Strategies for Open and Permanent Access to Scientific Information in Latin America: Focus on Health and Environmental Information for Sustainable Development

Environmental satellite data: Applications for the study of the physical environment and biodiversity, Marinez Ferreira de Siqueira, Angélica Giarolla and Lúcia G. Lohmann

Scientific research is becoming more and more dependent on environmental satellite data of geostationary orbit (GOES and METEOSAT) and polar orbit (NOAA, TERRA and AQUA). The information received through these stations is pre-processed and stored as database and this data is then used to generate information to monitor climate and development of new products. Specifically in the case of surface research, data on soil humidity, vegetation indices and evapo-perspiration are of major importance for the evaluation of the energy exchange between the surface and the atmosphere. Furthermore, this data provides critical information for studies on the physical environment such as biological species niche modeling, the forecast of the harvest of agricultural cultures and agricultural zoning, among others. In the specific case of biodiversity niche modeling, surface data has greatly improved the quality and applicability of the models generated. Another major contribution of remote sensing data relates to the fact that it can contribute data for areas that no longer present surface data. The presentation will address the use of vegetation indices and soil humidity data to model the potential distribution of selection species in poorly collected areas in South America.

Sponsors
  • The Global Alliance for Enhancing Access to and Application of Scientific Data in Developing Countries, of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, UN G@ID
Organizers
  • U.S. National Committee for CODATA
  • Brazilian National Committee for CODATA.
  • CODATA Task Group on Preservation of and Access to Scientific and Technical Data in Developing Countries