Image
Identifying drought-prone areas and developing an early warning system for crop damage. Protecting biologically diverse areas of the National Park System with a trail monitoring tool. Confirming flooded areas to better inform decision-makers during a disaster.
Each program area supports a variety of projects that utilize Earth observations to identify challenges around the world and create innovative solutions. Our portfolio demonstrates the benefits of using NASA Earth observations to enhance decision-making and improve life on Earth.
Sort by program area to find specific projects or explore them all below.
Principal Investigator
Alexei Lyapustin
This proposal addresses the ROSES-2008 A.19 call for the Earth Science Applications Feasibility Study. We propose an 18-month investigation for 1.3.1 Agriculture and 1.3.2 Air Quality applications. This proposal capitalizes on our progress on the MODIS data processing algorithms developed at NASA?s Terrestrial Ecology Program...
Principal Investigator
Chris Ploetz
Drought in Alabama has a major impact on agriculture, causing crop yields to fall well below their normal numbers throughout the state. This project researched drought conditions experienced in 2012 and 2016 and the impact the conditions had on corn production. The Alabama Office...
Analyzing and Mapping Landscape Disturbance across Glacier National Park Using a Landsat Time Series
Principal Investigator
Charlotte Mays
Image
Insects and pathogens cause extensive damage to pine forests in the northwestern United States. Bark beetles in particular cause mortality in pine stands that can impact the timber industry and national parks. Previously, studies have used spectral indices derived from Landsat time series to...
Principal Investigator
Anna Stamatogiannakis
Image
In 2011, Texas experienced a severe drought that caused substantial economic and environmental losses. The Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) estimated that 300 million trees succumbed to the severe drought conditions, with urban areas, in particular, losing about 5.6 million...
Principal Investigator
Tashi Choden
Image
Forest disturbances from bark beetle outbreaks are a major concern in Bhutan, known to cause extensive tree mortality to pine and spruce forests. The NASA DEVELOP team partnered with the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Conservation and Environmental Research (UWICER), the...
Principal Investigator
Megs Seeley
Image
Several major and small-scale hurricanes have swept over the US Virgin Islands (USVI) dating back to 1989. Often originating near the Cabo Verde islands near western Africa, these major hurricanes travel westward towards the USVI, leaving destructive impacts upon landfall. Nearshore marine ecosystems in the...
Principal Investigator
Lael Wakamatsu
Image
The California grunion is an endemic fish species vital to the California coast, acting as a versatile food source for many species such as seabirds, large mammals, and other fish in the food web. This species, known primarily for the unique way in which they...
Principal Investigator
Melissa Ferriter
Image
The Woolsey Fire began on November 8, 2018, and lasted for almost two weeks, during which it burned almost 100,000 acres of valuable landscape and habitat, including a vast area of woodland. The persistence of key woodland species provides aesthetic...
Principal Investigator
Carter Grimm
Image
Oysters are vital to the environmental health of the Mississippi Sound and a critical part of Mississippi's economy. Environmental disturbances, such as Hurricane Katrina, major flooding events, and the Bonnet Carré spillway openings, have caused oyster populations to decline and have has negatively affected the...
Principal Investigator
Barbara Gail Brown
This investigation will make use of unique NASA observations of cloud properties from A Train instruments to improve decision making for aviation applications. The key instruments to be used include the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar, CALIPSO?s active lidar, and Aqua?s MODIS imaging spectroradiometer. The satellite...