Why Observe?: Tree Height

From the creator

"Why Observe?: Tree Height" explores surface height measurement missions and the role that citizen science can play within the scientific community. NASA uses field campaigns and sensors on satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) to improve our understanding of how much carbon is being stored in terrestrial ecosystems and how this could change as patterns of drought, fire, and forest ecosystems shift in a changing climate. For example, NASA has launched satellites such as the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) as well as instruments on the International Space Station such as the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI), which use lasers to measure the height of Earth’s surface below them as they orbit our planet. These different datasets from field campaigns and sensors can inform scientists of nuances in data and verify one another. This data can also help to develop and adjust the algorithms that satellites and instruments use to differentiate what environment they are measuring such as an ice sheet versus a forest. Measuring this third dimension of forest structure improves estimates of how much carbon is stored above ground in large forests. Ground sources of data are also needed to verify the measurements from satellites, and observations from citizen scientists can help fill in gaps in that data. For example, tree height measurements will help scientists working on NASA missions like ICESat-2, which is measuring the heights of fore

Published 2020-10-29 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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