Join the Geospatial Forum for a presentation by Matt Dannenberg, an associate professor at the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability at the University of Iowa. Dannenberg's presentation is titled "Monitoring Dryland Ecosystem Function With Multi-Source and Multi-Scale Remote Sensing." Chris Jones, senior research staff and faculty fellow at the Center for Geospatial Analytics at NC State, will host the forum.

Drylands make up 40% of Earth’s land surface and are home to 2 billion people and numerous rare and endemic organisms. Their large size and dependence on intermittent water availability also make drylands important regulators of the global carbon cycle,  but monitoring dryland ecosystem function with remote sensing poses many challenges not encountered in more humid regions. In this talk,  Dannenberg will discuss the potential for multi-source and multi-resolution remote sensing of dryland primary production (carbon fixation through photosynthesis) and evapotranspiration, ranging from near-surface sensors at individual sites to global-scale satellite-based approaches.