NASA Turns Nature Detective
NASA Turns Nature Detective: Develops Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation Lidar Device
Renowned US space agency NASA is taking out its spying glasses. The space agency is developing the Global Ecosystems Dynamics Investigation or GEDI Lidar device for 3-D mapping of earth's forests. This is the latest attempt by the space agency to increase its comprehension regarding how forests influences the carbon cycle.
This device will be the first systematically probing instrument to uncover information regarding the forests from space. “GEDI Lidar will have a tremendous impact on our ability to monitor forest degradation, adding to the critical data needed to mitigate the effects of climate change," Patrick O'Shea, who is chief research officer at the University of Maryland has been quoted by the media as having said.
This device is a system which used lasers. The GEDI Lidar device measures the distance from space based instruments to the surface of the earth with accurate precision for detection of subtle variations. This includes tree tops as well as vertical distribution of ground bio-mass in the depth of the forests.
The construction of the instrument is set to take place in the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA at Maryland's Greenbelt, according to a statement released by the space agency to the press. "GEDI will be a tremendous new resource for studying Earth's vegetation," Piers Sellers, the deputy director of Goddard's Sciences and Exploration Directorate has been quoted by newspapers as saying.
The GEDI data is all set to provide insights on an international scale regarding the storage of carbon in the forest's bio-mass. The GEDI Lidar device will also provide details about how climate change is affecting the earth's forests. "This information will be particularly powerful when combined with the historical record of changes captured by the US's long standing programme of Earth-orbiting satellites, such as Landsat and MODIS," Sellers is quoted as having added.
The 3-D mapping of the forests in minute detail will also ensure that the device provides detailed and important data about the influence of the trees on the amount of carbon present in the air. Trees absorb carbon and store it over a period of time. Scientists up till now have not been able to quantify the amount of carbon contained in the forests. In other words, they have not been able to put an exact number on it.
With the GEDI Lidar device, scientists can now find out exactly how much carbon is being stored over long periods of time by the trees. More critically, this will enable the scientists to also determine the extent of carbon that would be released were a forest to be destroyed. This could provide valuable information on how to counter harmful emissions and combat climate change.
This device is one of the 2 important instrument proposals received for NASA's earth venture by the University of Maryland in the US. Innovations and inventions such as these play a vital role in countering climate change.
