When we think of marine research, most of us imagine scientists venturing out on research vessels to catch a firsthand glimpse of ocean life. But two of the College’s faculty are looking at the marine environment from a much different vantage point—50 miles up in the sky.
At the Center for Remote Sensing, recently named by NASA as a Center for Excellence, Professors Vic Klemas and Xiao-Hai Yan and their students are using satellite technology to take the environment’s pulse from space. These researchers are using
satellite data to address regional and global challenges, from predicting the path of oil spills to monitoring global climate changes.
According to Klemas, director of the Center, "Remote sensing enables us to make large-scale observations of the oceans, the atmosphere, and land ecosystems." For example, Yan, a recipient of one of the National Science Foundation’s prestigious Presidential Faculty Fellow awards, has used satellite data to detect changes in a large area of the western Pacific that may signal the onset of El Niño. This weather pattern brings destructive droughts and floods to many areas of the globe, but earlier detection could save millions of dollars and many lives through increased preparedness.
Satellite imaging has also helped Center researchers measure the effects of ocean circulation on global climate. And the Center is leading the way in using satellite data and images to study land use and its relationship to coastal ecosystem health and to assess the impact of human activity on wetlands and other wildlife habitats. More than 200 specialists from 14 countries have been trained in remote sensing techniques at the Center since its inception in 1976.