El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico Canopy Change Nadir View (2017-2018)
- Written by:
- Alex Kekesi and
- Ellen T. Gray
- Scientific consulting by:
- Doug C. Morton
- Produced by:
- Matthew Radcliff
- View full credits
Animation that does of a low fly over of El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico. The entire animation is split screen showing the 2017 data on top and 2018 on bottom. Notice the dense lush forest canopy in 2017 and how it covers and shades much of the forest floor. However, in 2018, after Maria devastated the forest in late 2017, the tree canopy has been greatly thinned exposing much more of the forest floor.
The extensive damage to Puerto Rico's forests had far-reaching effects, Morton said. Fallen trees that no longer stabilize soil on slopes with their roots as well as downed branches can contribute to landslides and debris flows, increased erosion, and poor water quality in streams and rivers where sediments build up.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Data visualizers
- Alex Kekesi (GST) [Lead]
- Cindy Starr (GST)
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
Writer
- Ellen T. Gray (NASA/HQ) [Lead]
Scientist
- Doug C. Morton (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
Producer
- Matthew Radcliff (KBRwyle) [Lead]
Technical support
- Ian Jones (ADNET)
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET)
Data provider
- Hyeungu Choi (GST)
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Datasets used in this visualization
Airplane LiDAR (A.K.A. LiDAR 3D point cloud) (Collected with the G-LiHT sensor)
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