Remote sensing and in situ measurement of habitat diversity and function

Philip A. Townsend, University of Wisconsin, ptownsend@wisc.edu (Presenter)
John A. Gamon, University of Alberta, gamon@ualberta.ca
Aditya Singh, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, singh22@wisc.edu
John J. Couture, University of Wisconsin, jjcouture@wisc.edu
Shawn Paul Serbin, Brookhaven National Laboratory, sserbin@bnl.gov
Eric L. Kruger, University of Wisconsin-Madison, elkruger@wisc.edu

Remote sensing and in-situ measurement of habitat diversity and function

Philip A. Townsend, University of Wisconsin, ptownsend@wisc.edu
John A. Gamon, University of Alberta, jgamon@gmail.com
Aditya Singh, University of Wisconsin, singh22@wisc.edu
John J. Couture, University of Wisconsin, jjcouture@wisc.edu
Shawn P. Serbin, Brookhaven National Lab, sserbin@bnl.gov
Eric L. Kruger, University of Wisconsin, elkruger@wisc.edu

We live in era in which we are able to leverage an array of data types at temporal and spatial resolutions that would have been considered extraordinary even a decade ago. Measurements from the scale of microbes to the entire biosphere can potentially be integrated with remote sensing imagery to facilitate synthesis and discovery in carbon cycle and ecosystem science. Remote sensing measurements from satellites or aircraft are complemented by instruments deployed in spatially and/or temporally dense sensor networks from a range of platforms, such as automated instrumentation, towers, trams, unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and so forth. New capacities have been facilitated by a boom in consumer electronics, significant reductions in costs, and an ongoing DIY mentality in environmental science, and enhanced by increases in computational power and instrumentation sensitivity. Measurements can range on a continuum from the simple/inexpensive/widespread to complex/expensive/limited distribution. However, ultimately all of these sources can be leveraged (at disparate spatio-temporal resolutions) to provide the critical in-situ data needed to understand satellite measurements and make NASA data relevant to the characterization, understanding and management of ecosystems. In this talk, we outline parallel tracks to ecosystem measurement for remote sensing applications. On the one hand, there are the new capabilities for instrumentation and deployment. Here we discuss the potential for large networks of inexpensive sensors or spectrometers, automated systems such as instrument trams, the use of handheld or field spectrometers to characterize ecosystem properties that previously required time-intensive biochemistry or physiological measurements, and the use of UAS platforms for “just in time” synoptic measurements of ecosystems. In the same vein, we discuss the potential for other technologies, such as trailcams combined with citizen science and crowdsourcing, to fill in valuable spatial, temporal or knowledge gaps in our understanding of ecosystems. On the other hand, the remote sensing community is now able to better utilize wide networks of data including genetics, diversity, belowground properties, and flux tower data to help characterize the signal observed in remotely sensed data as well as to fuse multiple observations which can act as surrogate measures for properties that -- though not necessarily directly detectable from remote sensing -- may represent responses to features we can detect from remote sensing.

Presentation: 2015_Apr20_AM_Townsend_25.pdf (49387k)

Presentation Type:  Plenary Talk

Session:  Theme 1: Tracking habitat change through new integrative approaches and products

Presentation Time:  Mon 11:42 AM  (18 minutes)