Hydrological modeling has the potential to drastically improve water resource management in Yosemite National Park. By combining satellite-derived data, such as precipitation, temperature, land cover and elevation values, it is possible to ascertain and quantify surface water availability at any given time.
Are Florida’s mangrove ecosystems on the move? Using a combination of hyperspectral and radar imagery combined with field work, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA’s DEVELOP team partnered to track this dynamic ecosystem as it encroaches upon salt marshes in the north.
Increasing occurrences of large-scale forest fires in the Rocky Mountains have threatened forests that are vital to overall ecosystem health and human well-being. The goal of this project was to model riparian wetlands in the Cache La Poudre watershed to provide a decision-support tool for monitoring change in the watershed following the devastating High Park Fire of 2012.
The earthen infrastructure of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta levee system plays a vital role in keeping much of California’s fresh water supply intact. NASA Airborne RADAR data will aid in maintaining the levee system.
A team of NASA DEVELOP interns at Langley Research Center used satellite data along with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s HAZUS flood model to examine the destruction caused by extreme rainfall events in Duluth, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Ontario.
A grand prize winner and honorable mentions have been selected in the latest Virtual Poster Session (VPS) by students from NASA’s DEVELOP National Program. The winning project, ÛÏSound the Alarm: Oregon Wildfires Take a Toll on Public HealthÛ was a collaborative effort between six students at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Using pre- and post-attack Landsat imagery, 7.2-meter validation plot data, and various modeling strategies, forest stand changes were measured in a subalpine ecosystem at Fraser Experimental Forest in Fraser, Colorado, which resulted from the mountain pine beetle epidemic from 1996 to 2002. This new information will aid local forest management stakeholders and decision-makers, spur ongoing restoration efforts, and assist future research projects.
The reconstruction of the Highway 98 corridor through the Big Creek Lake watershed in West Mobile is expected to introduce diverse issues that may degrade drinking water quality. The DEVELOP Mobile team used an urban growth model to predict the urbanization that will result from this highway expansion.
The Gulf of Mexico Eco Forecasting Team investigates various detection methods of Sargassum using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a long-wave sensor which offers significantly improved detection availability, and achieved a better understanding of the relationship between Bluefin Tuna and Sargassum, and the potential impact from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge has become increasingly interested in improving the hydrologic conditions of the refuge. Currently, the swamp hydrology is managed by a system of canals and water control structures that are capable of maintaining or raising the water level within the swamp. Through the use of NASA Earth Observation System (EOS), we will provide a hydrological analysis of the entire swamp, depicting areas vulnerable to drying or inundation.
