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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

Interactive Biogenic Emissions and Drought Stress Effects on Atmospheric Composition in NASA GISS ModelE

Drought is a hydroclimatic extreme that causes perturbations to the terrestrial biosphere and acts as a stressor on vegetation, affecting emissions patterns. During severe drought, isoprene emissions are reduced. In this paper, we focus on capturing this reduction signal by implementing a new percentile isoprene drought stress (y d ) algorithm in NASA GISS ModelE based on the MEGAN3 (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature Version 3) approach as a function of a photosynthetic parameter (V c,max ) and water stress (β). Four global transient simulations from 2003–2013 are used to demonstrate the effect without y d (Default_ModelE) and with online y d (DroughtStress_ModelE). DroughtStress_ModelE is evaluated against the observed isoprene measurements at the Missouri Ozarks AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) site during the 2012 severe drought where improvements in the correlation coefficient indicate it is a suitable drought stress parameterization to capture the reduction signal during severe drought. The application of y d globally leads to a decadal average reduction of ∼ 2.7 %, which is equivalent to ∼14.6 Tg yr -1 of isoprene. The changes have larger impacts in regions such as the southeastern US. DroughtStress_ModelE is validated using the satellite ΩHCHO column from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and surface O 3 observations across regions of the US to examine the effect of drought on atmospheric composition. It was found that the inclusion of isoprene drought stress reduced the overestimation of ΩHCHO in Default_ModelE during the 2007 and 2011 southeastern US droughts and led to improvements in simulated O 3 during drought periods. We conclude that isoprene drought stress should be tuned on a model-by-model basis because the variables used in the parameterization responses are relative to the land surface model hydrology scheme (LSM) and the effects of y d application could be larger than seen here due to ModelE not having large biases of isoprene during severe drought.

drought stress effects↗
NASA NTRS2018

Diverging Importance of Drought Stress for Maize and Winter Wheat in Europe

Understanding the drivers of yield levels under climate change is required to support adaptation planning and respond to changing production risks. This study uses an ensemble of crop models applied on a spatial grid to quantify the contributions of various climatic drivers to past yield variability in grain maize and winter wheat of European cropping systems (1984-2009) and drivers of climate change impacts to 2050. Results reveal that for the current genotypes and mix of irrigated and rainfed production, climate change would lead to yield losses for grain maize and gains for winter wheat. Across Europe, on average heat stress does not increase for either crop in rainfed systems, while drought stress intensifies for maize only. In low-yielding years, drought stress persists as the main driver of losses for both crops, with elevated CO2 offering no yield benefit in these years.

Europe↗
NASA NTRS1979

Relationship of red and photographic infrared spectral radiances to alfalfa biomass, forage water content, percentage canopy cover, and severity of drought stress

Red and photographic infrared spectral data were collected using a handheld radiometer for two cuttings of alfalfa. Significant linear and non-linear correlation coefficients were found between the spectral variables and plant height, biomass, forage water content, and estimated canopy cover for the earlier alfalfa cutting. The alfalfa of later cutting experienced a period of severe drought stress which limited growth. The spectral variables were found to be highly correlated with the estimated drought scores for this alfalfa cutting.

Tucker, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Methodology to Assess the Changing Risk of Yield Failure Due to Heat and Drought Stress Under Climate Change

While the understanding of average impacts of climate change on crop yields is improving, few assessments have quantified expected impacts on yield distributions and the risk of yield failures. Here we present the relative distribution as a method to assess how the risk of yield failure due to heat and drought stress (measured in terms of return period between yields falling 15% below previous five year Olympic average yield) responds to changes of the underlying yield distributions under climate change. Relative distributions are used to capture differences in the entire yield distribution between baseline and climate change scenarios, and to further decompose them into changes in the location and shape of the distribution. The methodology is applied here for the case of rainfed wheat and grain maize across Europe using an ensemble of crop models under three climate change scenarios with simulations conducted at 25 km resolution. Under climate change, maize generally displayed shorter return periods of yield failures (with changes under RCP 4.5 between −0.3 and 0 years compared to the baseline scenario) associated with a shift of the yield distribution towards lower values and changes in shape of the distribution that further reduced the frequency of high yields. This response was prominent in the areas characterized in the baseline scenario by high yields and relatively long return periods of failure. Conversely, for wheat, yield failures were projected to become less frequent under future scenarios (with changes in the return period of −0.1 to +0.4 years under RCP 4.5) and were associated with a shift of the distribution towards higher values and a change in shape increasing the frequency of extreme yields at both ends. Our study offers an approach to quantify the changes in yield distributions that drive crop yield failures. Actual risk assessments additionally require models that capture the variety of drivers determining crop yield variability and scenario climate input data that samples the range of probable climate variation.

Climate risk assessment↗
NASA NTRS2022

Bryce Canyon Water Resources: Monitoring Vegetation Health and Water Availability in Bryce Canyon National Park for Drought Stress Mitigation Planning

Bryce Canyon National Park is home to groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) that are threatened by a multidecadal drought and increased groundwater extraction due to a spike in tourism. These ecosystems contain unique species that are only found in areas where near-surface groundwater is present, such as aspen groves and fens. These species contribute to the high biodiversity found in Bryce Canyon, which boosts an ecosystem’s productivity and the services it provides to the park. Unfortunately, many of these GDEs are too small to identify with traditional Earth observation platforms and are difficult to physically reach for monitoring purposes. This project partnered with the National Park Service to identify springs and seeps as a proxy for GDEs within Bryce Canyon from 2013–2022. Furthermore, this project tested the feasibility of various methods to detect and monitor springs and seeps and therefore facilitate the partner’s efforts to conserve these ecologically valuable GDEs in Bryce Canyon. The team mapped groundwater discharge with high resolution National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) and assessed park vegetation trends with Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and PlanetScope imagery. In-situ precipitation data and the Western Land Data Assimilation System (WLDAS) were used to produce time series of climatic variables. Seeps and spring locations were predicted using random forest classification and maximum entropy machine learning models.

Groundwater dependent ecosystems↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Monitoring Vegetation Health and Water Availability in Bryce Canyon National Park for Drought Stress Mitigation Planning

Bryce Canyon National Park is home to groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) that are threatened by a multidecadal drought and increased groundwater extraction due to a spike in tourism. These ecosystems contain unique species that are only found in areas where near-surface groundwater is present, such as aspen groves and willows. GDEs contribute to the high biodiversity found in Bryce Canyon, which boosts an ecosystem’s productivity and increases the overall ecological health of the park. Unfortunately, many GDEs in this area are too small to identify with traditional Earth observation platforms and are difficult to physically reach for identification and monitoring. NASA DEVELOP partnered with the National Park Service to establish a framework that both identified and assessed the health of GDEs within Bryce Canyon from 2013–2022. The team used high-resolution PlanetScope and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) to map springs, seeps, and GDEs. Modeled data from the Western Land Data Assimilation System (WLDAS) and in situ precipitation data were used to produce time series of climatic variables for the National Park Service to gain an understanding of how the GDEs are changing with the ongoing drought. This study is essential to the goal of the National Park Service to conserve the health of these GDEs.

Aaron Carr↗
NASA NTRS2004

Eo-1 Hyperion Measures Canopy Drought Stress In Amazonia

The central, south and southeast portions of the Amazon Basin experience a period of decreased cloud cover and precipitation from June through November. There are likely important effects of seasonal and interannual rainfall variation on forest leaf area index, canopy water stress, productivity and regional carbon cycling in the Amazon. While both ground and spaceborne studies of precipitation continue to improve, there has been almost no progress made in observing forest canopy responses to rainfall variability in the humid tropics. This shortfall stems from the large stature of the vegetation and great spatial extent of tropical forests, both of which strongly impede field studies of forest responses to water availability. Those few studies employing satellite measures of canopy responses to seasonal and interannual drought (e.g., Bohlman et al. 1998, Asner et al. 2000) have been limited by the spectral resolution and sampling available from Landsat and AVHRR sensors. We report on a study combining the first landscape-level, managed drought experiment in Amazon tropical forest with the first spaceborne imaging spectrometer observations of this experimental area. Using extensive field data on rainfall inputs, soil water content, and both leaf and canopy responses, we test the hypothesis that spectroscopic signatures unique to hyperspectral observations can be used to quantify relative differences in canopy stress resulting from water availability.

Asner, Gregory P.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

RGB Imaging as a Tool to Monitor Indoor Crop Plant Production

Future crop production in space will require robust monitoring technologies that can optimize crop yield, reduce waste, and generate data for an automated plant growth design. Imaging has been suggested as a tool for measuring plant health, yet imaging systems for indoor crops have not been tested in spaceflight. Fortunately, RGB images of crop plants growing inside the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) aboard the ISS have already been captured. In ground-based studies, the Kennedy Space Center (NASA, KSC) is collaborating with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA ARS) to develop an imaging system for monitoring indoor crop plant health. In one study, we applied a drought stress to ‘Dragoon’ lettuce plants over a period of 14 days and captured RGB images in 24 h increments. Images were analyzed, and by applying a difference index, the images were able to be used to detect the drought stress in lettuce. This difference index was then applied to RGB images collected inside the APH ground unit for a pre-flight experiment growing ‘Outredgous’ lettuce under different substrate moisture conditions, and results showed that the RGB camera was capable of detecting drought stress inside the spaceflight plant growth hardware. These results suggest that RGB cameras already deployed to space may offer valuable information for monitoring plant production in extraterrestrial environments. This research was supported by NASA’s space biology program.

Rachel Tucker↗
NASA NTRS2008

Using Hyperspectral Imagery to Identify Turfgrass Stresses

The use of a form of remote sensing to aid in the management of large turfgrass fields (e.g. golf courses) has been proposed. A turfgrass field of interest would be surveyed in sunlight by use of an airborne hyperspectral imaging system, then the raw observational data would be preprocessed into hyperspectral reflectance image data. These data would be further processed to identify turfgrass stresses, to determine the spatial distributions of those stresses, and to generate maps showing the spatial distributions. Until now, chemicals and water have often been applied, variously, (1) indiscriminately to an entire turfgrass field without regard to localization of specific stresses or (2) to visible and possibly localized signs of stress for example, browning, damage from traffic, or conspicuous growth of weeds. Indiscriminate application is uneconomical and environmentally unsound; the amounts of water and chemicals consumed could be insufficient in some areas and excessive in most areas, and excess chemicals can leak into the environment. In cases in which developing stresses do not show visible signs at first, it could be more economical and effective to take corrective action before visible signs appear. By enabling early identification of specific stresses and their locations, the proposed method would provide guidance for planning more effective, more economical, and more environmentally sound turfgrass-management practices, including application of chemicals and water, aeration, and mowing. The underlying concept of using hyperspectral imagery to generate stress maps as guides to efficient management of vegetation in large fields is not new; it has been applied in the growth of crops to be harvested. What is new here is the effort to develop an algorithm that processes hyperspectral reflectance data into spectral indices specific to stresses in turfgrass. The development effort has included a study in which small turfgrass plots that were, variously, healthy or subjected to a variety of controlled stresses were observed by use of a hand-held spectroradiometer. The spectroradiometer readings in the wavelength range from 350 to 1,000 nm were processed to extract hyperspectral reflectance data, which, in turn, were analyzed to find correlations with the controlled stresses. Several indices were found to be correlated with drought stress and to be potentially useful for identifying drought stress before visible symptoms appear.

Hutto, Kendall↗
NASA NTRS1984

Pithiness in plants: I. The effect of mechanical perturbation and the involvement of ethylene in petiole pithiness in celery

Mechanical perturbation (MP) applied to celery (Appium graveolens L. cv. Florida 683) leaf petioles or ethephon application to the plant did not induce thigmomorphogenesis (inhibition of elongation and increase in thickness of the petiole). However, the two treatments did cause the parenchyma breakdown which leads to pithiness or increased natural pithiness, mainly at the base of the petiole. Nevertheless, MP (but not ethephon) decreased the severity of drought-stress or GA3-induced pithiness. Although MP stimulates ethylene production, mainly at the middle part of the petiole, it seems that the protection by MP of the petiole may not be directly mediated by ethylene production. The exposure of the plant to drought stress brought about an increase in ethylene evolution. Upon reirrigating the plants, the first steps of pithiness were accompanied by a sharp decline in ethylene production. This decrease might be due to membrane disruption. The increase in ethylene production during drought stress may be one of the events which stimulate pithiness of the celery leaf petiole.

Plant Growth Regulators/pharmacology↗
NASA NTRS1982

Atmospheric effects on radiation reflected from soil and vegetation as measured by orbital sensors using various scanning directions

Ground-measured spectral reflectance data for Avondale loam and drought-stressed and unstressed wheat were converted into digital counts for spectral bands 5 and 7 of the Landsat Multispectral Scanner System (MSS). For dry loam, the differences between ratios of MSS bands 7-5 as determined from space and from ground level measurements were 2.3 percent for clear and 5.6 percent for turbid atmospheric conditions. By contrast, for wet loam the differences were 10.4 and 29.5 percent. It is found that atmospheric conditions may cause a delay of from 3 to 7 days in the discrimination between drought-stressed and unstressed wheat. For oblique angle observations the atmospheric modification of ground-measured reflectances increased with angle at a greater rate in the 0/180 deg azimuth than in the 90/270 deg azimuth. Implications of this result are discussed for oblique angle Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT), Mapsat, future multispectral linear array system imagery, and wide-angle imagery collected from scanners in high-altitude aircraft.

Slater, P. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Discrimination of growth and water stress in wheat by various vegetation indices through a clear a turbid atmosphere

Reflectance data were obtained over a drought-stressed and a well-watered wheat plot with a hand-held radiometer having bands similar to the MSS bands of the LANDSAT satellites. Data for 48 clear days were interpolated to yield reflectance values for each day of the growing season, from planting until harvest. With an atmospheric path radiance model and LANDSAT-2 calibration data, the reflectance were used to simulate LANDSAT digital counts (not quantized) for the four LANDSAT bands for each day of the growing season, through a clear (approximately 100 km meteorological range) and a turbid (approximately 10 km meteorological range) atmosphere. Several ratios and linear combinations of bands were calculated using the simulated data, then assessed for their relative ability to discriminate vegetative growth and plant stress through the two atmospheres. The results show that water stress was not detected by any of the indices until after growth was retarded, and the sensitivity of the various indices to vegetation depended on plant growth stage and atmospheric path radiance.

Jackson, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Relationship of crop radiance to alfalfa agronomic values

Red and photographic infrared spectral data of alfalfa were collected at the time of the third and fourth cuttings using a hand-held radiometer for the earlier alfalfa cutting. Significant linear and non-linear correlation coefficients were found between the spectral variables and plant height, biomass, forage water content, and estimated canopy cover. For the alfalfa of the later cutting, which had experienced a period of severe drought stress which limited growth, the spectral variables were found to be highly correlated with the estimated drought scores.

Tucker, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Siberian Pine Decline and Mortality in Southern Siberian Mountains

The causes and resulting spatial patterns of Siberian pine mortality in eastern Kuznetzky Alatau Mountains, Siberia were analyzed based on satellite (Landsat, MODIS) and dendrochronology data. Climate variables studied included temperature, precipitation and Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) drought index. Landsat data analysis showed that stand mortality was first detected in the year 2006 at an elevation of 650 m, and extended up to 900 m by the year 2012. Mortality was accompanied by a decrease in MODIS derived vegetation index (EVI).. The area of dead stands and the upper mortality line were correlated with increased drought. The uphill margin of mortality was limited by elevational precipitation gradients. Dead stands (i.e., >75% tree mortality) were located mainly on southern slopes. With respect to slope, mortality was observed within a 7 deg - 20 deg range with greatest mortality occurring on convex terrain. Tree radial incrementmeasurements correlate and were synchronous with SPEI (r sq = 0.37, r(sub s) = 80). Increasing synchrony between tree ring growth and SPEI indicates that drought has reduced the ecological niche of Siberian pine. The results also showed the primary role of drought stress on Siberian pine mortality. A secondary role may be played by bark beetles and root fungi attacks. The observed Siberian pine mortality is part of a broader phenomenon of "dark needle conifers" (DNC, i.e., Siberian pine, fir and spruce) decline and mortality in European Russia, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. All locations of DNC decline coincided with areas of observed drought increase. The results obtained are one of the first observations of drought-induced decline and mortality of DNC at the southern border of boreal forests. Meanwhile if model projections of increased aridity are correct DNC, within the southern part of its range may be replaced by drought-resistant Pinus silvestris and Larix sibirica.

tree die-off↗
NASA NTRS1986

Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) from plant foliage

The fluorescence spectra and fluorescence induction kinetics of green plants excited at 337 nm by a laser were studied. They correlate with plant type, as well as with changes in the physiology of the plant as the result of stress. The plant types studied include herbaceous dicots, monocots, hardwoods, conifers, and algae. These plant types could be identified on the basis of differences in either the number of fluorescent bands or the relative intensity of the bands. Differences in fluorescent spectra which could be related to vigor status are observed in conifers located in an area of high atmospheric deposition. Changes in the fluorescence spectra and induction kinetics are also seen in plants grown under conditions of nutrient deficiency and drought stress.

Chappelle, E. W.↗