10. Lidar Remote Sensing Investigation of Coastal Forest Structure, Hydrology, and Ecology
The postdoctoral fellow will investigate the role of geomorphic and hydrologic variation on the ecology of coastal forests through the use of airborne lidar and multi/hyperspectral remote sensing methods. The incumbent will benefit from several ongoing projects that involve close collaborations with the National Park Service and NASA Wallops Flight Facility. Research will focus on:
- Establishment and validation of new methods for the very high resolution, three-dimensional mapping for coastal vegetation and topography based on the integration of temporally resolved NASA laser sounding with multispectral digital camera imagery and hyperspectral scanning. The NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Lidar (EAARL) sensor package will provide this suite of coincident aerial remote sensing observations, through a collaboration with W. Wright of NASA Wallops Flight Facility.
- Use of merged laser–spectral airborne remote sensing in understanding the role of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on coastal forest ecosystem structure and function across a variety of spatial and temporal scales. The resulting new capabilities for the fine scale mapping and monitoring of terrestrial coastal habitats and landforms will be important to ecosystem restoration across a range of climatic conditions. For example, related research is being carried out in coastal maritime forests at Assateague Island, MD, mangrove forests around Tampa Bay and the Florida Everglades, FL, and in highly diverse coastal tropical forests in the Florida Keys.
The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to become involved in ongoing research on the application of remotely sensed data to 1) develop accurate estimates forest structure (stem density, stem size, biomass, canopy and sub-canopy architecture) using remotely sensed data, and 2) relate variability in structural metrics of the forest to disturbance history, to geomorphic and hydrologic variation, and to hydrologic restoration in the Florida Everglades.
Remote Sensing Methods Research: Aerial photography yields information about the top of the forest canopy, but not what is below it. Hemispherical canopy photographs (upward looking photos, taken with a 180o fish-eye lens) can provide detailed information about the vertical structure of the canopy and lower strata of the forest, particularly when taken at several levels in the canopy. However, hemispherical photos are very time consuming to collect and process. Small foot footprint airborne "green" lidars with the capability to capture each laser reflection at high range resolution (e.g., the NASA EAARL) have extremely high and largely untapped potential to quantify forest structure and yield fine scale classifications of coastal vegetation. The objective for the remote sensing research to be conducted by postdoctoral fellow is to create new methods for evaluating forest structure based on NASA EAARL laser canopy sounding merged with multi- and hyperspectral imaging at spatial resolution finer than 20 cm in the horizontal and vertical. The goal is to develop high-resolution, GIS data layers of forest structure and related lidar-based metrics that can then be related to similar data layers concerning geomorphic and hydrologic parameters.
Study of the Structure, Hydrology and Ecology of Coastal Vegetation: The structure of coastal forests is influenced by a number of factors, however the geomorphology and hydrology of the site seem to be the dominant controls. On barrier islands, geomorphic stability leads to forests of greater stature and higher biomass. In the mangrove forests of Florida hydrologic controls are important, as are both small (lightning) and large-scale (hurricanes) disturbance. The objective for the ecological research to be conducted by the Mendenhall Fellow is to determine the geomorphic and hydrologic parameters most responsible for influencing coastal forest structure.
Ongoing research projects in coastal forests are examining factors that regulate forest structure at the stand level, and developing methods to measure forest stand characteristics across large spatial scales. Both are needed by Park and Wildlife Refuge managers to make informed decisions regarding the resources under their control. For example, in the Florida Everglades a 7.8 billion dollar ecosystem restoration program has recently been initiated, and has created a need to understand the likely impacts of increased freshwater flow on coastal forests in the Everglades. Similarly, on National Seashores along the US northeast coast (e.g., Assateague Island, Fire Island, Cape Cod) NPS natural resource manager require a better understanding of forest structure variation in relation to elevation, slope, aspect, and site stability. Such knowledge, and the aerial remote sensing methods that work under this opportunity is intended to advance, are important to resource managers of protected natural areas.
Proposed Duty Station: St. Petersburg, FL
Areas of Ph.D.: Geography, forestry, ecology
Qualifications: Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications: Research Geographer, Research Ecologist, Research Forester
(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the
occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending
on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final
classification of the position will be made by the Personnel specialist.)
Research Advisor(s): John C. Brock, (727) 803-8747, ext. 3088, jbrock@usgs.gov; Thomas J. Smith III, (727) 803-8747, ext. 3130, Tom_J_Smith@usgs.gov
Personnel Office contact: Rosetta Alexander, (703) 648-7468, ralexand@usgs.gov
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2006/opps/opp10.html
Direct inquiries to Rama K. Kotra at rkotra@usgs.gov
Maintained by Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Web Team
Last modified: 12:05:45 Tue 24 Aug 2004
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