NASA's Surface Biology and Geology Concept Study: Status and Next Steps

On Jan. 5, 2018, at the request of NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Committee on the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM)...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Thompson, David R., Bearden, David, Brosnan, Ian, Cawse-Nicholson, Kerry, Chrone, Jon, Green, Robert O., Glenn, Nancy, Guild, Liane, Hook, Simon J., Kokaly, Ray, Lee, Christine, Luvall, Jeffrey, Miller, Charles E., Nastal, Jamie, Pavlick, Ryan, Poulter, Benjamin, Schimel, David S., Schneider, Fabian, Uz, Stephanie Schollaert, Sen, Amit, Serbin, Shawn, Stavros, Natasha, Thome, Kurt, Townsend, Philip A., Turner, Woody, Turpie, Kevin, Wang, Weile
Format:	Conference Proceeding
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Earth Ecosystems Geology Land surface NASA Sea surface Temperature measurement
Online Access:	Request full text
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Summary:	On Jan. 5, 2018, at the request of NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Committee on the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences released the 2017 Decadal Survey, "Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observations from Space" [1]. The 700-page document is the second such Earth sciences survey produced by NASEM. The first, "Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond," was released in 2007. The 2018 study designated a global "Surface Biology and Geology" (SBG) investigation that would include both imaging spectroscopy and thermal infrared observations [1]. This suite of measurements would address a wide range of global science questions. Its themes include: flows of energy, carbon, water, and nutrients sustaining terrestrial and marine ecosystems; the variability of the land surface and the fluxes of water and energy; inventory of the world's volcanoes, and the composition and temperature of volcanic products immediately following eruptions; other natural hazards including wildfires; snow accumulation and melt; water balance from the headwaters to the continent; land and water use effects on evapotranspiration; functional traits and diversity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and vegetation; and more. Figure 1 shows example spectra from these surfaces, illustrating the enormous diversity of scene content that would be observed. Tables 1 and 2 show examples of the core and higher-level products that the SBG mission would produce.
ISSN:	2153-7003