Archives for March 28, 2015

A laser-based instrument being developed for the International Space Station will provide a unique 3-D view of Earth’s forests, helping to fill in missing information about their role in the carbon cycle. Called the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar, the instrument will be the first to systematically probe the depths of the forests from space. In particular, the GEDI data will provide us with global-scale insights into how much carbon is being stored in the forest biomass. This information will be particularly powerful when combined with the historical record of changes captured by the U.S.’s long-standing program of Earth-orbiting satellites, such as Landsat and Modis. By revealing the 3-D architecture of forests in unprecedented detail, GEDI will provide crucial information about the impact that trees have on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Although it is well-established that trees absorb carbon and store it long-term, scientists have not quantified exactly how much carbon forests contain. As a result, it’s not possible to determine how much carbon would be released if a forest were destroyed, nor how well emissions could be countered by planting new trees. GEDI can do this because it’s a laser-based system, called a lidar, that can measure the distance from the space-based instrument to Earth’s surface with enough accuracy to detect subtle variations, including the tops of trees, the ground, and the vertical distribution of aboveground biomass in forests. Its immediate predecessors are Goddard’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and airborne Land, Vegetation and Ice Sensor, known as LVIS, which is flown on high-altitude aircraft to measure forests, land topography, ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice. GEDI is scheduled to be completed in 2018. NASA’s Earth Venture Instrument program is part of the Earth System Science Pathfinder program, managed by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The GEDI team includes co-investigators from Goddard; Woods Hole Research Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts; the U.S. Forest Service, Ogden, Utah; and Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.

taken from (http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/new-nasa-probe-will-study-earth-s-forests-in-3-d/#.VRa1sfmUcZx)

Technology is absolutely critical to managing our planet. Technology can change our understanding of nature. They created device which is called CAO integrating high sensitivity imaging spectrometer (hyperspectral) to measure chemical composition of plants and high powered lasers (LiDAR) to descrive vertical profile of forest structure. They can manage the entire planet with technologies. The real power of the CAO is its ability to capture the actual building blocks of ecosystems. They’ve been using the technology to explore and to actually put out the first carbon geographies in high resolution in faraway places like the Amazon Basin and not-so-faraway places like the United States and Central America. What’s good is that the technology they’ve developed and they’re working with in South Africa is allowing them to map every single tree . Carbon mapping has transformed conservation and resource policy development. It’s really advancing our ability to save forests and to curb climate change. Briefly, this is awesome device for planet .

CAO datasets showing three dimensional structure of vegetations and buildings

CAO datasets showing different tree species within forests structure

The goal of this study is to help researchers determine their volumes, to translate that into mass. It’s less invasive than actually weighing them. UNAVCO supported ongoing research of Weddell seal populations of McMurdo Sound with TLS data and engineering in November 2013. Two UNAVCO TLS instruments were used in unison to instantaneously collect a high-resolution scan of Weddell seals lying on sea ice.

A novel methodology is being developed for efficient volume estimation of individual Weddell seals during the annual pupping season. In previous attempts, the movement of seals between repeat scans has limited the usefulness of LiDAR to accurately determine seal volume. A proof-of-concept survey was attempted this season to capture a full-coverage seal scan by deploying two scanners in unison. The method is promising for estimating seal volumes more accurately and more quickly than traditional time-intensive survey methods, thereby increasing both the frequency and number of seal volume estimates. These mass measurements (derived from volume) are critical data for this population dynamic research on the Weddell seal, one of the longest running mammal population studies.

For more information: http://www.montana.edu/rgarrott/antarctica/index.htm