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The US Corn Belt just received a glowing report. A new study helps confirm that the Midwest is one of the most productive regions on Earth. The findings are based on a new way of estimating plant productivity from space. The method uses chlorophyll fluorescence data, which is a measurement of the amount of light a plant emits during photosynthesis. The light appears as a faint glow that's invisible to the naked eye, but can be detected by satellites. In 2013, a team of researchers led by NASA scientists demonstrated that plant fluorescence could be accurately mapped using satellite data. Now, the measurements are being applied for the first time to assess the productivity of croplands around the world.