ECOSTRESS

ECOSTRESS (Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) is an ongoing scientific experiment in which a radiometer mounted on the International Space Station (ISS) measures the temperature of plants growing in specific locations on Earth over the course of a solar year. These measurements give scientists insight into the effects of events like heat waves and droughts on crops.[1]

ECOSTRESS radiometer

ECOSTRESS radiometer

The instrument that collects this data is a multispectral thermal infrared radiometer. It measures temperatures on the surface of the Earth, rather than surface air temperature.[2][3] Dr. Simon Hook[4] is the Principal investigator of the ECOSTRESS mission and Dr. Joshua Fisher[5] is the Science lead; both are located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).[3] ECOSTRESS data are archived at the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC),[6] which is a data center managed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). ECOSTRESS data are discoverable through various platforms[7] including through LP DAAC's AppEEARS (Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples)[8] tool, which allows users to quickly subset and reproject data into a geographic lat/lot format. The data collected is also published via the open-access TERN Data Discovery Portal in Australia.[3]

The ECOSTRESS radiometer was built at JPL and consisted of 5 spectral bands in the thermal infrared (8-12 micron) and 1 band in the shortwave infrared, which is used for geolocation.[9] ECOSTRESS was delivered to the ISS by the SpaceX Dragon after a launch out of Cape Canaveral, Florida on 29 June 2018[10] The Dragon arrived at the space station on 3 July 2018.[10] The radiometer was mounted on the station's Kibo module. The radiometer constituted about 550 kg (1,210 lb) of the 2,700 kg (6,000 lb) of cargo on board the Dragon.[11] Other cargo included spare parts for the Canadarm2 robotic arm, as well as other equipment and supplies.[1]

key science questions

The key science questions that ECOSTRESS is addressing include:

  1. How is the terrestrial biosphere responding to changes in water availability?
  2. How do changes in diurnal vegetation water stress impact the global carbon cycle?
  3. Can agricultural vulnerability be reduced through advanced monitoring of agricultural water consumptive use and improved drought estimation?

Team Members

The original ECOSTRESS Science Team included Dr. Glynn Hulley (JPL)[12] and scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Dr. Andrew French[13] and Dr. Martha Anderson.[14] Other science team members include Drs. Eric Wood (Princeton),[15] Rick Allen (University of Idaho),[16] and Chris Hain (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center).[17] ECOSTRESS is the first Earth Venture mission to establish an Early Adopters Program, which provided its members with early access to provisional data and opportunities to collaborate with other ECOSTRESS users in a Slack channel. As of August 2019, the Early Adopters Program has transitioned to the ECOSTRESS Community of Practice, with over 250 members.

Science data products

Science data products produced by ECOSTRESS include:

Data Product Description Pixel Size* Temporal

Resolution (days)

ECO1BRAD.001 Radiance 70 x 70 Over continental United States and target areas**, every 1–7 days
ECO1BATT.001 Attitude and Ephemeris
ECO1BMAPRAD.001 Projected Radiance
ECO1BGEO.001 Geolocation
ECO2LSTE.001 Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity
ECO2CLD.001 Cloud mask
ECO3ETPTJPL.001 Evapotranspiration (PT-JPL model enhanced)
ECO3ANCQA.001 Ancillary Data Quality
ECO3ETALEXIU.001 Evapotranspiration (ALEXI model enhanced) 30 x 30***
ECO4ESIPTJPL.001 Evaporative Stress Index derived from L3_ET_PT-JPL 70 x 70
ECO4ESIALEXIU.001 Evaporative Stress Index derived from L3_ET_ALEXI 30 x 30***
ECO4WUE.001 Water Use Efficiency 70 x 70
* More accurately referred to as pixel spacing resolution (m) because of dependencies on ISS altitude, which varies

** For more info, please visit ECOSTRESS Gmap to see where data has been acquired
*** 70 x 70 is resampled to 30 x 30 (meters)

See also

References
  1. Clark, Stephen (28 June 2018). "Commercial SpaceX cargo capsule readied for launch Friday". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. "ECOSTRESS Maps LA's Hot Spots". ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 18 September 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. "UQ center's data used in space station study of global climate" (Press release). University of Queensland. Retrieved 2 October 2018 – via EurekAlert!.
  4. Dr. Simon Hook
  5. Dr. Joshua Fisher
  6. Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC)
  7. discoverable through various platforms
  8. AppEEARS
  9. https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/instrument
  10. "ECOSTRESS Launches to Space Station on SpaceX Mission". NASA/JPL. Retrieved 13 August 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. "ECOSTRESS launches to space station on SpaceX mission" (Press release). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2 October 2018 – via Phys.org.
  12. Dr. Glynn Hulley (JPL)
  13. Dr. Andrew French
  14. Dr. Martha Anderson
  15. Drs. Eric Wood (Princeton)
  16. Rick Allen (University of Idaho)
  17. Chris Hain (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center)
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