As part of the Water Institute's WaterTalks lecture series Dr. Nima Pahlevan, Chief research scientist from Terrestrial Information Systems Lab at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) will present "Aquatic Remote Sensing: The Past, Present, and Future.”
More information
Satellite data are becoming increasingly popular amongst water resource managers for timely and informed decision-making ranging from aquaculture services to Harmful Algal Monitoring (HAB) monitoring. With remarkable improvements in their design and performances compared to their predecessors, recently launched moderate-resolution optical imagers (~ 30m), including Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2, are able to make robust radiometric measurements over bodies of water. Despite advancements in ocean color science/technology, remote sensing in optically complex waters is still facing many challenges. In this presentation, I will present NASA Goddard’s recent research activities relevant to optical remote sensing of inland and nearshore coastal waters spanning interconsistency analyses of Landsat-Sentinel-2 observations/products, use of machine learning for the retrievals of near-surface chlorophyll-a and total suspended solids (TSS), international round-robin exercises, and NASA – United Nations Environment Program collaboration on promoting the use and validation of satellite data products for sustainable development goals 6.6.1/6.3.2 reporting/monitoring. I will further provide our perspectives on the challenges and opportunities and reflect on more advanced future national and international missions applicable for inland and nearshore waters.
Speaker Bio
Nima Pahlevan is a remote sensing scientist with the Terrestrial Information Systems Lab at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Formerly had been trained in geospatial engineering and remote sensing, Dr. Pahlevan earned a Ph.D. in Imaging Science from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where he received extensive training in optical/thermal imaging from scene acquisition to image processing/reconstruction. Prior to joining GSFC in 2014, Dr. Pahlevan finished a two-year postdoctoral term working on insitu and satellite-based ocean color measurements at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Pahlevan’s main area of research lies within aquatic remote sensing, algorithm developments, calibration/validation, and applied sciences pertaining to water quality. Pahlevan is a member of Landsat Science Team, CEOS Cal/Val activities, and the Surface Biology Geology (SBG) formulation team and is leading multiple active NASA/USGS research/application projects.