Principal Investigator

Adelaide Schmidt

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6 month Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) derived from GPM-IMERG. This shows the areas of drought for July of 2018 in the dry corridor of Central America. The dark red is extreme drought conditions, while as it gets more towards yellow it becomes mild drought.  Keywords: SPI, GPM IMERG, Precipitation

The dry corridor resides primarily in the pacific region of Central America, which experiences severe drought during the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle. El Niño causes severe climate variances in Central America that impact agriculture, livelihoods, and hydrological cycles. The...

Principal Investigator

Danielle Quick

 
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Assessing Water Clarity to Identify Potential Areas of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) in the Chesapeake Bay

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) is vitally important to the Chesapeake Bay, serving as one of the primary food sources for the organisms that inhabit the Bay. This project evaluated the efficacy of remote sensing applications as a tool to monitor water quality parameters, specifically...

Principal Investigator

Kathrene Garcia

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Assessing Water Quality in Thailand's Chao Phraya Watershed through Modeling Sediment Concentration and Urban Footprint

The Chao Phraya River and surrounding watershed has seen an extensive increase in urban development in the last century, while simultaneously experiencing significant degradation in water quality. Covering 30% of Thailand, the Chao Phraya watershed encompasses rural areas and major metropolitan centers, including Bangkok. The...

Principal Investigator

Annemarie Peacock

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Automated Wetland Hydroperiod Mapping by Integrating Optical Satellite Imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar

Alaska’s wetlands cover approximately one third of the state and provide a multitude of ecosystem services, including nutrient retention, water purification, and provision of habitat for fish, wildlife, and vegetation. The temporal variation in wetland inundation affects these ecosystem functions, and for effective wetland policy...

Principal Investigator

Erika Munshi

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At the base, Landsat 8 OLI displays an 8-day NDWI composite using 2020 imagery in false color; light hues represent higher presence of water. Howard County slope displayed in black and white; white values indicate steep areas and emphasize water transport efficiency in Ellicott City, MD (center) joining the Patapsco River. NASA Daymet precipitation from May 2018 flash flood event displayed in rainbow; purple hues represent severe rainfall on right of image as storm recedes.   Keywords: precipitation, hydrology, forecast, early warning system, disaster preparedness​

As flood events in the United States grow in frequency and intensity, the uses of applied remote sensing analyses are increasingly necessary for effective flood monitoring and warning systems. The NASA DEVELOP Ellicott City Disasters III project investigated the use...

Principal Investigator

M. Colin Marvin

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Nearshore turbidity created with 2020 Landsat 8 OLI red band (B3). Assateague Island, our study site, is located off the coast of Virginia and Maryland. Red shades suggest high turbidity, light green and yellow shades suggest moderate turbidity and blue and purple shades show low turbidity. Knowing the extent of turbidity allows the team to examine how natural longshore currents are moving sediment deposited by the US Army Corps of Engineers. This is important for both the geological integrity of the island and threatened species depend on sediment replenishment.  Keywords: Turbidity, ORCAA, ocean color, bathymetry, sediment transport

Assateague Island is located off the coast of Maryland and Virginia and serves as a home to sensitive species and habitats. However, infrastructure development disrupted the natural sediment transport processes of the barrier island, which accelerated erosion of the island’s...

Principal Investigator

Brandon Crawford

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Characterizing Vegetation Type at Pre- and Post-wildfire Periods Using NASA Earth Observations

Wildfire is a key driver of ecosystem progression in the sagebrush steppe-dominated landscapes of southern Idaho. Fire-related disturbances can facilitate the propagation of invasive vegetation, threatening native wildlife and shaping a fire regime that is increasingly hazardous to adjacent urban development. Applying the methodology created...

Principal Investigator

Roger Ly

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This image is a composite of radiometrically terrain corrected UAVSAR L-band imagery over the Agua Salud Project area in the Panama Canal Watershed, collected on February 2nd, 2010 and March 13th, 2015 from the NASA Gulfstream III Jet. The image is composed of several images, with different temporal combinations of the HV backscatter. Darker colors show an increase in volume scattering over time, indicating increased biomass. These images were used to discern land cover change.  Keywords: UAVSAR, RTC, Agua Salud Project, STRI

The Panama Canal Watershed (PCW) is a major socioeconomic resource. The PCW provides potable water to surrounding cities and ensures the Panama Canal remains fully operational throughout each year. Over one million residents in Panama City, Colón, and San Miguelito...

Principal Investigator

Deki Namgyal

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2020 mean annual temperature derived from Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS) for the country of Bhutan. Pixels display low to high mean temperatures. The shades of blue indicate lower temperatures, while shades of red indicate higher temperatures. Comparing the map to older maps allows us to locate which areas of Bhutan have been affected the most by changes in climate.  Keywords: Remote Sensing, Temperature, FLDAS

Bhutan is vulnerable to climate fluctuations that can affect vegetation phenology patterns. Changes in the climate have raised concerns from local farmers about altered growing seasons. In response, the DEVELOP team assessed annual vegetation phenology trends across Bhutan from 1981-2014 by comparing vegetation phenology-derived...

Principal Investigator

Kinley Dorji 

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CHIRPS satellite data uses TRMM. Total precipitation calculated within the country of Bhutan during the 2019 monsoon period (June - August). The darker shades of blue represents higher concentrations of rainfall, while the lighter shades of blue represent lower concentrations of rainfall.   Keywords: Bhutan, CHIRPS, TRMM​

Himalayan countries, including Bhutan, have become vulnerable to warming trends which result in increasing temperature and variable rainfall and snowfall. By combining phenological and meteorological data, Earth observation platforms and sensors were used to assess trends in precipitation, temperature, and...