
the diversity of forests and vegetation and their response to a
changing climate," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of
NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "These innovative
Earth Venture Instruments will join a growing suite of NASA
Earth-observing sensors to be deployed to the station starting this
year."
The instruments were competitively selected from 20 proposals
submitted to NASA's Earth Venture Instrument program. Part of the Earth
System Science Pathfinder program, Earth Venture investigations are
small, targeted science investigations that complement NASA's larger
research missions. The National Research Council recommended in 2007
that NASA undertake this type of regularly solicited, quick-turnaround
project. The program's first selection was awarded in 2010.
Simon Hook of JPL is the principal investigator for the ECOsystem
Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS).
This project will use a high-resolution thermal infrared radiometer to
measure plant evapotranspiration, the loss of water from growing leaves
and evaporation from the soil. These data will reveal how ecosystems
change with climate and provide a critical link between the water cycle
and effectiveness of plant growth, both natural and agricultural.
The ECOSTRESS team has extensive experience in development and
analysis of thermal infrared spectroscopic images of Earth's surface.
Hook has served as project scientist for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal
Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Earth
Observing System Terra satellite and has been involved in numerous
suborbital field campaigns. The team includes partnerships with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, and Maricopa, Arizona;
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey; and the University of
Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.
Ralph Dubayah, of the University of Maryland, is the principal
investigator for the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI)
Lidar. This project will use a laser-based system to study a range of
climates, including the observation of the forest canopy structure over
the tropics, and the tundra in high northern latitudes. These data will
help scientists better understand the changes in natural carbon storage
within the carbon cycle from both human-influenced activities and
natural climate variations.
The GEDI team has extensive experience in observing and modeling
forest and vegetation dynamics. Dubayah has led numerous vegetation
lidar observations from suborbital platforms throughout his career. The
team includes partnerships with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Maryland; Woods Hole Research Center, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts; the U.S. Forest Service, Ogden, Utah; and Brown
University, Providence, Rhode Island.
The International Space Station provides several in-orbit
capabilities useful to both instruments. The space station's orbit is
inclined relative to the poles, providing more observation time of
forests and vegetation over temperate land masses than possible from the
polar orbits commonly used for other types of Earth observations. The
GEDI laser requires significant power resources, which the space station
can provide. Also, the relatively low altitude of the station's orbit,
about 260 miles (418 kilometers) up, benefits GEDI by ensuring a higher
return energy for laser pulses reflected from the ground.
In 2012, NASA selected the first Earth Venture Instrument
investigation, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution
(TEMPO) mission. TEMPO will be the first space-based sensor to monitor
major air pollutants across North America hourly during daytime. It will
share a ride on a commercial satellite as a hosted payload and orbit
about 22,000 miles (35,400 kilometers) above the equator.
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, manages the
Earth System Science Pathfinder program for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate. The missions in this program provide an innovative approach
to address Earth science research with periodic windows of opportunity
to accommodate new scientific priorities. For more information, visit:
http://go.nasa.gov/MKvgJO
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