The eastern United States is well known for its widespread show of vibrant foliage each autumn. But western states grow more than just evergreen pines and palms; they also display some spectacular fall color.
Biosphere - Maps & Data
My NASA Data (MND) provides online resources to help teachers and students access NASA data in a variety of formats. MND offers pre-generated graphs, mapped visualizations, animations, and processed data based on NGSS phenomena, providing the learner with the opportunity to explore concepts without being encumbered by visualization interfaces. These flexible resources provide guiding questions and other teacher tools so you can use them to open or close your class activity.
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Featured Phenomenon: Plant Growth Patterns
We often take the Biosphere for granted and as the climate changes, plant species and ecosystems respond by adapting, migrating or reducing their population. Why is this important? The plants of the Biosphere feed us, clothe us, absorb carbon dioxide, provide us with oxygen,
Vegetation Index Map
The colors on these maps show a measure of the "greenness" of Earth's landscapes. The values on these maps—ranging from -0.1 to 0.9—have no unit.
Global Seasonal Vegetation on Land and Sea
Students explore the seasonal differences of vegetation found on land and sea.
Seasonal Leaf Area
One of the key "vital signs" of Earth's vegetation is the total green leaf area for a given ground area. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites collects global Leaf Area Index (LAI) data on a daily basis.
Seasonal Vegetation
The colors on these maps show a measure of the "greenness" of Earth's landscapes. The values on these maps—ranging from -0.1 to 0.9—have no unit.
Seasonal Chlorophyll Concentrations
Tiny plants called phytoplankton grow in the sunlit waters of the ocean's surface. Like all plants, phytoplankton contain chlorophyll, a pigment that transforms sunlight into energy the plant can use. This same pigment gives phytoplankton their greenish color.
Stability and Change: Far Out Flora (2014)
The Earth's system exemplifies stability and change. Change and rates of change can be observed and quantified over very short or long periods of time and at various spatial scales (e.g., from landscape level to global processes).
Cause and Effect: Secret Life of Forests (1984-2011)
Identifying cause and effect relationships can help us make predictions about the function of natural systems and their impact on the world. These relationships, whether simple or complex, are vital for forecasting weather and predicting Earth events in new contexts.
Earth System Data Explorer - Plant Growth Patterns
Visualize NASA data on a custom map using our Earth System Data Explorer to generate your own maps and graphs. See the Dataset in LAS to see the range of datasets supporting this phenomenon.
Recent Topic at NASA
Three-dimensional measurements of the central Brazilian Amazon rainforest have given NASA researchers a detailed window into the high number of branch falls and tree mortality that occur in response to drought conditions.
In a May morning, a gray-haired woman counts the opened blooms on the bud clusters of a lilac branch that is just starting to release its sweet fragrance. She then goes into her house to access an Internet site, where she logs today as the "first bloom" date of her lilac plant.
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