www.nasa.gov /nasa-earth-exchange-nex/gddp/carbon-monitoring-system-cms/

Global Ecosystem and Carbon Monitoring - NASA

3-3 minutes

NASA CMS (https://carbon.nasa.gov/cms/) a research program that uses NASA’s satellite data, modeling, and other technologies to develop accurate and reliable carbon monitoring systems. These systems can be used to support national and international policy, regulation, and management activities. CMS is also developing MRV systems that can provide transparent data products that meet the precision and accuracy requirements of current carbon trading protocols. In addition, CMS aims to directly engage with and contribute to related U.S. and international stakeholders and agencies.

NASA GEDI (https://gedi.umd.edu/) is the first spaceborne lidar mission dedicated to map vegetation structure and its change. The GEDI instrument is mounted on the International Space Station (ISS) and it has collected 3D structure of vegetation canopies and land surface. The GEDI mission is designed to help scientists understand how terrestrial ecosystems are changing in response to human activity (e.g., deforestation, degradation, etc), climate change, and other factors.

There are two primary NEX activities under support from NASA CMS and GEDI. First, NEX team aims to improve increase the Application Readiness Levels (ARLs) of ongoing CMS prototypes and develop new CMS prototypes with the aim of supporting implementation of REDD+ across Mexico. The team uses multiple NASA satellite assets (e.g., Landsat, GEDI, MODIS etc.) to track historical forest cover changes and attribute underlying drivers of the changes. The team has closely work with stakeholders in US and Mexico (e.g., CONAFOR). Second, the team aims to map and project current and future forest height, aboveground biomass, and carbon sequestration potential over the continental USA (CONUS) using a theory-based integrative approach. This research synergistically uses a biophysical model, called Allometric Scaling and Resource Limitation (ASRL), with spaceborne/airborne remote sensing data including foundational GEDI lidar altimetry data to generate large-scale and continuous patterns of forest height and aboveground biomass.

Both NEX activities under CMS and GEDI are important parts of the efforts to understand changes in the Earth’s systems and address pressing challenges in changing climate. The data and models produced by the CMS and GEDI are helping to improve our understanding of the global carbon cycle and are providing information that can be used to inform climate change and land management policy.