Hello there!

Welcome to our September Recap Newsletter! In this issue, we are bringing you the latest updates and insights from the NASA Acres Consortium.

Real Ag Radio interview explores how Chief Scientist, Dr. Kaiyu Guan, is leading research on using artificial intelligence to calculate greenhouse gas emissions at the individual farm level

Dr. Kaiyu Guan of the University of Illinois and his team, with funding provided by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), FoodShot Global, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation, are working on a project to approach carbon movement from a whole system approach. It’s a matter of calculating what is coming into the system through photosynthesis of the plants, as well as measuring what is going back into the atmosphere by way of agricultural production, says Guan.

This breakthrough is a critical first step in developing a scalable system for measuring, monitoring, reporting, and verifying agricultural emission. The UIUC group’s findings were recently published in Nature Communications, building upon their visionary framework previously published in Earth-Science Reviews. Dr. Kaiyu Guan is Chief Scientist at NASA Acres, to learn more about his work with the Consortium visit his project page.

Southeastern farmers among those grappling with devastating losses from Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeastern U.S., leaving American farmers squarely in the path of its destruction. The storm’s impact stretched from Florida's Gulf Coast to Georgia, Western North Carolina, and Eastern Tennessee, causing widespread and sever destruction. According to Global AgInvesting Media, damage assessments continue, the hurricane struck at a critical time—just before the harvest of key crops like pecans—leaving many growers facing long-term challenges in its aftermath.

This image from NASA Earth Observatory shows rainfall accumulation over the three-day period ending at 7:59 p.m. Eastern Time (23:59 Universal Time) on September 27, 2024. These data are remotely sensed estimates that come from IMERG (the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM), a product of the GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) mission, and may differ from ground-based measurements. For instance, IMERG data are averaged across each pixel, meaning that rain-gauge measurements within a given pixel can be significantly higher or lower than the average.

The USDA recommends that if you were impacted by Helene or Debby and have Federal Crop Insurance, contact your crop insurance agent as soon as damage to your crop or livestock is suspected.

Job Announcement:

The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern, Switzerland, has multiple post doc opportunities

ISSI invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the space sciences,

including Astrophysics & Cosmology, Heliophysics and Plasma, and Planetary Sciences for a two-year period, ideally starting in January 2025, to be negotiated. The successful candidate should have received a Ph.D. within the last five year in the fields related to the space sciences of Astrophysics & Cosmology, Heliophysics and Plasma, and Planetary Sciences.

Priority deadline is Oct. 31, application open until filled

Funding Announcement:

New Solicitation Released by NASA Earth Science Division: ROSES24 A60 Earth Action: Ecological Conservation

This program element solicits proposals for projects that apply Earth observations to improve or develop decision-making activities in ecological conservation and management. Any area of ecological conservation is welcome (e.g., invasive species, protected area management, fisheries or wildlife management, habitat restoration, ecosystem services, rewilding, biodiversity protection).

Notices of intent are requested by February 14, 2025, and proposals are due March 14, 2025. 

USDA's 101st Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum

February 27-28, 2025

In-Person | Arlington, VA