Category Archive

Can NASA remotely sensed information on the timing and extent of water release in dammed areas improve hydrological modeling?

What roles do radar and optical remote sensing data play in assessing natural disasters, and how effective are they for disaster warning, management and mitigation? The DEVELOP team at JPL assessed the Mississippi River flooding of 2011 through an innovative combination of Earth observations and demonstrated the benefits that can be derived from using remote sensing data in response to such crises.

Can NASA remote sensing technologies assist the Texas Forest Service to establish a more efficient and reliable way to analyze burn severity and produce fire risk maps? DEVELOP students at NASA Langley Research Center designed a methodology that enables the Texas Forest Service to easily locate and process remotely sensed data from satellites such as Landsat 5 and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

This project builds off of past data processing methodologies in an effort to validate previous techniques for monitoring tillage practices. We will produce visuals for conservation method adoption using remote sensing data in Virginia. The results will be confirmed using CropScape coupled with percentage data derived from the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) as opposed to the line-transect ground-truth method used by NASA Langley’s summer 2011 Midwest Agriculture & Climate team.

Can NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) data be used to identify areas with higher risk for tornado occurrence? The MSFC DEVELOP team is using NASA EOS data to evaluate whether terrestrial environmental factors such as land cover changes, vegetation types and topography are correlated with the development of tornadoes.

Poor air quality in Monterrey, Mexico, is causing numerous cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In the fall 2011 term, the Air Quality team focused on observing particulate matter concentrations and developed a mathematical model to relate air quality to public health in the metropolitan area. This relationship will allow officials take more effective action and raise awareness among metropolitan area inhabitants.

Through the use of geographic information systems (ArcGIS) as well as data gathered through NASA’s remote sensing technologies, the WISE DEVELOP Fall 2011 project’s objective is to study the levels of influence that environmental factors such as rainfall rates, surface temperatures, humidity levels and vegetation indices have on the spread of Dengue fever among the Mexican states of Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, MichoacÌÁn, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, YucatÌÁn, Nuevo LeÌ_n and Mexico Distrito Federal. We intend to generate illustrations that help us better understand how this vector-borne disease is spread through the seasons and forecast possible Dengue fever outbreak in years to come.

Blue-green algae is a potential food source for Asian carp in the Great Lakes, and was investigated by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative DEVELOP team using remote sensing techniques to analyze NASA MODIS data in the SeaDAS processing program. In addition, a risk assessment of streams accessible for spawning was conducted.

How can NASA satellites assist in analyzing groundwater changes? The Ames DEVELOP water resources team has used GRACE satellite data to help California’s water managers detect groundwater changes.