NASA's Surface Biology and Geology Designated Observable: A Perspective on Surface Imaging Algorithms

Authors

Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, California Institute of Technology
Philip A. Townsend, University of Wisconsin
David Schimel, California Institute of Technology
Ali M. Assiri, Space and Aeronautics Research Institute
Pamela L. Blake, The Boeing Company, Seal Beach, CA, USA
Maria Fabrizia Buongiorno, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy
Petya Campbell, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Nimrod Carmon, California Institute of Technology
Kimberly A. Casey, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MD, USA
Rosa Elvira Correa-Pabón, Instituto Tecnológico Vale Mineração, Ouro Preto, Brazil
Kyla M. Dahlin, Michigan State University
Hamid Dashti, University of Arizona
Philip E. Dennison, University of Utah
Heidi Dierssen, University of Connecticut
Adam Erickson, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), MD, USA
Joshua B. Fisher, California Institute of Technology
Robert Frouin, University of California San Diego
Charles K. Gatebe, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Hamed Gholizadeh, Oklahoma State University
Michelle Gierach, California Institute of Technology
Nancy F. Glenn, University of New South Wales
James A. Goodman, HySpeed Computing, Miami, FL, USA
Daniel M. Griffith, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Geographic Science Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Liane Guild, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Christopher R. Hakkenberg, Northern Arizona University
Eric J. Hochberg, Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
Thomas R.H. Holmes, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MD, USA
Chuanmin Hu, University of South Florida
Glynn Hulley, California Institute of Technology
Karl F. Huemmrich, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Raphael M. Kudela, University of California
Raymond F. Kokaly, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA
Christine M. Lee, California Institute of Technology
Roberta Martin, Arizona State University
Charles E. Miller, California Institute of Technology
Wesley J. Moses, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., USA
Frank E. Muller-Karger, University of South FloridaFollow
Joseph D. Ortiz, Kent State University
Daniel B. Otis, University of South Florida
Nima Pahlevan, Science Systems and Applications Inc., Lanham, MD, USA
Thomas H. Painter, Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering
Ryan Pavlick, California Institute of Technology
Ben Poulter, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MD, USA
Yi Qi, University of Nebraska Lincoln
Vincent J. Realmuto, California Institute of Technology
Dar Roberts, University of California
Michael E. Schaepman, University of Zurich
Fabian D. Schneider, California Institute of Technology
Florian M. Schwandner, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Shawn P. Serbin, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Environmental and Climate Sciences Department, Upton, NY, USA
Alexey N. Shiklomanov, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MD, USA
E. Natasha Stavros, California Institute of Technology
David R. Thompson, California Institute of Technology
Juan L. Torres-Perez, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute
Kevin R. Turpie, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Maria Tzortziou, City University of New York
Susan Ustin, University of California
Qian Yu, University of Massachusetts
Yusri Yusup, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Qingyuan Zhang, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), MD, USA

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Keywords

Hyperspectral, Remote sensing, Thermal infrared, Vegetation, Snow, Volcano, Aquatic

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112349

Abstract

The 2017–2027 National Academies' Decadal Survey, Thriving on Our Changing Planet, recommended Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) as a “Designated Targeted Observable” (DO). The SBG DO is based on the need for capabilities to acquire global, high spatial resolution, visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR; 380–2500 nm; ~30 m pixel resolution) hyperspectral (imaging spectroscopy) and multispectral midwave and thermal infrared (MWIR: 3–5 μm; TIR: 8–12 μm; ~60 m pixel resolution) measurements with sub-monthly temporal revisits over terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal marine habitats. To address the various mission design needs, an SBG Algorithms Working Group of multidisciplinary researchers has been formed to review and evaluate the algorithms applicable to the SBG DO across a wide range of Earth science disciplines, including terrestrial and aquatic ecology, atmospheric science, geology, and hydrology. Here, we summarize current state-of-the-practice VSWIR and TIR algorithms that use airborne or orbital spectral imaging observations to address the SBG DO priorities identified by the Decadal Survey: (i) terrestrial vegetation physiology, functional traits, and health; (ii) inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems physiology, functional traits, and health; (iii) snow and ice accumulation, melting, and albedo; (iv) active surface composition (eruptions, landslides, evolving landscapes, hazard risks); (v) effects of changing land use on surface energy, water, momentum, and carbon fluxes; and (vi) managing agriculture, natural habitats, water use/quality, and urban development. We review existing algorithms in the following categories: snow/ice, aquatic environments, geology, and terrestrial vegetation, and summarize the community-state-of-practice in each category. This effort synthesizes the findings of more than 130 scientists.

Rights Information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Remote Sensing of Environment, v. 257, art. 112349

Scholar Commons Citation

Cawse-Nicholson, Kerry; Townsend, Philip A.; Schimel, David; Assiri, Ali M.; Blake, Pamela L.; Buongiorno, Maria Fabrizia; Campbell, Petya; Carmon, Nimrod; Casey, Kimberly A.; Correa-Pabón, Rosa Elvira; Dahlin, Kyla M.; Dashti, Hamid; Dennison, Philip E.; Dierssen, Heidi; Erickson, Adam; Fisher, Joshua B.; Frouin, Robert; Gatebe, Charles K.; Gholizadeh, Hamed; Gierach, Michelle; Glenn, Nancy F.; Goodman, James A.; Griffith, Daniel M.; Guild, Liane; Hakkenberg, Christopher R.; Hochberg, Eric J.; Holmes, Thomas R.H.; Hu, Chuanmin; Hulley, Glynn; Huemmrich, Karl F.; Kudela, Raphael M.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Lee, Christine M.; Martin, Roberta; Miller, Charles E.; Moses, Wesley J.; Muller-Karger, Frank E.; Ortiz, Joseph D.; Otis, Daniel B.; Pahlevan, Nima; Painter, Thomas H.; Pavlick, Ryan; Poulter, Ben; Qi, Yi; Realmuto, Vincent J.; Roberts, Dar; Schaepman, Michael E.; Schneider, Fabian D.; Schwandner, Florian M.; Serbin, Shawn P.; Shiklomanov, Alexey N.; Stavros, E. Natasha; Thompson, David R.; Torres-Perez, Juan L.; Turpie, Kevin R.; Tzortziou, Maria; Ustin, Susan; Yu, Qian; Yusup, Yusri; and Zhang, Qingyuan, "NASA's Surface Biology and Geology Designated Observable: A Perspective on Surface Imaging Algorithms" (2021). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 2200.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2200