Western Geographic Science Center - News, Highlights
(Archive: 2011, 2010)
2012Land-Cover Change Estimates in California's Central Valley:
December 3 Increasing Future Food Production:
December 3 NASA Land-Cover/Land-Use Change Meeting:
December 3 USGS Science Presentation Encourages "At Risk Children" to Remain in School:
November 19 USGS Awarded NASA Grant for Global Cropland Area Database:
November 12 USGS Scientist Gerald Bawden will be participating in the NASA sponsored E-DECIDER workshop.
November 5 USGS Scientist Gave the Opening Keynote Address at the Joint Conference Sponsored by American Society of American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS):
October 29 Phenology Research and Observation of Southwest Ecosystems (PROSE) Symposium, Friday, October 12:
Phenology Research and Observations of Southwest Ecosystems Symposium On October 12 2012, over 40 people attended the Sixth Annual PROSE (Phenology Research and Observations of Southwest Ecosystems) Symposium on the University of Arizona campus. The symposium was generously sponsored by the USA National Phenology Network (NPN), The University of Arizona Institute of Environment, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the SW Region ASPRS. The day-long symposium included 8 oral presentations, covering topics from response of grasslands to climate extremes, effects of climatic variation on clutch phenology of desert tortoises, and the relationships between patterns of wildlife activity and landscape phenology. The poster session included 13 posters, with students competing for cash prizes. This year's winners were: first prize to Jessica Swetish (UA undergraduate student) for her poster "Influence of Understory Greenness on Trace Gas and Energy Exchange in Forested Ecosystems"; second prize to Evan Kipnis (UA graduate student) for his poster "Insights on Ecohydrological Controls of Phenological Events in Larrea Tridentata through Continuous Monitoring using Digital Cameras"; third prize to Maria Pilar Cendrero Mateo (UA graduate student) for her poster "Steady-State Chlorophyll Fluorescence (Fs) as a Tool to Monitor Plant Drought Stress". The PROSE symposium seeks to highlight the interdisciplinary science of phenology, which studies the timing of annually recurring biological events and their relationships to climate. Phenology can provide important data and information to anticipate and monitor ecosystem responses to global climate change. (Contacts Cynthia SA Wallace, cwallace@usgs.gov; Joel Sankey, jsankey@usgs.gov) October 12 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Santa Cruz Watershed meeting The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a meeting to share research and discuss priorities for the Santa Cruz Watershed, located on the US-Mexico border of Arizona and Sonora. Invited guests include scientists and researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the National Park Service (NPS), the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Friends of the Santa Cruz River (FoSCR), and the Sonoran Institute (SI). The meeting and field trip will take place on Friday, September 28, at Tumacácori National Historical Park. For more information, contact Laura Norman at lnorman@usgs.gov September 26 USGS research, Watershed- Management under Climate Change USGS research, Watershed- Management under Climate Change in Cross-Border Environments, will be featured in next issue of the Transborder Climate: Adaptation without Boundaries United States - Mexico border region newsletter, funded by the NOAA Climate and Societal Interactions Program. Vol. 1 Issue 2, September, 2012. For more information, contact Laura Norman at lnorman@usgs.gov September 26 USGS Researcher, Laura Norman, will present her research in the Transborder Climate USGS Researcher, Laura Norman, will present her research in the Transborder Climate fall 2012 webinar series, examining climate-related forecasts, cutting-edge research, and pressing resource management issues. The topic is Watershed - Management and Ecosystem Services in Transboundary Environments to be held on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:00 PDT at the University of Arizona. For more information, contact Laura Norman at lnorman@usgs.gov September 26 USGS Provides Training on Environmental Remote Sensing to San Carlos Apache Tribe
During August and September, 2012, scientists from the USGS Western Geographic Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona are conducting training in remote sensing and image processing for the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The training is designed to develop local expertise on the application of satellite remote sensing to monitoring and management of the San Carlos Apache tribal lands, for which forestry and livestock grazing are important economic activities. The land area of the San Carlos Apache Reservation covers more than 1.8 million acres in eastern Arizona. The course is organized and taught by Barry Middleton, with support from Dennis Dye. It is sponsored by the USGS program for Technical Training in Support of Native American Relations (TESNAR). For more information, contact Barry Middleton (bmiddleton@usgs.gov, 928-556-7359). September 24 New USGS Research on Environmental Remote Sensing Presented at International Conference
Dennis Dye, a Research Geographer at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, participated in the XXII Congress of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) during August 25 to September 1 in Melbourne Australia. Dye presented his research on the application of an innovative technique, known as high dynamic range imaging, to achieve improved, ground-based monitoring of vegetation conditions and solar radiation using standard, low-cost digital cameras. His research is sponsored by the USGS Geographic Analysis and Monitoring program and the NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program. For more information, contact Dennis Dye (ddye@usgs.gov, 928-556-7029). September 24 WGSC Deploys Remote Sensing Instrument in the Amazon :
In July, 2012, Research Geographer Dennis Dye installed a new USGS instrument, the High Dynamic Range All-Sky Imaging System (HDR-ASIS), at a study site in the Amazon rainforest near Santarém, Brazil. HDR-ASIS is monitoring how clouds and smoke affect the amount and directionality of solar radiation received by the forest. The data will be used to improve model estimates of tropical forest photosynthesis and carbon dynamics under current and projected climate conditions. The research is sponsored by the USGS Geographic Analysis and Monitoring program and the NASA Terrestrial Ecology program. For more information, contact Dennis Dye (928-556-7029, ddye@usgs.gov). September 24 Beneficial Role of Fire in Management of Degraded Desert Grasslands:
Scientists from the Western Geographic Science Center recently published a new study that examined the beneficial role of fire in management of degraded desert grasslands of the SW USA. The study focused on grassland in the Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico that has been degraded by the expansion of shrub vegetation. Using lidar remote sensing and field methods, the study concluded that prescribed fires in the early stages of vegetation shift could reverse soil degradation associated with the shrub expansion process. For more information see the full journal article "Quantifying soil surface change in degraded drylands: Shrub encroachment and effects of fire and vegetation removal in a desert grassland" which was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research and authored by Joel Sankey, Cynthia Wallace, and Robert Webb from the USGS and Sujith Ravi and Travis Huxman from the University of Arizona. The publication is available at here
. The research was conducted under Joel Sankey's Mendenhall Fellowship with the USGS. (jsankey@usgs.gov 928-556-7289) August 23 Dr. Bill Labiosa, visiting scholar at the Puget Sound Institute:
Beginning this summer, Dr. Bill Labiosa will serve as a visiting scholar at the Puget Sound Institute to help develop decision science planning tools for use in Puget Sound ecosystem recovery efforts. As part of a 15-month inter-agency agreement with USGS and the Puget Sound Partnership, Labiosa will work with a PSI post-doctoral fellow to assist the Partnership with the development of its adaptive management framework, and to increase the Partnership’s capacity for using decision science tools.Labiosa is currently a research scientist with the USGS Western Geographic Science Center and has a background in environmental engineering and decision analysis. He is also Vice Chair of the Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel. April 23 USGS Remote Sensing Studies Quantify Post-Fire Landscape Restoration:
USGS researchers will be participating in the Southwest Wildfire Hydrology and Hazards workshop, April 2-5, near Tucson, AZ by presenting research on the contribution of natural vegetation dynamics and common seeding treatments to post-fire soil stability in rangelands of the Great Basin, which explores the effectiveness of post-fire seeding treatments, and fire and soil microtopography in a Chihuahuan Desert shrub-grass ecotone, which quantifies the microtopography of desert grass and shrub lands. Both studies demonstrate methods that use remotely sensed data to quantify distinct aspects of the restoration, recovery or degradation of post-fire landscapes. Such metrics can be used by land managers to demonstrate the effectiveness of post-fire restoration strategies. For more information, contact Cynthia Wallace at 520-670-5589. March 23-March 30 USGS Hosts Pacific Coastal Fog Team Workshop:
Advective fog is a major modifier of the climactic condition along the California coast and has significant effects on human and ecological coastal communities. Although it is clear that many physical factors contribute to fog formation, relatively little is known about the factors that drive the patterns of fog along the coast. The USGS will be hosting an international team of scientists, April 3-5, in Menlo Park, CA for the first Pacific Coastal Fog Team workshop where participants will assess methods to provide San Francisco Bay Area natural resource managers with information for making decisions on issues of concern such as restoration of native habitats, natural hazard mitigation, and long-term survival of fog-dependent vegetation. Multidisciplinary discussion topics among representatives from federal agencies, national and international universities, public and private institutions and foundations, and other science organizations, will include ecosystem management needs, processes driving fog dynamics and variability, and defining a framework for monitoring fog response to climate change. For more information, contact Alicia Torregrosa at 650-329-4091. March 23-March 30 Transport of Biological Nutrients by Wind in an Eroding Cold Desert: USGS physical scientist Joel Sankey recently published a study titled "Transport of biologically important nutrients by wind in an eroding cold desert" in the journal Aeolian Research. Erosion and deposition of soil after large wildfires has become an increasingly important environmental issue throughout the western United States, as wildfires have increased in recent years. Findings in a northern Great Basin wildfire study area indicate that post-fire erosion resulted in an addition of biologically important nutrients to downwind rangelands. Wind transport of nutrients is likely very important in rangeland environments because it could contribute to pulses of resource availability that might, for example, affect plant species differently depending on their phenology, and nutrient-and water-use requirements. For more information, visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2012.01.003 or contact Joel Sankey at 520-670-6671, x 232. March 23-March 30 USGS Land-Use and Land Cover Change Workshop:
USGS scientists hosted a workshop, Jan. 23-25, in Reston, VA to discuss future scenarios of land-use and land-cover change in the Eastern United States. The goal of the meeting was to review "initial draft concept scenarios" and revise modeling parameters used to produce a comprehensive set of land use and land cover statistics for the USGS LandCarbon assessment. The productive and well attended meeting included participants from all USGS centers and invited experts from universities. For more information, visit http://www.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/land_carbon/or contact, Ben Sleeter at 650-329-4350. January 27-February 3 Land-Use Planning for Nearshore Ecosystem Services -- The Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model:
The USGS Western Geographic Science Center has released USGS Fact Sheet 2011-3067: Land-Use Planning for Nearshore Ecosystem Services--The Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model. The factsheet details how the Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model uses scenarios of urban growth and shoreline modification to assess possible future changes to nearshore ecosystem services, or benefits to people, such as fishing, shellfishing, and recreation. This tool is designed to help resource managers plan for expected growth in coming decades. For more information, contact Kristin Byrd at 650-329-4279. January 20-27 Evaluating and Refining Alternative Futures for Puget Sound Ecosystem Management:
The USGS has released Open-File Report 2011-1279: Tools and Methods for Evaluating and Refining Alternative Futures for Coastal Ecosystem Management--The Puget Sound Ecosystem Portfolio Model (PSEPM). The PSEPM is a decision-support tool that uses scenarios to evaluate where, when, and to what extent future population growth, urban growth, and shoreline development may threaten the Puget Sound nearshore environment. This report serves to document and supplement model results displayed on the PSEPM Web site. For more information, visit http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/pugetSound/index.html or contact Kristin Byrd at 650-329-4279. January 13-20 USGS Geographer Named Editor-in-Chief of Remote Sensing Journal:
January 13-20 Nathan Wood Quoted in National Geographic
January 13-20 USGS Powell Fellow Wins AGU Chapman Water Conference Award:
USGS Powell Fellow and University of Arizona researcher Isabella Mariotto won a competitive American Geophysical Union Chapman Award from the NASA Terrestrial Hydrology Program to participate in the February 2012 Conference on Remote Sensing of the Terrestrial Water Cycle by presenting "Application of SEBAL Modified for Topographic Reflectance and Roughness to Map the Spatial Distribution of ET in a Heterogeneous Area". Mariotto is currently working on the NASA grant "Water Use and Water Productivity of Key World Crops using Hyperion-ASTER, and a Large Collection of in-situ Field Biological and Spectral Data in Central Asia", and also with the USGS Powell Center Working Group on Global Croplands. For more information, contact Isabella Mariotto at 575-635-5838. December 9-16 |
On December 7th, USGS scientists Christopher Soulard and Tamara Wilson are giving an oral presentation at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco describing recent efforts to extend USGS Land Cover Trends Project change monitoring from 27 year to 37 years. Discussion on the Land Cover Trends Project will focus on the measurement of annual land-cover change estimates in California's Central Valley ecoregion using Landsat satellite imagery. Updates include 6 new dates (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010) and 6 new intervals (2000-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010). The presentation will describe how land-use changes in the last decade compare to changes in the late 20th century, and will highlight the benefits of using an annual update schedule. (Christopher Soulard, Menlo Park, 650-329-4317; Tamara Wilson, Menlo Park, 650-329-4247)
Future Challenges and Opportunities for the New Era: Dr. Prasad S. Thenkabail, Research Geographer, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will be a invited speaker in the "Workshop on Increasing Future Food Production: Future Challenges and Opportunities for the New Era" organized by the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO Volcani Center, Israel. The workshop will be held during 2-5nd December 2012. Dr. Thenkabail will speak on: "Global Food and Water Security in the 21st Century and the Role of Earth Observation". For more information visit the conference web site: 
USGS scientist Ed Pfeifer recently delivered two presentations at the Sunshine Acres Children's home in Mesa Arizona. The home takes in children at risk in grades 1 through 12 and beyond. Children in grades 1-8 attend school at the home, while children in grades 9-12 attend Mesa Arizona public schools, returning to the home after school; no children are turned away. Pfeifer gave a PowerPoint Presentation on his Dall's Sheep research project in Alaska to the elementary class, and a similar presentation to the Jr. high school class. The PowerPoint presentation presented by Pfeifer was truly a highlight for them and both presentations were followed by a discussion on the importance of staying in school and working hard to do well in order to achieve their dreams through education and hard work. For more information, contact Ed Pfeifer at 520-670-5019.
On November 9th, USGS Western Geographic Science Center's research geophysicist Gerald Bawden will be joining other hazard scientists in helping develop a scientific based tool to assist the emergency response community during major earthquake. This web-based tool can be found at: 
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL:http://geography.wr.usgs.gov/docs/2012/highlights.html
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Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 11-Dec-2012 16:38:23 EST