Flying in the gap: Making vital connections in ecology using NASA airborne data

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Cynthia Hall and Kevin Ward, Earth Science Data Systems, NASA, Greenbelt, MD, Deborah Smith, NASA MSFC IMPACT, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL

Background/Question/Methods
NASA deploys a unique mix of physical and human resources in the field to address important questions, bridge multiple spatial scales, and advance our overall capabilities for making vital connections in ecology. Traditional field data provide observations of organisms and their environment on the local to regional level. Satellite-based remote sensing data complement field data with environmental variables obtained on a regional to global scale. NASA’s airborne assets are used to fill in the critical data gap between the satellites above and the ground-based measurements collected below.
Since 1987, NASA has led or been involved in over 100 campaigns that have collected airborne data for the study of various research topics from locations around the world, including both poles. The campaigns provide data for calibrating/validating satellite data and for testing new sensors, but also for studying geophysical processes, including the vulnerability and resilience of ecosystems and society.
One such campaign is the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE), conducted by NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program since 2015 to assess alterations of ecosystem structure and function resulting from a changing climate in Alaska and western Canada. Another is NASA’s North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) project, which utilizes a combination of ship-based, airborne, autonomous sensor, and remote sensing measurements that directly link ocean ecosystem processes, emissions of ocean-generated aerosols and precursor gases, and subsequent atmospheric evolution and processing.
Results/Conclusions
Airborne data from these campaigns are free and open, yet many ecologists are unaware of the vast amounts of data available for use in their research. NASA’s Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program and Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) have developed resources and tools to overcome this challenge. In this poster, we will highlight resources for ecologists wishing to get started using NASA airborne data.