Land Use Science in Action
Research on specific physical processes associated with urbanization to assess the impact of urban land conversion on regional-scale surface climate and its impact on society.
- Urbanization affects surface climate by reducing the vegetation fraction, transpiration, water infiltration and consequent increase in surface runoff and flash-flooding
- Mapping the extent of urban land conversion allows to assess the impact of land cover and land use and provides means to prioritize actions.
- Modeling land surface processes using remote sensing will strengthen the predictive
capabilities and offer a baseline for decision making and planning
Wildfire risk varies with shifting landcover and land use practices in southern Greece
Diverse landcover in the Mediterranean region necessitates localized approaches to reduce fire risk
- Urgent need for fire risk analyses given projected increase in Mediterranean wildfire activity
- Landcover and land use changes can both increase and decrease fire risk
- Remote sensing, combined with fire simulation modeling, can identify areas with high wildfire exposure and detrimental impacts
- NASA’s Earth observation record provides critical data for assessing risk change over time
- Modeled fire risk is essential for guiding landowner and resource manager decision making
ENABLING HARM REDUCTION FROM EXTREME HEAT IN A WARMING CLIMATE
- The Arabian Peninsula already suffers from the most extreme heat on the planet.
- Climate Chance and Land-Cover and Land-Use Change are amplifying extreme heat across the Arabian Peninsula, impacting human health.
- Fusing remote-sensed LCLUC and climate data with weather models can improve extreme heat forecasting and climate projections.
- NASA’s Earth Observation platforms can enable the operationalization of monitoring and forecasting of extreme heat and guide adaptations to reduce harm to improve health.