NASA laser probe to map forests in 3D and help limit deforestation

NASA is developing a new space probe that will produce a 3D map of the world’s forests, in a move that will lead to a better understanding of the carbon cycle, reduce deforestation and improve climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar laser probe will be based at the International Space Station.

The earth’s forests are invaluable for the environment with an estimated 25 per cent of all carbon emissions absorbed by the biosphere, mainly trees.

There is doubt among scientists as to how much carbon how much carbon is stored in forests and GEDI, with its advanced laser-based system, will enable accurate calculations to be made with mapping of all forests with remarkable precision.

Bryan Blair, the deputy principal investigator for GEDI at Goddard, said: “Lidar has the unique ability to peer into the tree canopy to precisely measure the height and internal structure of the forest at the fine scale required to accurately estimate their carbon content.”

GEDI’s calculations and mapping will allow experts to estimate how much carbon may be released by the destruction of certain forests and will also help to work out how much carbon can be removed from the air through the planting of new trees, according to NASA.

Recent analysis conducted with NASA 3D mapping technology, suggested that the carbon stored in the world’s forests could be valued in the region of £2.77 trillion.

The Carbomap study used a forest in Costa Rica as a sample and found that forest biomass may contain much more carbon than originally thought.

A separate study published last month concluded that global carbon emissions would fall by a fifth if deforestation in the tropics ceased.

The lidar instrument is scheduled to be completed in 2018 and will be the first to systematically map the earth’s forests from space.

The data captured will be studied against historical records of changes on Earth captured by orbiting satellites and other studies that have measured the composition of forests.

Patrick O'Shea, vice president and chief research officer at the University of Maryland, the institution that will be leading the research, said: "GEDI lidar will have a tremendous impact on our ability to monitor forest degradation, adding to the critical data needed to mitigate the effects of climate change.”