How Fieldwork in the Amazon Is Supporting NASA Climate Science – NISAR Mission Travelogue
A joint U.S.-India satellite mission called NISAR – the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission – will soon set out with new tools to better understand climate change. As a way to validate the satellite’s global, space-based observations, NASA scientists went to the Peruvian Amazon to install a network of sensors that will help calibrate measurements from the NISAR spacecraft.
Why the Amazon? In tropical wetlands, changes in seasonal flooding cycles can lead to increased production of greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
A collaboration between NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), NISAR will use a sophisticated radar system to track wetland inundation and other changes to Earth’s surface. The satellite is expected to launch in early 2024 from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
For more information on the NISAR mission, visit: https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/.
Credit: Video production and NISAR animations: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Methane animations: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio; Amazon field work footage courtesy of A. Pruna
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Why is NASA working in the Amazon?
Erika Podest (Scientist, NISAR, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
When wetlands flood, they produce methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. In fact, wetlands are the largest natural source of methane on our planet.
Knowing the extent and duration of flooded wetlands allows us to better estimate a wetland’s methane production, which helps better understand how climate change is having an impact on wetland ecosystems.
I recently returned from a scientific field campaign in the Peruvian Amazon. We went to Pacaya-Samiria to install sensors that measure when wetlands are inundated or flooded.
These measurements will be compared to what the NISAR satellite will be measuring from space. If they match, then it gives us confidence that the satellite is making adequate and accurate measurements.
If all goes according to plan, NISAR will be able to detect and monitor inundated wetlands from space, providing data similar to our ground measurements all year round.
So what is NISAR? NISAR is a collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation. The satellite will have two radars allowing us to see the surface of the Earth regardless of clouds or day or night conditions.
In this campaign, we focused on NISAR’s ability to see through the canopy, to detect different types of inundated wetlands, and given the dense tree canopy in the tropics, this area will be a test of NISAR’s radar to detect inundation through thick vegetation.
Our amazing team worked very hard and accomplished our goals for this field campaign. It was hot; it was hard work; it was difficult to access; but it was very productive. We installed over 75 sensors, which are up and running and ready for when NISAR overflies the area.
I think this mission is going to be game-changing in our ability to monitor global wetland ecosystems. And that, my friends, will allow us to better understand our planet.