Description

In this introductory course led by NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training program (ARSET), participants are provided with an overview of carbon monitoring for terrestrial ecosystems. This includes background information about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and development of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) program. 

This course covers products from Landsat, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Sentinel, and other satellites and sensors commonly used for land management applications.

This course also provides information about carbon estimation techniques and conducting accuracy assessments on these estimates. There are also demonstrations of tools for carbon monitoring, such as NASA’s Carbon Mapper. Finally, guidance on reporting and verification of carbon estimates and the larger role of carbon markets are discussed, as well as additional guidance on resources available to participants.

Prerequisites

• Fundamentals of Remote Sensing

Objectives

Participants will gain a basic understanding of carbon monitoring and estimation, its global importance, and learn to acquire and use remote sensing imagery, including:

• Techniques for estimating carbon
• Developing accuracy assessments
• Reporting and verifying carbon estimates

Target Audience

This training is for local, regional, state, federal and international organizations interested in assessing and reporting carbon estimates using satellite imagery.

Course Format

• Five 1.5-hour parts

Sessions

Part 1: Overview of Carbon Monitoring for Terrestrial Ecosystems

Thursday, June 9, 2016

An overview of policy on carbon monitoring, importance of forest monitoring (IPCC Greenhouse Gas Inventories and REDD+), performing a key category analysis, and elements of National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS).

Materials

• Part 1 Presentation Slides (PDF, 9.8 MB)

Materiales en Español

• Diapositivas de la Presentación de Parte 1 (PDF, 14.1 MB)

Part 2: Sensors and Products Available for Terrestrial Ecosystems

Thursday, June 16, 2016

An overview of available satellite sensors and products available to monitor terrestrial ecosystems, pre-processing imagery requirements, image classification and change detection, considerations for NFMS sustainability, and a demonstration of NASA's Carbon Mapper.

Materials

• Part 2 Presentation Slides (PDF, 25.1 MB)
• Part 2 Homework

Materiales en Español

• Diapositivas de la Presentación de Parte 2 (PDF, 28.4 MB)

Part 3: Carbon Estimation Techniques and Methods

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Designing a field campaign to collect carbon pool information, ground data collection and use in estimating carbon pools, the use of remote sensing in supporting the National Forest Inventory, and how to derive carbon emissions.

Materials

• Part 3 Presentation Slides (PDF, 32.1 MB)

Materiales en Español

• Diapositivas de la Presentación de Parte 3 (PDF, 35.9 MB)

Part 4: Accuracy Assessment

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Developing an accuracy assessment, calculating accuracy statistics, and a demonstration of the Boston Education in Earth Observation Data Analysis (BEEODA) tools.

Materials

• Part 4 Presentation Slides (PDF, 9.3 MB)
• Part 4 Homework

Materiales en Español

• Diapositivas de la Presentación de Parte 4 (PDF, 10.4 MB)

Part 5: Guidance, Reporting, and Verification

Thursday, July 7, 2016

An overview of guidance resources – methods and guidance documentation (MGD), REDDCompass, and GOFC-GOLD SourceBook – and reporting and future perspectives, including the role of carbon markets and carbon emission reporting from the forest sector.

Materials

• Part 5 Presentation Slides (PDF, 11.8 MB)

Materiales en Español

• Diapositivas de la Presentación de Parte 5 (PDF, 14.4 MB)