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NASA ‘Eyes’ study Louisiana’s changing wetlands

NASA recently completed an in- at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, combat the negative effects of wetland The Mississippi River Delta south of New Orleans, as seen from NASA’s
tensive study of Louisiana Gulf Coast ORVVDQGÀRRGV7KHGDWDZLOODOVREH C-20A research aircraft.
levees and wetlands, making measure- Pasadena, Calif.. The instruments were used to improve modeling of delta land
ments with three advanced imaging building and can be applied to help re- Left: Kean Tam, UAVSAR
instruments on two research aircraft. all developed at JPL. store deltas worldwide. instrument operator,
monitors the C-20A’s
1$6$LQVWUXPHQWVÀ\RYHUWKH*XOI The instruments were: 8$96$5ÀHZRQD&$UHVHDUFK flight path to ensure
Coast one to three times per year to ‡ 7KH 8QLQKDELWHG$HULDO 9HKLFOH aircraft and the other two instruments that accurate data are
keep consistent records of ground sub- 6\QWKHWLF$SHUWXUH5DGDU8$96$5 ÀHZRQD%.LQJ$LU%RWKDLUFUDIW collected. Far Left:
sidence—the gradual sinking of an area are based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight UAVSAR image of Wax
of land—which can compromise the instrument, an imaging radar uniquely Research Center facility in Palmdale, Lake Delta at low tide
integrity of roads, buildings and levee Calif. FDSWXUHGGXULQJDÀLJKWRQ
systems. designed to measure how Earth loca- May 5, 2015. Research on
An area of particular interest on the delta’s growth through
Scientists also closely monitor veg- tions change between repeat flights this mission was the Wax Lake Delta. natural sedimentation
etation changes in the coastal wetlands According to UAVSAR Principal In- processes can aid future
to better understand how to preserve over the same path. vestigator Cathleen Jones of JPL, the work on restoring deltas
them. The marshlands not only are ‡ 7KH 1H[W*HQHUDWLRQ$LUERUQH Wax Lake Delta is one of the few deltas worldwide.
home to a delicate ecosystem, but also in the world that is actually growing
serve as a natural barrier between land Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer through natural sedimentation pro-
and sea. During storms and hurricanes, $9,5,6QJZKLFKREVHUYHVFKDQJHV cesses.
WKHZHWODQGVVORZWKHLQÀX[RIZDWHU LQOLJKWUHÀHFWHGIURP(DUWKWRREWDLQ
into more heavily populated areas. As “Most deltas are highly engineered,
these wetlands become overly saturated accurate, quantitative characteriza- inhabited areas that are in danger from
by rising sea levels and the vegetation a combination of subsidence and sea
within them dies, the protection pro- tions of the composition and features level rise. This happens because dams
vided by these areas is reduced, jeop- upstream and levees in the delta prevent
ardizing the local communities and of Earth’s surface. the natural process of sedimentation
economy. ‡7KH$LU6XUIDFH:DWHUDQG2FHDQ from offsetting subsidence,” said Jones.

“This was a great opportunity to 7RSRJUDSK\$LU6:27LQVWUXPHQWDQ
use instruments that work together
to create a more complete picture of airborne prototype of a planned space-
the changing Louisiana delta,” said
Randall Friedl, manager of the Earth borne precision radar instrument that
6\VWHP 6FLHQFH )RUPXODWLRQ 2IILFH
will use a new technique to measure

changes in Earth’s water surfaces over

time.

According to Friedl, the instruments

work synergistically together to charac-

terize key wetland properties, such as
WKHH[WHQWRIÀRRGLQJVHDVRQDOÀRRG-

ing dynamics and vegetation type.

The goal of the research is to pro-

vide data to federal and local agencies,

which use the information to determine

where to concentrate resources and

7KHVXQULVHVRQ1$6$¶V&$DVLWVLWVDW/RXLV$UPVWURQJ1HZ2UOHDQV,QWHUQDWLRQDO$LUSRUWEHIRUHLWV¿UVWVFLHQFHÀLJKW NASA photographs

Aerotech News and Review June 19, 2015

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