WEBVTT FILE

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.430


2
00:00:01.450 --> 00:00:09.020
Hurricane Maria transformed the lush rainforests of Puerto Rico

3
00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:16.920
leaving lots of openings in the forest canopy.

4
00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:22.920
NASA scientists studied the island’s forests before and after the storm.

5
00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.080


6
00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:29.980
Goddard’s Lidar, Hyperspectral, and Thermal imager is a portable instrument

7
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.220
that maps forest health and structure from a small airplane

8
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:41.180
resulting in detailed 3-D views of the forest.

9
00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:47.820
G-LiHT sends out 600,000 laser pulses every second,

10
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:52.980
mapping leaves and branches, rocks and streams.

11
00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.480


12
00:00:55.500 --> 00:01:01.080
Almost 60% of the canopy trees lost branches, snapped in half, or were uprooted.

13
00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:02.540


14
00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:09.130
Trees with wide, spreading crowns were reduced to a slender main trunk.

15
00:01:09.150 --> 00:01:14.650
Forests in Puerto Rico are now one-third shorter, on average, after Hurricane Maria.

16
00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:16.720


17
00:01:16.740 --> 00:01:23.180
The disturbances affected the whole ecosystem, from soils and streams to birds and frogs.

18
00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:24.980


19
00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:33.120
G-LiHT data will help scientists understand how forests and wildlife respond to future changes.

20
00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:38.620
[beeping]

21
00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:39.991