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Title: Remote sensing and holocene vegetation: History of global change

Journal Article · · World Resource Review
OSTI ID:78110
 [1];  [2]
  1. National Aeronautics Space Administration, Moffet Field, CA (United States). Ames Research Center
  2. Univ. Bamberg (Germany)

Predictions of the future evolution of the earth`s atmospheric chemistry and its impact on global circulation patterns are based on global climate models (GCMS) that integrate the complex interactions of the biosphere, atmosphere and the oceans. GCMs must be tested beyond the short-term record of climate and environment to insure that predictions are based on trends and therefore are appropriate to support long term policy making. An appropriate timeframe should extend over the Holocene period (the last 10,000 years) when most contemporary climate and environmental processes began. Since its inception in 1916, pollen analysis has successfully reconstructed the paleoecology of the last 10,000 years for many sites around the world, thus providing a powerful time-link between short and long-term processes in the biosphere. However, pollen analytic results cannot be used in physiological models driven by remotely sensed data. Further, modern ecology and climate data are necessary to calibrate pollen analytical models. A new approach to calibration was attempted by D`Antoni and Spanner in 1993. By calibrating modern pollen data southern Patagonia with satellite remote sensing data they produced predictive models of reflectance in the red (RED) and near infrared (NIR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

OSTI ID:
78110
Journal Information:
World Resource Review, Vol. 7, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English