Radio Chatter: PPA is engaged
Radio Chatter: And we're radiating.
Narration: One of the best ways to track how an environment is changing
is to observe it from above.
But where weather
and vegetation can make it difficult to see the ground with the naked eye,
specialized radar can pierce the clouds to give us a crystal clear
look at the landscape.
This special device - weighing nearly 1.000 lbs -
collects data about soil moisture, vegetation, permafrost
and other environmental processes on the ground below.
In fact, it's so precise that NASA developed a special system
for pilots to fly the exact same flight path year after year
to get an accurate reading as to how a landscape is changing over time.
Dr. Hoy: So with the airborne data, we can target exactly where we want to go
and exactly when we want to go there.
And we get very high resolution data so we can have a really clear picture
of what's on the ground.
Narration: That's Dr. Liz Hoy,
Senior Scientist for NASA's ABoVE Mission.
ABoVE has spent the last seven years studying environmental changes
in the Arctic and boreal regions.
The mission uses satellite, airborne and ground data
to get a complete picture of what is unfolding in these ecosystems.
Dr. Hoy: So our satellite data gives us a very broad picture of what's happening
all over the landscape.
And then with our airborne data,
we can target specific locations and times when we want to get imagery.
And then we can compare both our satellite and our airborne data
with what's happening on the ground.
And we have teams actually out on the ground making measurements.
And putting all that together
is really where we get a lot of the power of what we're able to study.
Narration: And it all gets put together in Alaska.