ecological thermodynamic indicators would significantly enhance the understanding
of the characteristics of resilient and adaptable natural environments.
3.9 CONCLUDING REMARKS
In our final remarks in our 1999 paper, we noted that the incorporation of TIR data
into landscape studies offers the prospect to measure the state and dynamics of energy
fluxes across and between landscapes, from the patch to the regional levels. The
utilization of TIR remote sensing in landscape ecological research has indeed, as
illustrated by the numerous references cited herein, made meaningful and significant
progress since the publication of our Landscape Ecology article. The utility of TIR
data is now commonplace and a “known quantity” for application to landscape
ecological research. This is a product of the increased amount of references in the
literature to TIR data in landscape studies, but even more so because of the number of
satellite platforms that have been launched in the last 14 years since our article was
published. Of principal importance have been Landsat TM and ETM+ sensors and
the TIR sensors onboard the NASA Terra Earth-observing platform (i.e., MODIS and
ASTER), where the thermal data from these instruments have been widely used for
analysis of a variety of landscape characteristics. Moreover, the launch of the VIIRS
instrument in 2011 and Landsat 8 in 2013 has increased the overall availability of TIR
data. New NASA missions that will be launched with TIR instruments are outlined in
the National Research Council’s report, “Earth Science and Applications from Space:
National Imperative for the Next Decade and Beyond” (better known as the “Decadal
Survey”) (NAS, 2007), which established a roadmap for developing a suite of Earthobserving satellites in the future. The NRC provided further direction for NASA’s
Earth science missions in its recently published report, “Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA’s Implementation of the
Decadal Survey” (NAS, 2012).
One future mission in particular is important for furthering the use and analysis of
TIR data for landscape assessment—the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI). This
will be a combined hyperspectral/thermal instrument with 213 spectral channels
between 380 and 2500 nm on 10-nm centers, and the TIR sensor will have eight
spectral channels (seven between 7.5 and 12 mm and one at 4 mm). Both instruments will
have a spatial resolution of 60 m and the revisit time for HyspIRI will be 19 and 5 days
for the visible/shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and TIR instruments, respectively.
10 The
HyspIRI mission, therefore, will offer an unprecedented opportunity to obtain highspatial-resolution multispectral TIR data that can be used in landscape ecological and
land surface processes research at revisit times wherein observations of the land surface
can be made at repeat times that to date are unattainable by current NASA Earth science
missions.
10 More in-depth information on the HyspIRI mission can be accessed at the HyspIRI Mission Study
website at http://hyspiri.jpl.nasa.gov/.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
53
of the characteristics of resilient and adaptable natural environments.
3.9 CONCLUDING REMARKS
In our final remarks in our 1999 paper, we noted that the incorporation of TIR data
into landscape studies offers the prospect to measure the state and dynamics of energy
fluxes across and between landscapes, from the patch to the regional levels. The
utilization of TIR remote sensing in landscape ecological research has indeed, as
illustrated by the numerous references cited herein, made meaningful and significant
progress since the publication of our Landscape Ecology article. The utility of TIR
data is now commonplace and a “known quantity” for application to landscape
ecological research. This is a product of the increased amount of references in the
literature to TIR data in landscape studies, but even more so because of the number of
satellite platforms that have been launched in the last 14 years since our article was
published. Of principal importance have been Landsat TM and ETM+ sensors and
the TIR sensors onboard the NASA Terra Earth-observing platform (i.e., MODIS and
ASTER), where the thermal data from these instruments have been widely used for
analysis of a variety of landscape characteristics. Moreover, the launch of the VIIRS
instrument in 2011 and Landsat 8 in 2013 has increased the overall availability of TIR
data. New NASA missions that will be launched with TIR instruments are outlined in
the National Research Council’s report, “Earth Science and Applications from Space:
National Imperative for the Next Decade and Beyond” (better known as the “Decadal
Survey”) (NAS, 2007), which established a roadmap for developing a suite of Earthobserving satellites in the future. The NRC provided further direction for NASA’s
Earth science missions in its recently published report, “Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA’s Implementation of the
Decadal Survey” (NAS, 2012).
One future mission in particular is important for furthering the use and analysis of
TIR data for landscape assessment—the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI). This
will be a combined hyperspectral/thermal instrument with 213 spectral channels
between 380 and 2500 nm on 10-nm centers, and the TIR sensor will have eight
spectral channels (seven between 7.5 and 12 mm and one at 4 mm). Both instruments will
have a spatial resolution of 60 m and the revisit time for HyspIRI will be 19 and 5 days
for the visible/shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and TIR instruments, respectively.
10 The
HyspIRI mission, therefore, will offer an unprecedented opportunity to obtain highspatial-resolution multispectral TIR data that can be used in landscape ecological and
land surface processes research at revisit times wherein observations of the land surface
can be made at repeat times that to date are unattainable by current NASA Earth science
missions.
10 More in-depth information on the HyspIRI mission can be accessed at the HyspIRI Mission Study
website at http://hyspiri.jpl.nasa.gov/.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
53