Measuring plant health from space by FLEX

By Stefan Mühlbauer



FLEX is the name of an ESA satellite that is planned to be launched in 2022 in order to measure vegetation health from space. FLEX refers to fluorescence.

Fluorescence
Very generically, fluorescence is the spontaneous emission of light by a substance that has absorbed some kind of elextromagnetic radiation (for instance light). It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength and therefore less energy than the absorbed radiation. A very well known example of fluorescence occurs when the absorbed radiation is in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum and therefore invisible to the human eye while the emitted light is in the visible region, which gives the fluorescent substance a distinct colour that can only be seen when exposed to UV light.


Chlorophyll fluorescenceChlorophyll fluorescence refers to the light that is emitted by chlorophyll molecules during photosynthetic energy conversion from an excited to non-excited states induced by absorption of sun light. It occurs in all higher plants and algae. The conversion of solar energy into biochemically usable energy carriers (ATP and NADPH) is a complex and highly regulated sequence of light absorption, electron transfer and biosynthesis. The photochemical conversion is accompanied by a release of energy in form of heat and fluorescence. The properties of fluorescence can be measured and relate to the photosynthetic activity of plants.

Chlorophyll fluorescence is a well investigated effect. For instance, it is known that Chlorophyll fluorescence indicates most types of plant stress – water availability, extreme temperatures, etc. In plant physiology and ecophysiology “[…]chlorophyll fluorescence has become one of the most powerful and widely used techniques”[1].
Chlorophyll fluorescence in plants has two peaks occurring at wavelengths around 685nm (photosystem I) and 740nm. The full chlorophyll emission spectrum hence covers a wavelength range from red to near infrared between ~640-800nm.

FLEX
The fluorescence explorer, FLEX, is designed to measure the fluorescence of plants from space and will thereby yield important information on plant health and improve the understanding of the way carbon moves between plants and the atmosphere and how photosynthesis affects the carbon and water cycles.
FLEX will carry the Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (FLORIS) that covers the effective range of chlorophyll fluorescence between 500 and 780nm with varying spectral sampling and resolution of 0,1nm and 0,3nm respectively in the oxygen absorption bands. The spatial resolution will be 300x300m² covering the scale of individual agricultural and forestry management units.

Following a rigorous selection process, the satellite will be ESA’s eighth Earth Explorer, planned for launch by 2022. The FLEX satellite will orbit in tandem with one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites, taking advantage of its optical and thermal sensors to provide an integrated package of measurements.

Jan Woerner, ESA’s Director General, said, “FLEX will give us new information on the actual productivity of vegetation that can be used to support agricultural management and the development of a sustainable bioeconomy. It will therefore help to understand our ecosystem.”

Fluorometer used to measure plant stress in the field, an aready used practice.

Fluorescence image of adaxial leaf surface (32 x 24 mm) measured with IMAGING-PAM chlorophyll fluorometer. Wikipedia

Vegetation plant stress.

ESA Report for mission selection

1: Maxwell K., Johnson G.L., 2000: Chlorophyll fluorescence – a practical guide. Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.51, No.345, pp. 659-668

Source: Geoawesomeness

EJSCREEN: Understanding the Connection Between the Environment and Demographics

BY ELIZABETH BORNEMAN



The Environmental Protection Agency has released a new mapping application that allows users to investigate environmental and demographic information about the places they live, work and play. The app, called EJSCREEN, intersects data sets from recent censuses and environmental maps to help users understand the relationship between the environment and demographics.

EJSCREEN utilizes 12 different environmental indicators, six demographic indicators, and 12 environmental justice (EJ) indexes which pair an environmental indicator with a demographic indicator. This allows users to obtain color coded mapping and reports for the specific locations they have selected to look at using the app. The app can then compare these specific reports to state data, regional data and national averages.

The app’s environmental indicators include areas of water pollution, air particulates, and can combine this data with the physical features of a city like factories that may be contributing to particular environmental problems. Demographic information using census data can indicate various economic, social, and ethnic divides in a city and pair them with environmental factors.

The motivation behind the creation of the app is environmental justice; the idea that everyone has the right to live in healthy and happy environments. Unfortunately, factors like income and socioeconomic status can expose people to higher levels of pollutants than those who live in wealthier areas of a city or state. The idea of environmental discrimination can now begin to be quantified after years of scientific speculation.

The app is used by scientists and policy makers as well as community members looking to improve the environmental quality of their communities. The app is the first consistent environmental tool for the Environmental Protection Agency to use that smaller environmental agencies can also utilize in their own conservation efforts. While far from perfect, the app is an important step in developing a greater understanding of the intersection between demographics and the environment in the United States.

References

EJSCREEN – Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA Has a New Tool For Mapping Where Pollution and Poverty Intersect (2015, July 14).

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GeoDigital, FLoT Systems, and Environmental Consultants Inc. (ECI) Partner for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-based Utility Asset Inspection Program

First comprehensive remote asset inspection program combines UAV-collected data, software and utility expertise to safely and efficiently perform virtual inspections






ATLANTA, June 4th, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — GeoDigital, FLōT Systems, and Environmental Consultants Inc. (ECI) have formed a partnership to bring utilities remote asset inspection capabilities via Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) – also known as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The program combines high-resolution imagery collected by FLōT Systems’ beyond line-of-sight capable UAV, analytics and location-based work management software from GeoDigital, and virtual inspection of those images with utility vegetation and asset management expertise from ECI.


For the first time, utilities will be able to assess critical infrastructure on both electric distribution and transmission facilities, as well as on pipelines by using UAVs, commonly known as drones, to pinpoint possible risks to their infrastructure. In doing so, utilities can improve service reliability, increase employee and public safety and best ensure regulatory compliance.


“We believe UAS will become an invaluable tool in helping utilities manage their infrastructure and the environment around it,” said FLōT Systems’ CEO Chris Vallier. “As specialists in the utility industry, we have been developing the ability to utilize long-range unmanned aircrafts to more safely and efficiently collect higher value facility information than with traditional methods.” With respect to the regulatory environment, Mr. Vallier goes on to say, “We understand how to operate within the current regulatory framework while helping our clients prepare for full-scale commercial activity in the near future.”


“By combining UAV collection and utility inspection expertise with GeoDigital’s virtual asset inspection software, utilities can now enhance their inspection programs by deriving actionable insights from big geospatial data,” said Chris Warrington, President and CEO at GeoDigital. “Virtual inspections use geospatial data, which can now be collected more frequently and safely, so utilities can prioritize remote asset maintenance and repairs using up-to-date data. This geospatially-precise work planning increases reliability and enables safer, more efficient field crew deployments. By going to digital inspections and having a history of all work activity, utilities can achieve significant process improvements and cost savings.”


“Because vegetation and equipment-caused failures are among the top causes of electric distribution system interruptions, our team has focused on providing virtual facility and vegetation inspections as our first end-to-end solution,” said Jim Downie, Executive Vice President of ECI. “For example, imagery collected to virtually identify high-risk trees or equipment maintenance needs can be tracked back to the field using GeoDigital location-based work management software. This is just the first example of the common vision of ECI, GeoDigital and FLōT to enable informed digital decisions that drive real returns for electric and gas utilities and their customers. We anticipate the business case for UAV and other remote inspection methods will further optimize utility engineering and vegetation management by taking advantage of LiDAR and other sensing technologies in the not-too-distant future.”


To find out more visit the company websites below.


About GeoDigital


GeoDigital, a big spatial data and analytics company, helps industries efficiently manage critical assets and the world around them. GeoDigital’s innovative solutions combine 3D maps – built on remote sensing and imaging technologies such as LiDAR – with patented analytics and location-based work management software. By providing precision insights, GeoDigital enables customers to predict threats and prioritize actions to solve complex geospatial challenges. With data-driven confidence, GeoDigital helps to guide people, autonomous cars, machines and infrastructure more safely, reliably and productively.


Founded in 2005, GeoDigital has operations in the United States, Canada, and Australia and its investors include NGP Energy Technology Partners, North Sky Capital, EnerTech Capital and Emerald Technology Ventures. Visit www.geodigital.com/UAV-inspections to find out more about this solution.

About Flōt Systems


Based in Lafayette, Colo., FLōT (pronounced FLOAT) Systems is a UAV-based technology company delivering next-generation aerial inspection systems to electric utilities and other critical industries. FLōT Systems leverages long range UAS that carry precision sensors that are useful in solving many electric utility challenges. FLōT Systems provides turnkey UAS services, FAA expertise for beyond line of sight operations, sensor and integration experience, and UAS software development for the utility industry.


www.flotsystems.com


About Environmental Consultants Inc. (ECI)


ECI provides quality solutions for all aspects of vegetation management, including program assessment, development, crew productivity measurement, environmental assessment, contract vegetation management field specialists, training, expert testimony, and research. We are committed to providing the highest quality state-of-the-art consulting services.


ECI is consistently at the forefront in the development of reliability-focused, risk-based, cost effective utility vegetation management programs. Clients implementing our program initiatives and recommendations have realized dramatic improvements in reliability, significant cost savings, reduced risk, enhance regulatory compliance and overall improvements in operational effectiveness.


Since its founding in 1972, ECI has been recognized as the proven industry leader in the strategic and tactical development of progressive UVM solutions and programs. ECI has successfully provided a wide variety of related consulting services for hundreds of utilities throughout the United States and Canada.

www.eci-consulting.com

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