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    Seeing Photosynthesis From Space

    July 24th, 2013

    For complete transcript, click here. Hi-res version of animation sequence seen in video. Hi-res version of Earth rotation animation with star background. NASA scientists have discovered a new way to use satellites to measure what's occurring inside Earth's land plants at a cellular level.During photosynthesis, plants emit what is called fluorescence – a form of light invisible to the naked eye but detectable by satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth. NASA scientists established a method to turn this satellite data into global maps of the subtle phenomenon in more detail than ever before.The new maps – produced by Joanna Joiner of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and colleagues – provide a 16-fold increase in spatial resolution and a 3-fold increase in temporal resolution over the first proof-of-concept maps released in 2011. Improved global measurements could have implications for farmers interested in early indications of crop stress, and ecologists looking to better understand global vegetation and carbon cycle processes."For the first time, we are able to globally map changes in fluorescence over the course of a single month," Joiner said. "This lets us use fluorescence to observe, for example, variation in the length of the growing season." For More InformationSee [http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/seeing-photosynthesis-from-space-nasa-scientists-use-satellites-to-measure-plant-health/#.UfAY01NCXy8](http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/seeing-photosynthesis-from-space-nasa-scientists-use-satellites-to-measure-plant-health/#.UfAY01NCXy8) Related pages

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    Fluorescence Visualizations in High-Resolution

    July 24th, 2013

    Land plant fluorescence across North America and South America Land plant fluorescence in South Africa Land plant fluorescence across Europe and East Asia Land plant fluorescence in North America Land plant fluorescence in the UK Land plant fluorescence in Africa Solar Induced Fluorescence color bar. Range is 1 to 6 with dark gray at the low end through reds and pink to white at the high end. During photosynthesis, plants emit fluorescence – a form of light invisible to the naked eye but detectable by satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth. NASA scientists established a method to turn this satellite data into global maps of the subtle phenomenon in more detail than ever before. The new maps, released in 2013, provide a 16-fold increase in spatial resolution and a 3-fold increase in temporal resolution over the first proof-of-concept maps released in 2011. This lets scientists use fluorescence to observe, for example, variation in the length of the growing season.A visualization of the phenomenon shows global land plant fluorescence data collected from 2007 to 2011, combined to depict a single average year. Gray indicates regions with little or no fluorescence; red, pink and white indicate regions of high fluorescence. Related pages

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