NASA's EMIT Mission Uncovers Surprising Insights into Global Ecosystems and Climate Change
Pasadena, CA - The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission, launched in July 2022, has been extended to further its mission of mapping global ecosystem biodiversity and understanding the complex relationships between climate change, greenhouse gases, and human activities.
Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of California Institute of Technology, EMIT is an imaging spectrometer that uses the colors of light reflected from Earth's surface to study various fields such as agriculture, hydrology, and climate science. Originally designed to map minerals over deserts, the instrument has been modified to detect greenhouse gas emissions and track changes in snowpack melting rates.
The mission has now collected data on a diverse range of topics, including agriculture, hydrology, and climate science. In June 2023, EMIT captured a hyperspectral image of the Amazon River in northern Brazil as part of an effort to map global ecosystem biodiversity.
"Breakthroughs in optics, physics, and chemistry led to where we are today with this incredible instrument, providing data to help address pressing questions on our planet," said Dana Chadwick, EMIT's applications lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The mission has led to 16 new projects under NASA's Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) program, including research on climate-smart agricultural practices, snowmelt rates, and greenhouse gas emissions.
One project, co-led by the US Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, aims to assess climate-smart agricultural practices using EMIT data. The instrument can gather information on the distribution and characteristics of plants and plant matter based on light reflection patterns, which can help incentivize farmers to adopt sustainable practices.
Another project will test whether EMIT data can refine estimates of snowpack melting rates, which is crucial for water management in regions like California. Researchers will measure the albedo of snow, a key parameter that determines how much energy is taken in by snow.
EMIT will also continue to study dust impacts on climate change. When lofted into the air by windstorms, darker iron-filled dust can absorb heat and warm surrounding air, while lighter-colored clay-rich particles do the opposite.
The mission's data products are available at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center for use by other researchers and the public.