From Space to Soil: How NASA Sees Forests

Music: "Overview Effect," "All In Stride," Universal Production Music. NASA utilizes advanced satellite lidar technology to better understand and observe Earth’s forests—crucial ecosystems that absorb roughly 30 percent of atmospheric carbon. Remote sensing scientist, Laura Duncanson, explains the challenge of studying vast, remote regions where traditional field research is limited. For over 50 years, satellites like Landsat have tracked forest cover, but have lacked the ability to measure how much carbon these forests contain. That’s where NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission comes in. GEDI provides high-resolution 3D data on tree canopy height, canopy structure, and surface elevation, allowing scientists to determine forest biomass. However, based on GEDI’s orbit on the International Space Station (ISS), it is unable to capture data near Earth’s poles. To fill that gap, NASA uses the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), which, although not originally designed for forests, provides complementary 3D forest data, especially in boreal regions. Together, the two lidar systems enable the first comprehensive global biomass map, revealing where and how much carbon is being lost or regained in forests. With this new understanding comes smarter conservation and restoration efforts, assisting in identifying carbon-rich areas to prioritize protection. With these NASA Earth science missions, we can see a clearer global picture of our planet and its carbon balance. Find out more about NASA’s Earth Sciences Division at https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth.This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by external sources (see list below) is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html Complete transcript available.

Music: "Overview Effect," Universal Production Music. NASA uses satellite lidar technology to study Earth’s forests, key carbon sinks. The GEDI mission maps forest height and biomass from the ISS, while ICESat-2 fills polar data gaps. Together, they enable a first-of-its-kind global biomass map, guiding smarter forest conservation and carbon tracking.Find out more about NASA’s Earth Sciences Division at https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth.This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by external sources (see list below) is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.htmlComplete transcript available.