Stepping into the SWOS Portal: How Coordination of Data Can Help Protect the World’s Vanishing Wetlands

EarthzineGEO/GEOSS News, Original, Socioeconomic Benefits 2016

The Earth has lost more than half of its wetland extent since 1900. The satellite-based Wetland Observation Service (SWOS) is working to provide a data portal that will have real-world impacts, helping to track wetland degradation, identify pollution sources, and assess restoration strategies. Above: Landsat satellite image examples of the Sabkhat al Jabbulin in Syria, produced in the frame of … Read More

GIS Free-For-All

EarthzineOriginal, Socioeconomic Benefits 2016, Themed Articles

Using free and open source GIS programs and data platforms can eliminate costs associated with data processing, making Earth Observation data more profitable for all. Clyde A. Brooke purchased 140 acres of land in Hancock, Mississippi, in 1952 to begin a timber operation, and what began as a humble operation has grown to more than 4,000 acres today. The Brookewood … Read More

A Web-based Lesson on Ocean-Color Observations in the Red Sea: Phytoplankton Phenological Indices and Their Importance for Coral Reef Biology

EarthzineOriginal

A Web-based lesson called LearnEO! uses ocean color images to quantify phytoplankton seasonality and help us understand the functioning of coral reef ecosystems. Coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth. They occupy less than 0.1 percent of the world’s ocean surface, and yet they host 25 percent of all the marine species (1). Coral reefs deliver … Read More