NASA Scientists Use Satellites to Measure Plant Health

Scientists at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) have found a new way to measure what occurs inside plants at the cellular level by using satellites. Fluorescence, a light emitted by plants during photosynthesis, is invisible to the naked eye but detectable by satellites orbiting above Earth. NASA scientists have established a method to turn this satellite data into global maps with precise detail, which will give them a direct look at plant health.

The new maps, produced by Joanna Joiner and colleagues of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland boast a 16-fold increase in spatial resolution and a three-fold increase in temporal resolution over the first proof-of-concept maps released in 2011 from a different satellite instrument. Joiner said "For the first time, we are able to globally map changes in fluorescence over the course of a single month."

For more details, read the NASA news release at: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/seeing-photosynthesis-from-space-nasa-scientists-use-satellites-to-measure-plant-health/index.html#.UfAj4XeAHhd.