Project Team: North Central Climate and Ecological Forecasting Team
Team Location: United States Geological Survey (USGS) at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

Location map of the DOI ‘s Department of the Interior’s North Central Climate Science Center Study Region including the Americaview phenocamera locations and ecoregion layers. Image Credit: EPA.

Authors:
Renee Curry (Colorado State University)
Linnet Agnes Jose (Colorado State University)
Amber Weimer (Colorado State University)

Mentors/Advisors:
Jeff Morisette (North Central Climate Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey)
Colin Talbert (North Central Climate Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey)
Scott Denning (Atmospheric Science Department, Colorado State University)

Past/Other Contributors:
Dr. Paul Evangelista (Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University)
AmericaView program in the states of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakoka, South Dakota
State climatologists in the states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Abstract:

The objective of this project was to evaluate representativeness of phenocam locations in the phenological and climatological space of the region in the Missouri River Basin. A set of variables for each tower location, such as temperature, precipitation, and vegetation indices, were evaluated to better understand the connection of vegetation response to climate drivers. VisTrails was utilized to evaluate the representativeness of the site in phenological and climatological space. This project built on many activities and techniques developed by NASA-funded work, such as the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites – Land Project Validation (CEOS-LPV) Land Surface Phenology Network. The AmericaView partners and state climatologists were essential partners in this project. The AmericaView partners have already chosen locations to install the eight new phenocams in the North-Central U.S. This team assessed the representativeness of the chosen locations in terms of evaluating overall variability and spatial extent of surface vegetation patterns at separate seasonal periods throughout the year. The work accomplished by this project will provided an initial assessment in the establishment of phenocam locations for the North Central Climate Science Center (NC CSC), AmericaView program, the Phenocam network, USA National Phenology Network, and CEOS-LPV. This analysis also will be useful in deciding future phenocam locations to better study the changes in phenology of the area. The project utilized Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes (PRISM) gridded climate data and MODIS phenology products to provide estimates of the timing of vegetation phenology at a 250-meter spatial scale.åÊ Phenocams will serve as long-term vegetation monitoring sites for NC CSC, level 1 land surface phenology (LSP) validation sites for the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Land Product Validation (LPV).

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