LDEO Earth Science Colloquium presents:
From tree tops to coastal depths – monitoring Blue Carbon Ecosystems in the 3rd and 4th dimension
with Dr. Lola Fatoyinbo Agueh. Dr. Agueh is currently a Research Physical Scientist in the Biospheric Sciences Lab at NASA-Goddard where she studies forest ecology and ecosystem structure using active and passive remote sensing instruments, serves on Satellite Mission Science Teams and Principal investigator on several NASA Earth Science Division funded research grants. Her research is focused on characterizing the vulnerability and response of coastal ecosystems to disturbances from land use and climate change; LiDAR and SAR remote sensing of upland and coastal ecosystem structure and Carbon stocks; Using science to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Conservation; New instrument and new technology development, airborne and field campaigns, applications of carbon monitoring and ecosystem services accounting. She is also very involved in science communication and training the next generation of scientist, having mentored over 30 NASA interns, NASA postdoctoral Fellows and visiting scientists. In 2012 she was the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering for her efforts on merging scientific priorities with advanced technology to develop innovative remote-sensing instrumentation for carbon-cycle and ecosystems science.
Abstract: Coastal land and seascapes (seagrasses, mangroves, coral reefs, tidal flats) support livelihoods of over 3 billion people in 100+ countries, they offer protection from extreme weather events, provide 25% of the oceanic carbon pool and support 25% of global biodiversity. Despite their economic and ecological importance, the extent of coastal ecosystems, and the activities that were driving the changes in these ecosystems were poorly quantified. Furthermore, understanding the spatial patterns of coastal ecosystem structure – both above and below water – are important in valuing the ecosystem services that these areas provide and predicting the vulnerability to human caused and natural threats. In this talk, we will show how NASA Earth Observing data, including multi-year timeseries from Landsat, and terrestrial and underwater elevation data from airborne and spaceborne Sensors such as SRTM, GEDI and ICESat-2, we can now monitor and these ecosystems in three dimensions and through time, as well as highlight how NASA data can be used to help protect and restore coastal ecosystems worldwide.
A Zoom link will the provided on the day of the lecture.
