terraPulse

If you’ve made it this far (and, ahem, survived last night’s festivities), we’ve got one more terraPulse presentation at #AGU2024 for you. Come see Chief Technology Officer Min Feng’s work using #deeplearning to identify small #water bodies in high-resolution satellite imagery. Investigating small water bodies in the extreme environments of polar regions Min Feng, terraPulse & Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Yijie Sui, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Jinhao Xu, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Yanan Su, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Zhimin Hu, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kuo Zhang, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Xin Li, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences H53N-1293, Hall B-C 1:40 - 5:30 PM Friday, December 13 2024 Abstract The abundant inland surface waters grace the extreme environments of polar regions, particularly the pan-Arctic and the Third Pole (i.e., Tibetan Plateau). These numerous small water bodies are vital for both the environment and human societies, yet they face significant vulnerability to climate change. A comprehensive investigation of these waters, including the often-overlooked smaller ones, paints a more complete picture of a region's surface water. In polar regions, where artificial water bodies are rare, the majority of these small wonders are naturally formed, such as glacial lakes and thermokarst lakes. This natural origin makes them highly sensitive to climate change, including natural wet-dry cycles. As these regions experience the fastest warming on Earth, with massive meltwater from rapid glacier loss, studying their water bodies offers crucial insights into future water resource availability. This information is critical for identifying mitigation actions to address the water crisis threatening the sustainability of both polar regions and the world. This study presents an approach for effectively identifying small water bodies in extreme polar environments using meter-resolution satellite data and deep learning algorithms, significantly enhancing our ability to delineate small water bodies and their morphological attributes. The approach has been applied to regions in the pan-Arctic and the Tibetan Plateau, generating a new water body dataset for these extreme environments. This dataset provides a more complete representation of surface water in these regions compared to existing regional datasets, particularly in delineating small water bodies, with superior accuracy in reporting size, number, and perimeter attributes.

Accelerated Biomass Loss in Western US Woodlands Due to Shifting Fire Regime based on the terraPulse annual time-serial #biomass dataset Shike Zhang, University of Michigan Neil Carter, University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability Joe Sexton, terraPulse, Inc. Panshi Wang, terraPulse Inc Kai Zhu, University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability Abstract: Wildfires govern the distribution of biomass across Earth’s surface and drive losses of carbon from the land surface to the atmosphere. Although the mechanisms of exchange between terrestrial and atmospheric pools are comparatively well-understood, regional accounting of terrestrial carbon fluxes has been challenged by the scarcity of data representing both the spatial and temporal distribution of terrestrial carbon. We estimated aboveground live biomass density (Mg/ha) at 30-meter, annual resolution across the US states of Utah and Nevada from 2000 to 2022 in order to quantify biomass pools and fluxes across a large aridity gradient. Time-serial biomass maps showed accelerated loss of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere, and stratification of fire history across land cover classes revealed a shift in fuel consumption from low-biomass grasses and shrubs in the early season to higher-biomass woodlands and forests later in the growing season. These patterns reveal a shortening of fire return intervals and expansion of burning into both the later season and higher-biomass vegetation communities, and they are suggestive of long-term regional aridification. Given the economic impact of ecological disturbances in wildfire-prone states, ecosystem accounting such as this can inform wildfire management and policy from local to global scales. American Geophysical Union #AGU2024

Friends, our Chief Scientist Joe Sexton has not only revealed his position, he has convinced NomadIQ to take down the paywall on our datasets for #AGU2024. Come see Joe at the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration ARID Townhall, and check out our #dryland data layers in NomadIQ: Apple/iOS: https://lnkd.in/eD_QPJFv Android: https://lnkd.in/eR_zEShk

Are you at #AGU2024? Today's poster session will showcase two projects validating and applying terraPulse #biomass and #wildfire data across the Western US: Novel Biomass Product Validated by the US Forest Inventory and Analysis Data (B13G-1624A) Xiuyu Cao, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability Joe Sexton, terraPulse Inc Panshi Wang, terraPulse Inc Kai Zhu, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability Accelerated Biomass Loss in Western US Woodlands Due to Shifting Fire Regime (B13I-1670) Shike Zhang, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability Neil Carter, University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability Joe Sexton, terraPulse Inc Panshi Wang, terraPulse Inc Kai Zhu, University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability Hall B-C (Poster Hall) (Convention Center) Monday, 9 December 2024: 13:40 - 17:30

Recently Forbes interviewed terraPulse's Giuseppe Berlanda about the European Union's Deforestation Regulation, as well as its impact on small agricultural producers and the ability of new technologies to level the playing field. While #EUDR promises to curb global #deforestation, it also has the potential to reshape global trade. Concerns are most pressing for the ability of smallholders to compete under the added administrative burden. Compliance for producers of coffee, cocoa, natural rubber, and other key commodities hinges on data collection to prove their products do not result from deforestation. A potential adverse outcome is that companies will be excluded not by their environmental impacts, but rather on their ability to report. As currently written, EUDR has three main criticisms: 1. Reporting would require costly data collection, potentially excluding small producers from #supplychains. 2. Country-wide risk assessments fail to account for local sustainability practices, unfairly penalizing responsible producers in low-risk regions. 3. Larger corporations who perceive penalties as manageable may delay compliance investments, and non-compliant producers may redirect exports to less-regulated markets. These market adaptations could undermine the regulation’s deterrent effect. Given the challenges, how can we move forward? Since 2014, terraPulse has pioneered remote sensing of deforestation from local to global scales. This technology promises to streamline compliance, enabling cost-effective monitoring of deforestation, and allowing smallholders to compete in the new regulatory environment. For EUDR, three solutions are clear: 1. Increase the resolution of risk assessments to accurately represent deforestation risks at the scale of production. 2. Integrate modern satellite monitoring into certification schemes (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council, Rainforest Alliance, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)) for cost-effective transparency. 3. Extend compliance timelines for smallholders, enabling them to adapt without undue burden. The article was published in the November 13th issue of the digital edition of Forbes Russia. A PDF of the transcript is attached, and a link to the full article is in the comments section below.

Wildfire hazard at 30-meter, annual resolution? Don’t just take our word for it. See for yourself on NomadIQ, in both the Google and Apple App Stores.

What can you see in 40 years of tree and #forest cover, #NDVI, and #biomass data covering 1078 islands spanning 17 ecoregions across the world's oceans? As it turns out, in the right hands, you can see the effects of removing harmful invasive species on #biodiversity and #carbon. A scientific paper describing the world's first global system to monitor ecosystem effects of invasive species eradications was published last week in the journal #EnvironmentalResearchLetters. The paper was led by terraPulse scientist Miroslav Honzák and coauthored by Chief Scientist Joe Sexton and Chief Technology Officer Min Feng, who developed the remote sensing algorithms and global data system, as well partners from Island Conservation, FLINTpro, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland , and ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes. The system, which is now in active operation, leverages 40 years of #NASA #Landsat and other data to retrieve ecological histories for each island, monitor present conditions, and detect changes in key variables due to removal of nonnative herbivores and other harmful exotic species. Thanks to Salesforce Nature Accelerator, Predator Free 2050 Limited, Clare Foundation, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and others for their investment and support of this milestone in the progress of Earth science to action! Read Island Conservation's press release here: https://lnkd.in/eX-VC6gY And read the full peer-reviewed, open-access article here: https://lnkd.in/dCgZeNqG

How do agricultural producers ensure their products comply with #EUDR? (deadlines, links and relevant bibliography in the comments) 🔸The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) deadline is fast approaching: in less than six months, organizations will need to master the Deforestation Due Diligence Registry (1) and its related technicalities (2,3). 🔸Most companies contacting us have one main concern that prevents them from taking action: are they better off trusting publicly available datasets, or should they level up to a private advisors? The abundance of resources available online, let alone the surge of new start-ups offering services, is certainly tempting. However, a more forward-looking and intelligent approach is imperative. 🔸Remote sensing solutions that do not rely on scientifically based models (4) including accurate local calibrations and expert validations, may produce inaccurate results and eventually be proven non-compliant by EU authorities. 🔸Companies violating the regulation may face penalties, including fines of up to 4% of their annual EU turnover. In addition, they may face confiscation of revenues and temporary exclusion from public procurement and funding for up to one year. 🔸Based on 20+ years’ experience and over 100 peer-reviewed publications, terraPulse provides geolocated records of historical and current deforestation by applying artificial intelligence to satellite imagery. Visualized through the terraView dashboard and shared through the terraServe API, terraPulse datasets map the history, status, and potential of every land parcel with local accuracy and global consistency. 🔸Published as the world’s first in 2013, now at 10-meter x monthly resolution, the terraPulse Tree Cover layer enables quantitative monitoring of forest #harvests, #clearing, #thinning and #degradation as well as #afforestation, #reforestation and #growth. 🔸With over 15,000 scientific citations, terraPulse data products provide EUDR-ready solutions with the highest #accuracy available on the market. Do you have any doubts to clarify? Get in touch with Giuseppe Berlanda Please find relevant links and bibliography in the comments section. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 June 2024 - Training videos September 2024 - User manuals October 2024 - Training sessions November 2024 - Registration opens for the Deforestation Due Diligence Registry December 2024 - The Deforestation Due Diligence Registry will be opened to all users 30th December 2024 - The EUDR regulation becomes effective

This just in! terraPulse has been selected to provide satellite remote sensing on a $70M Geospatial Services Contract with the USDA Forest Service. The contract, led by GeoOwl and including Dewberry and Spatial Informatics Group, LLC., will give the USFS unprecedented access to terraPulse's groundbreaking #forest, #habitat, #biomass, and #wildfirerisk monitoring and evaluation services across the 762,000 km^2 National Forest System and adjacent lands. Our past successes with the Forest Service include forest #MRV in the Philippines and dynamic wildfire risk and wildlife habitat mapping in the western US. We're looking forward to increasing the scope, accuracy, and precision of forest mapping across the US and the world. Let's get started!

Reflecting on Past Success: FLINTpro and terraPulse   Beginning in 2021, the companies undertook pioneering projects for #carbon accounting within the UN #REDD+ methodology for The World Bank and other partners.   As a result of the teams’ joint efforts, the governments of Belize and The Philippines now have comprehensive and accurate greenhouse gas inventories. This #digitalMRV solution helps the nations track their progress in mitigating emissions and implementing sustainable practices.   Why has FLINTpro selected terraPulse as their partner? FLINTpro's Chief Science & Innovation Officer, Rob Waterworth, outlined four main reasons:   🛰 "Strategically speaking, what matters is not the most initially accurate result… but the most adaptive solution". The capacity of the terraPulse algorithm to produce initial results quickly and then adapt to expert local data resonated with FLINTpro." Robert praised our commitment to continuous calibration, validation, and improvement, which ensures innovation in carbon accounting and adapts solutions to changing needs. 🛰 "At terraPulse, they know what they’re talking about". Robert emphasized terraPulse's profound expertise in both machine learning, ecology, and forest management, affirming our capability to deliver knowledgeable insights. 🛰 "Scalability is the key". He praised terraPulse for the genuine scalability of our solutions, both technically and economically, demonstrating adaptability to diverse contexts. 🛰 "They understand what is realistic and what is not". In an industry that often confuses the desirable with the achievable, terraPulse excels at conducting rigorous analyses, understanding nuance, and advising its clients toward solutions that are both sustainable for the planet and for their business bottom line.   To learn more about global, national, and local digital MRV solutions at terraPulse, contact Giuseppe Berlanda for a demo and consultation.