KECK INSTITUTE FOR SPACE STUDIES

       

Unlocking a New Era in Biodiversity Science: Linking Integrated Space Based and In-Situ Observations - Part II

March 18 - 22, 2019
California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, CA 91125

Workshop Map

Workshop Overview:

The first workshop of the KISS study program “Unlocking a New Era in Biodiversity Science: Linking Integrated Space Based and In-Situ Observations” was held October 1-5, 2018, at the Keck Institute on the Caltech campus. The workshop was attended by 32 scientists, engineers and technologists. A series of short courses on biodiversity and remote sensing were presented to establish a baseline of common knowledge among participants coming from different fields. During this first workshop, discussions included NASA and NSF programmatic goals relevant to biodiversity, opportunities afforded by new and planned remote sensing missions, and new measurements, biodiversity issues associated with various levels of organization, and current capabilities associated with in situ collections from station networks and field collections. The attendees articulated a need for discovery science that would explore and develop capabilities associated with integrating in situ biodiversity data with datasets from existing and planned remote sensing missions and various types of ancillary collections and models. These discussions culminated in an identified need for implementing a biodiversity monitoring system that would support biodiversity science, integrating disparate airborne and satellite remote sensing datasets, tower data, in situ measurements and field observations consistently across spatial and temporal scales. Flexibility and a range of options in how users interface with remote sensing data were considered as key components of the envisioned system and may drive technology development needs. Such a system would include a ‘sandbox’ that would allow scientists to flexibly apply different models to data streams at different scales and levels of biodiversity organization, facilitating associated discovery science. Towards the end of the meeting, participants began working towards developing ‘case studies’ that could help illustrate aspects of the applications and importance of the biodiversity monitoring system while helping to define associated workflows.

The second workshop is scheduled for the week of March 18, 2019. This workshop will address how the biodiversity and remote sensing communities can work together to implement a biodiversity monitoring system. Our goal is to define an overall architectural construct supporting this vision and its specific components. We will identify needed technological and scientific breakthroughs that may be required and avenues for pursuing those breakthroughs. Going forward, we seek to develop a strategy that will utilize archived, current, and planned remote sensing datasets, including Hyperion, Sentinel-1/2, ECOSTRESS, GEDI, HSUI, and SIF from OCO3, integrated with ground data from stations and field collections, including “supersites” where long-term data collection is well-supported. Integration methods and modeling components that can inform the developing NASA SBG and NISAR flagship missions and ESA’s BIOMASS mission are critical to the discussion, as well as exploring new mission concepts and capabilities. We anticipate pursuing a number of avenues that would support needed technology development and science advancements that enable capabilities of the biodiversity monitoring system. We will define specific case studies and associated workflows wherein we can demonstrate the utility of the mission concept. We will embrace efforts to integrate GEO BON as facilitator.


Monday, March 18, 2019
Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 ‐ 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 ‐ 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
Check in for workshop, pick up badge and welcome packet, find seat in the Think Tank
9:00 - 9:30 Workshop Logistics Michele Judd
Team Leads
9:30 ‐ 10:00 Participant Introductions Michele Judd
10:00 ‐ 10:30 Recap and Defining Details of Workshop #1 Team Leads
10:30 ‐ 11:00 Break
11:00 ‐ 11:45 Way Forward and Study Vision, Goals, and Expectations for Workshop #2 Team Leads
11:45 ‐ 12:30 Finalize Workshop Goals via Plenary Discussion, Review Agenda and Replan as Needed, Solicitation of Lightning Talks Team Leads
12:30 ‐ 2:00 Group Picture and Lunch at the Athenaeum
2:00 - 2:40 Discuss Observatory Concept Including Review of Working Groups and Workflows Jeannine Cavender‐
Bares and
Gary Geller
2:40 ‐ 3:20 Special Talk: Biodiversity Models Simon Ferrier
3:20 - 3:30 Selection of Groups and Topics for Breakout Session #1 All
3:30 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 5:30 Breakout Session #1 Groups
5:30 - 5:45 Recap and Discuss Direction for Day 2 Team Leads
5:45 - 6:00 Pack up and walk to the Athenaeum's Rathskeller All
6:00 Dinner at the Athenaeum's Rathskeller

Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 ‐ 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 ‐ 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day Michele Judd
Team Leads
9:15 - 10:00

Group Report outs from Breakout Session #1 (15 mins each)

Groups
10:00 - 10:30 Lightning Talks (two talks, 15 minutes each) TBD by participants
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 ‐ 11:40 Special Talk: The NEON Network Kate Thibault
11:40 ‐ 12:20 Special Talk: The ForestGeo Network Helene Muller‐Landau
12:20 ‐ 12:30 Selection of Groups and Topics for Breakout Session #2 All
12:30 ‐ 2:00 Lunch at the Athenaeum
2:00 ‐ 3:15 Breakout Session #2 Groups
3:15 ‐ 3:45 Break
3:45 ‐ 4:15 Group Report outs from Breakout Session #2 (10 mins each) Groups
4:15 ‐ 4:45 Group pulse and selection of groups and topics for Breakout Session #3 All
4:45 ‐ 5:45 Breakout Session #3 Groups
5:45 ‐ 6:00 Recap and Discuss Direction for Day 3 Team Leads
6:00 OPTIONAL: Informal no host dinner in Pasadena

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 ‐ 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day Michele Judd and Team Leads
9:15 - 9:45

Group Report outs from Breakout Session #3 (10 mins each)

Groups
9:45 ‐ 10:20 Special Talk: The TERN Network Brad Evans
10:20 ‐ 10:30 Lightning Talk (1) TBD by Participants
10:30 ‐ 11:00 Break
11:00 ‐ 12:15 Open Discussion of Breakout Group Recommendations and Group Feedback All
12:15 ‐ 12:30 Recap and Discuss Direction for Day 4 Team Leads
12:30 ‐ 4:30 Lunch on your own
VISIT TO LOS ANGELES ARBORETUM
$9 per person and carpool to location
Lunch on your own
FREE TIME
4:30 ‐ 5:00 Refreshments for Technical Lecture ‐ Sharp Lecture Hall ‐ Arms Building, Room 155
5:00 ‐ 6:00 Open Lecture ‐ The Importance of Biodiversity ‐ Perspectives of a Techie
David Thau, Data and Technology Global Lead Scientist ‐ WWF
Sharp Lecture Hall ‐ Arms Building, Room 155
6:00 Lecture Dinner ‐ Athenaeum, Prime Rib Buffet ‐ **Business Casual Dress**

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 - 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day Michele Judd and Team Leads
9:15 ‐ 9:25

Selection of Groups and Topics for Breakout Session #4

All
9:25 ‐ 10:30 Breakout Session #4 Groups
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 ‐ 11:30 Group Report outs from Breakout Session #4 (10 mins each) Groups
11:30 - 12:30 Discussion of Final Report and Report Structure All
12:30 ‐ 2:00 Lunch on your own
2:00 ‐ 2:30 Define writing assignments All
2:30 ‐ 3:30 Writing Session #1 Groups/Individuals
3:30 ‐ 4:00 Break
4:00 ‐ 4:30 Identification of Additional Needed Inputs All
4:30 ‐ 5:30 Writing Session #2 Groups/Individuals
5:30 ‐ 5:45 Recap and Discuss Direction for Day 5 Team Leads
5:45 ‐ 6:00 Pack up and walk to the Athenaeum's Rathskeller All
6:00 Dinner at the Athenaeum Rathskeller (with spouses and significant others)

Friday, March 22, 2019

Keck Center - Think Tank, Room 155

Time
Event
Speaker
8:00 - 8:30 Institute Opens - FREE THINK TIME
8:30 - 9:00 Coffee and Refreshments at Keck Center
9:00 - 9:15 Logistics and Team Lead Goals for the Day Michele Judd and Team Leads
9:15 - 10:30

Writing Session #3

Groups/Individuals
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 ‐ 11:30 Identification of Additional Needed Inputs All
11:30 - 12:30 Writing Session #4 Groups/Individuals
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch at the Institute
1:30 - 2:00 Discussion of Final Report Imagery All
2:30 ‐ 3:30 Writing Session #5 Groups/Individuals
3:30 - 4:00 Break
4:00 - 4:45 Discussion on Path Forward for Collaboration, Advocacy throughout the Community and To‐Do List for Completion of Final Report All
4:45 - 5:00 Workshop Closeout Michele Judd
5:00 Workshop Concludes

Workshop Participants:

  • Sara Beery – Caltech
  • Laura Bertola – CCNY
  • Jeannine Cavender-Bares – University of Minnesota
  • Pat Comer – NatureServe
  • David Coomes – University of Cambridge
  • Brad Evans – The University of Sydney
  • Néstor Fernández - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
  • Simon Ferrier – CSIRO, Canberra
  • Gary Geller – JPL
  • Erin Hestir – UC Merced
  • Kyle McDonald – The City College of New York
  • José Eduardo Meireles – University of Maine
  • Charles Miller - JPL
  • Enrique Montes – University of South Florida
  • Helene Muller-Landau – Smithsonian Institution, Tropical Research Institute
  • Ruth Oliver – Yale University
  • Monica Papeş – University of Tennessee
  • Ryan Pavlick – JPL
  • Naiara Pinto – JPL
  • Erika Podest – JPL
  • David Schimel – JPL 
  • Fabian Schneider - JPL
  • Anna Schweiger - University of Minnesota, Saint Paul
  • Gary Spiers – JPL
  • Derek Tesser – CUNY
  • David Thau – WWF  
  • Kate Thibault – NEON Network
  • David Thompson – JPL
  • Phil Townsend – University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Woody Turner – NASA Headquarters