{"id":22149,"date":"2020-11-24T14:35:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T21:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=22149"},"modified":"2020-11-24T14:36:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T21:36:43","slug":"california-partners-with-nasas-jet-propulsion-laboratory-to-enlist-earth-observing-satellite-data-in-climate-change-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/11\/24\/california-partners-with-nasas-jet-propulsion-laboratory-to-enlist-earth-observing-satellite-data-in-climate-change-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"California partners with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to enlist Earth-observing satellite data in climate change efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Space-Based Observations Will Help Inform Action on Sea-Level Rise, Forest Health, Biodiversity, Carbon Emissions and More <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new partnership with Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) will help state agencies better understand climate change impacts and identify opportunities to build resilience, conserve biodiversity and use California\u2019s natural and working lands to store and remove carbon from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The California Natural Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency and California Department of Food and Agriculture have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)<\/a> with JPL that will allow the state to access a growing body of data from Earth-observing satellites and other ground-based technologies. The trove of remote-sensing data \u2013 including information collected by the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite<\/a> launched on November 21 \u2013 will be used to understand current conditions, predict future vulnerabilities and inform actions to boost climate resilience. (A short video about the MOU is available here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MOU will support the state\u2019s efforts under Governor Gavin Newsom\u2019s recent executive order<\/a> to advance strategies to store carbon in the natural and working lands and remove it from the atmosphere. It will also help support California\u2019s first-in-the-nation goal to conserve 30 percent of the state\u2019s land and coastal water by 2030 to fight species loss and ecosystem destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agencies and NASA JPL will explore opportunities to use data to better forecast and combat climate-driven impacts such as sea-level rise, extreme drought, wildfire risk, severe storms and depleted groundwater basins. They will also assess how space-based observations and models can inform actions to address impacts on agriculture and food security and to evaluate carbon emissions, stocks and sinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJPL is among the world\u2019s leaders in understanding our planet and the impacts occurring due to climate change,\u201d California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to see this collaboration that will enable JPL\u2019s remote-sensing satellites aerial imaging and ground-based monitoring to improve California\u2019s ability to protect communities and nature and lead the world in combating climate change and species loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalifornia is the home of innovation, whether it\u2019s our agricultural products and practices or our scientific institutions,\u201d California Secretary for Agriculture Karen Ross said. \u201cUtilizing JPL\u2019s technology to do real-time monitoring of carbon stocks and to understand what\u2019s happening with groundwater and our surface waters is a huge step forward \u2013 both in helping us achieve our climate goals and in ensuring sustainability for the next generation of agriculture in California.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalifornia\u2019s climate agenda is a science-driven one, so the more data we have and the more granular that data is the better our decisions will be,\u201d California Secretary for Environmental Protection Jared Blumenfeld said. \u201cWe are not playing on the margins anymore. The time for small, incremental action is over. We need to take bold actions that really reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other climate pollutants quickly. And we need bold partnerships like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith this MOU, we\u2019re excited to further our collaboration with the state, using technology to scale up measurements to tackle the challenges of the coming decades,\u201d JPL Director for Earth Science Jim Graf said. \u201cJPL\u2019s unique air- and space-based science can provide California the much-needed data to keep our ecosystems and forests healthy, manage our limited freshwater resources and aid efforts to keep our agricultural sector thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collaborative relationship with NASA JPL will provide useful remote-sensing information in critical areas including, but not limited to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n