WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- NASA has selected proposals for two new instruments 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 land
use change.
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. A
high-resolution multiple wavelength imaging spectrometer from
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, will study the
effectiveness of water use by vegetation. This instrument will be
completed in 2018 and not cost more than $30
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.
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. This 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.
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 GEDI team has extensive experience in observing and modeling
forest and vegetation dynamics. Dubayah has led numerous vegetation
lidar observations from sub-orbital 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 ECOSTRESS team has extensive experience in development and
analysis of thermal infrared spectroscopic images of the Earth's
surface. Hook has served as project scientist for the Advanced
Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER)
instrument on NASA's Earth Observing System Terra satellite and has
been involved in numerous sub-orbital field campaigns. The team
includes partnerships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Beltsville, Maryland, and
Maricopa, Arizona; Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey; and University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.
The International Space Station provides several in-orbit
capabilities useful to both instruments. The space station 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 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 American hourly during
daytime. It will share a ride on a commercial satellite as a hosted
payload and orbit about 22,000 miles 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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SOURCE NASA