Using NASA SMAP and ESA SMOS to study the impact of prolonged soil moisture deficit on vegetation function worldwide Seminar
- Time:
- 12:00
- Date:
- 10 June 2015
- Venue:
- Shackleton Building 44, Lecture Theatre B
For more information regarding this seminar, please email Dr Nathaniel O'Grady at N.O'Grady@soton.ac.uk .
Event details
The cumulative effect of soil moisture deficit in the early 21st century is causing regional vegetation mortality that will, in turn, threaten human health and livelihood. This presentation will introduce the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) sensor that was launched in January 2015 to provide daily, global-scale images of soil moisture. Preliminary findings will be reported from a study of the threshold duration of soil water deficit that results in a shift in grassland function across arid-to-humid climates. Based on a time series of ESA Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) observations of soil moisture, 10% of grasslands worldwide have crossed the prolonged threshold associated with changes in ecosystem function.
Chair: Dr Jadu Dash
Speaker information
Dr Susan Moran, Southwest Watershed Research Center Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Susan Moran is a Research Hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agricultural at the Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson, Arizona. She studies of the impact of global change on natural resources using satellite remote sensing and simulation modeling. Dr. Moran serves NASA on the Science Teams for the Landsat, Earth Observer 1 (EO-1), and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) missions.