KECK INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES

       

Exploring New Multi-Instrument Approaches to Observing Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Carbon Cycle from Space

October 5-9, 2015, 2015
California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, CA 91125

Final Report
Paul Wennberg

Paul Wennberg

California Institute of Technology

David Schimel

David Schimel

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Ryan Pavlick

Ryan Pavlick

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Ralph Dubayah

Ralph Dubayah

University of Maryland

Workshop Overview:

Our poor understanding of terrestrial ecosystems and their biogeochemical and biogeophysical feedbacks with the Earth System severely limits our ability to make accurate predictions about the future of our home planet. To make the sort of policy-relevant predictions that society asks of us, our science desperately needs more data about the composition, functioning, and structure of terrestrial ecosystems. Unfortunately, our current in-situ observation networks are too sparse, too spatially biased, and too ad-hoc to make significant progress. Only observations from space can provide the dense, frequent, spatially and temporally extensive records required. However, we have also reached the limits of what is possible with the generation of space-based sensors currently in orbit (e.g. Landsat and MODIS). One exception being the just recently launched Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2), which will provide more data in a day about atmospheric CO2 concentrations than the existing in-situ network produces in a year. Also, due to one of the most important discoveries in Earth science in the past decade, OCO-2 will serendipitously provide global maps of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, a proxy for vegetation productivity.

The focus of this study is exploring new multi-instrument approaches to doing ecosystem science from space. We will frame this more general topic around the amazing opportunity that in a few years, we could have simultaneous observations of ecosystem structure, functioning, and composition from the International Space Station (ISS).

Monday, October 5, 2015

Salvatori Seminar Room - 3rd Floor South Mudd, Caltech

Short Course: Observing Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Carbon Cycle from Space

Introductory Lectures - Open to all interested students, researchers and faculty
Time
Event
Speaker

9:30 - 10:00

Coffee and Refreshments

10:00 - 10:10

Logistics / Welcome

Michele Judd

Team Leads

10:10 - 10:30

From Stovepipes to Synthesis (context for short course)

Ryan Pavlick

10:30 - 11:15

Carbon Cycle (35 min talk, 10 min questions)

Lesley Ott

11:15 - NOON

Terrestrial Ecosystems (35 min talk, 10 min questions)

Josh Fisher

NOON - 1:00

Informal lunch for all short course attendees

1:00 - 1:30

Vegetation Structure/Biomass/GEDI (20 min talk, 10 min questions)

Ralph Dubayah

1:30 - 2:00

Ecohydrology / ECOSTRESS (20 min talk, 10 min questions)

Simon Hook

2:00 - 2:30

xCO2 / Fluorescence / OCO-3 (20 min talk, 10 min questions)

Christian Frankenberg

2:30 - 3:00

Plant Traits / Imaging Spectroscopy (20 min talk, 10 min questions)

Shawn Serbin

3:00

End of Short Course

 

Invitation Only Workshop Begins Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

3:00 - 3:30

Walk to Keck Center for Registration and Refreshments

3:30 - 4:15

Workshop Logistics and Introduction to KISS

Michele Judd

Tom Prince

4:15 - 4:30

30 second Participant Introductions

Michele Judd

4:30 - 5:45

Desired goals and outcomes for the workshop; begin plenary discussion on workshop format; collect ideas and topics participants want to know more about; identify lightning talks needed to "close the gap of knowledge" between the various disciplines.


Team Leads

6:00

Dinner at the Athenaeum


Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker

8:00 - 8:30

INSTITUTE OPENS - FREE TIME to collaborate, tag up and discuss ideas

8:30 - 9:00

Coffee and Refreshments

9:00 - 9:15

Logistics: Summary re-cap of day one and goals for day two

Michele Judd

Team Leads

9:15 - 10:15

3 Lightning Talks: 15 min + 5 minute discussion each

TBD at workshop

10:15 - 10:30

Determine breakout sessions

All

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 12:30

Breakout Groups

All

12:30 - 2:30

POSTER SESSION at Keck Center with lunch

2:30 - 4:00

Breakout Groups continue

All

4:00 - 4:30

Break

4:30 - 5:30

Breakout Groups Report Out in Plenary Session

All

6:00

Optional, informal family style dinner in the Athenaeum Rathskeller


Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker

8:00 - 8:30

INSTITUTE OPENS - FREE TIME to collaborate, tag up and discuss ideas

8:30 - 9:00

Coffee and Refreshments

9:00 - 9:15

Logistics: Summary re-cap of day one and goals for day three

Michele Judd

Team Leads

9:15 - 10:15

3 Lightning Talks: 15 min + 5 minute discussion each

TBD at workshop

10:15 - 10:30

Determine breakout sessions

All

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 12:30

Breakout Groups

All

12:30 - 2:00

Lunch at the Athenaeum

2:00 - 3:00

Breakout Groups continue

All

3:00 - 4:00

Breakout Groups Report Out in Plenary Session

All

4:00 - 4:30

Break

4:30 - 5:45

Plenary Session - Group Check in on workshop progress and process. Get list of "I Wish We Could xxx by Friday" Items. Finalize Thursday Agenda Based on List.

All

6:00

Optional no-host dinner in Pasadena (KISS pays for postdocs and students)


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker

8:00 - 8:30

INSTITUTE OPENS - FREE TIME to collaborate, tag up and discuss ideas

8:30 - 9:00

Coffee and Refreshments

9:00 - 9:30

Logistics: Summary re-cap of day one and goals for day four, determine breakout sessions

Michele Judd

Team Leads

9:30 - 10:30

Breakout Groups

All

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 12:30

Breakout Groups continue

All

12:30 - 2:00

Lunch on your own (heavy grazing items provided in Institute for those sticking around)

2:00 - 2:30

FREE TIME to collaborate, tag up and discuss ideas

2:00 - 3:00

Breakout Groups Report Out in Plenary Session

All

3:00 - 4:00

Initial Recommendations from Study to Date

All

4:00 - 4:30

Break

4:30 - 5:45

Final Breakout Groups to Flesh Out Recommendations

All

6:00

Athenaeum Dinner with Spouses and Special Guests


Friday, October 9, 2015

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker

8:00 - 8:30

INSTITUTE OPENS - FREE TIME to collaborate, tag up and discuss ideas

8:30 - 9:00

Coffee and Refreshments

9:00 - 9:15

Logistics: Summary re-cap of day three and goals for day four

Michele Judd

Team Leads

9:15 - 10:30

Final Breakout Group Report Outs and Plenary Discussion on Planning for the Development of Community Support and Advocacy

All

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 12:00

Outline of Report, Writing assignments, Outline of Needed Illustrations etc.

All

12:00 - 12:30

KISS Support Overview for Continued Collaborations

Michele Judd

12:30 - 1:30

Informal lunch at the Institute

1:30 - 3:30

The Write Stuff: Two Intense Hours of Writing, Illustration Specifications, Identifying Needed References

All

3:30

Workshop concludes, celebrating ensues!

Workshop Participants:

  • Joseph Berry - Carnegie Institution for Science/Stanford
  • Ralph Dubayah - University of Maryland
  • Laura Duncanson - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Annmarie Eldering - JPL/Caltech
  • Fabian Fassnacht - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  • Joshua Fisher - JPL/Caltech
  • Milan Flach - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
  • Christian Frankenberg - JPL/Caltech
  • Robert Green - JPL/Caltech
  • Simon Hook - JPL/Caltech
  • Francesca Hopkins - JPL/Caltech
  • Michael Keller - USDA Forest Service
  • Miguel Mahecha - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
  • Lesley Ott - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Ryan Pavlick - JPL/Caltech
  • Johan Perret - EARTH University
  • Gregory Quetin - University of Washington
  • James Randerson - UC Irvine
  • Sassan Saatchi - JPL/Caltech
  • David Schimel - JPL/Caltech
  • Anna Schweiger - University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
  • Shawn Serbin - Brookhaven National Laboratory
  • Alexey Shiklomanov - Boston University
  • Natasha Stavros - JPL/Caltech
  • Abby Swann - University of Washington
  • Amy Trangsrud - JPL/Caltech
  • Susan Ustin - UC Davis
  • Manish Verma - JPL/Caltech
  • Camille Viatte - Caltech Campus
  • Paul Wennberg - Caltech Campus
  • Alan Xu - UCLA

Short Course Presentations

Ralph Dubayah
University of Maryland

Vegetation Structure/Biomass/GEDI
(18 MB .pdf)
(video)

Joshua Fisher
JPL
Terrestrial Ecosystems
(video)

Christian Frankenberg
Caltech

xC02/Fluorescence/OC0-3
(27.6 MB .pdf)
(video)

Simon Hook
JPL
Ecohydrology/ECOSTRESS
(video)

Lesley Ott
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Overview of Carbon Cycle Science
(21.6 MB .pdf)
(video)

Ryan Pavlick
JPL
From Stovepipes to Synthesis
(video)

Shawn Serbin
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Plant Traits/Imaging Spectroscopy
(49 MB .pdf)
(video)


Posters

Joshua Fisher
JPL

Global Nutrient Limitation in Terrestrial Vegetation
(4.7 MB .pdf)