Project Funding: 2009 - 2012

NRA: 2008 NASA: Terrestrial Ecology   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
PROBLEM: One of the most fundamental new technical challenges of a DESDynI spaceborne mission is the fusion of the several sensor modalities - LiDAR, SAR, InSAR - in order to accurately estimate desired Vegetation 3D and biomass parameters at their point of intersection and to extrapolate them over continuous areas. While testing and validation of fusion algorithms using empirical data from field sites is a necessary component of a DESDynI mission, the development of robust simulation models for these active sensors is not only possible, it is also required given the logical limits to the number of field sites that can be available in space and time that could account for the great range of variability that will affect sensor signals. Simulation models allow for testing of sensor parameters, ancillary data, and effects of environmental variables and to learn about and improve global retrievals and products. GOAL: Our goal is to develop and validate physical-based methods and simulation models for retrieving vegetation 3D structure and biomass, and to run them to analyze sensor fusion-extrapolation sensitivity to spatial-temporal variation over much greater range of conditions than is possible with field data. OBJECTIVES: 1) We will develop and validate simulation models for three sensors at our tier one site; 2) We will develop and validate fusion and extrapolation methods at our tier one site; 3) We will test robustness of models and methods in several tier two sites in different forest ecosystem types and further test sensitivity to environmental variability over all sites to simulate DESDynI-type missions.

2011 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• Models of Tropical Forest Composition, Structure and Biomass in Support of Lidar-Radar Retrievals   --   (Leland Pierce, Amanda Grimm, Kathleen Bergen, Kamal Sarabandi)   [abstract]
• Forest structure estimation using SAR, lidar, and optical data in the Canadian Boreal forest   --   (Michael L. Benson, Leland E. Pierce, Kathleen M. Bergen, Kamal Sarabandi, Kailai Zhang)   [abstract]

2010 NASA Terrestrial Ecology Science Team Meeting Poster(s)

• Quantifying the variable effect of Wind on inSAR measurements of forests   --   (Michael Lee Benson, Kamal Sarabandi, Leland Emery Pierce)   [abstract]
• Extrapolation of LIDAR for Forest Structure Estimation Using SAR, IFSAR, and Optical Data   --   (Leland E Pierce, Michael L Benson, Kamal Sarabandi, Kathleen M Bergen)   [abstract]

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• NASA Terrestrial Ecology (TE) Project Profile