CA State Dominguez Hills

Lynn Fenstermaker, PhD

Women in Science Guest Speaker Series

Monitoring Climate Variability And Impact In NV: What's A PA Country Gal Doing In The Desert?

Preview

1) How did a PA Country Gal become a science geek and end up in the desert? 2) What is the Desert Research Institute?

3) Some of my research projects:

- Monitoring Climate Variability - Impact of Climate on Basin Scale ET - One slide about a “hot” new NV research

1) Early childhood 4-H projects on: geology, fossils, insects and soil conservation

How Did I Become a Science Geek?

2) The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

1st Step West – PSU Soil Judging (Soil Ode to Dean Hay)

Estimating Soil Texture at Practice Pit

All Female (almost) PSU Team Competing at Nat’l Soil Judging Contest in NE

2nd Step West: M.S. Thesis Research in Utah

Diurnal Reflectance and Emittance Characteristics of a Desert Surface

The Move from Rural PA to Urban Desert (Courtesy of Lockheed and Google Earth)

Northeastern PA

Southern NV

Jack of All Trades

B.S. Environmental Resource Management, Soil Science Emphasis Penn State University M.S. Agronomy Remote Sensing Emphasis Penn State University Ph.D. Biological Sciences Physiological Ecology Emphasis University of NV, Las Vegas

What is the Desert Research Institute? Nevada System of Higher Education’s

Global Environment Research Institution

• Foster and conduct fundamental scientific, economic, social or educational investigations and applied research for industry, governmental or private agencies or individuals.

• Encourage and foster a desire in students and faculty to conduct research.

• Discover and develop talent for conducting research.

• Acquire and disseminate knowledge related to the projects undertaken.

• And to promote all research for higher education and State of Nevada

Founded in 1959, the primary purposes of the Institute are to:

• ~559 employees with ~155 research faculty

• Non-tenure / soft-money structure:

• Faculty are not tenured and generate their own salaries (no state-funded positions)

• Faculty bring ~$40M into Nevada’s economy!

• At any given time, DRI conducts about 300 research projects worldwide.

• Over 60 specialized labs & research facilities.

• DRI invests ~ $1.6M annually in non-state dollars for support of UNR and UNLV graduate students.

Entrepreneurial Culture and World Class Facilities

Research Structure Research Divisions:

• Atmospheric Sciences

• Earth and Ecosystem Sciences

• Hydrologic Sciences

Integrated Science Centers:

• Center for Advanced Visualization, Computation, and Modeling (CAVCaM)

• Rogers Center for Environmental Remediation and Monitoring (CERM)

• Watersheds and Environmental Sustainability (CWES)

• Clean Technologies and Renewable Energy Center (CTREC)

NevCAN: Measuring Climate and Environmental Response in the Great Basin

(Nevada Climate-ecohydrological Assessment Network)

Lynn Fenstermaker (DRI) Director Scotty Strachan (UNR) Operations Coordinator

Science Board: J. Arnone (DRI), F. Biondi (UNR), D. Devitt (UNLV), L. Fenstermaker (DRI), R. Jasoni (DRI), B. Lyles (DRI), G. McCurdy (DRI), S. Mensing (UNR), L. Saito (UNR), S. Strachan

NevCAN Goal

Develop standardized infrastructure with real time data collection to: 1) measure and analyze effects of climate variability and

change on ecosystem and disturbance regimes

2) better quantify and model changes in water balance and

supply under climate change

NevCAN Snake Range Transect

Sagebrush West

Subalpine East Sagebrush East

Montane West Subalpine West

Salt Desert Shrub West

Pinyon Juniper West

Great Basin National Park

False Color Infrared Landsat TM May 31, 2007

Salt Desert Shrub East

NevCAN Transect Locations

Snake Range West Transect

NevCAN Snake Range Stations

Elevation = 1790 m; Landholder = Long Now Foundation Artemisia tridentata, Sarcobatus vermiculatus

Elevation = 1757 m; Landholder = BLM Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Artemisia tridentata

Salt Desert Shrub West Sagebrush West

NevCAN Snake Range Stations Pinyon Juniper West Montane West

Elevation = 2810 m; Landholder = Long Now Foundation Abies concolor, Pinus flexilis

Elevation: 2200 m; Landholder: BLM Pinus monophylla, Juniperus osteosperma

NevCAN Snake Range Stations Subalpine West Subalpine East

Elevation: 3355 m; Landholder: Long Now Foundation Pinus longaeva, Pinus flexilis

Elevation: 3070 m; Landholder: GBNP Picea engelmannii, Populus tremuloides

NevCAN Snake Range Stations Sagebrush East Salt Desert Shrub East

Elevation:1560 m, Landholder: BLM, webcam view Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Atriplex confertifolia

Elevation: 1560 m; Landholder: NV Land Trust; Artemisia tridentata, Bromus tectorum

NevCAN Sheep Range Transect

Mojave Desert Shrub

Blackbrush Pinyon Juniper

Montane

Subalpine (NRCS SCAN)

Las Vegas False Color Infrared Landsat TM

May 15, 2007

Sheep Range Transect

All sites on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service property

Elevation: 1670 m; Landholder: US FWS Yucca brevifolia, Atriplex canescens, Coleogyne ramosissima

NevCAN Sheep Range Stations Cont. Mojave Desert Shrub Blackbrush

Elevation: 900 m; Landholder: US FWS Larrea tridentata, Ambrosia dumosa

NevCAN Sheep Range Stations Cont. Pinyon Juniper Montane

Elevation: 2065 m; Landholder: US FWS Pinus monophylla, Purshia stansburiana

Elevation: 2320 m; Landholder: US FWS Pinus ponderosa, Juniperus osteosperma

Site Instrumentation Basic Meteorological Sensors: -Net radiation -PAR -Air Temperature -Relative Humidity -Wind Speed/Direction -Precipitation (Geonor, tipping bucket and ultrasonic snow depth) Soil Sensors: -Soil Temp at 5 depths -Soil Moisture at 5 depths -Soil Matric Potential Plant Sensors: -Sap flow -Point Dendrometers Other: -Surface Runoff -Webcam

Air Temperature

Soil moisture

Basic Sensors

Solar Radiation

CS300 (pyranometer)

Maximum, Minimum, Average, Standard Deviation LI190 (PAR)

Average CNR1 (net radiation: long-/short-wave incoming/outgoing radiation) Average individual components Sensor Body Temperature

Air

HMP50 (relative humidity and air temp) Maximum, Minimum, Average CS106 (barometric pressure)

Average RM Young 05103 (wind speed – direction)

Maximum, Minimum, Average, Vector, Vector Direction, Standard Deviation,

Thermocouples

Air Temperature: 2 and 10 meters Maximum, Minimum, Average Soil Temperature: 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cm Maximum, Minimum, Average

Soil

CS650 (soil water content reflectometer)

Average, Sensor Temperature Conductivity, Salinity

CS229 (soil water matric potential Ψ)

-10 to 2500 kPa

DPHP (dual probe heat pulse; East30Sensors)

(soil thermal conductivity, diffusivity, and specific heat)

Precipitation

TE525 (Tipping bucket)

Event, Accumulation, Sensor Temperature Geonor T200 (precip weighed by vibrating wire)

Frequency, Accumulation Judd (ultrasonic depth sensor – for snow)

Average, Maximum, Minimum, Standard Deviation, Sensor Temperature

Vegetation Sensors

NDVI sensor at Snake Eddy Covariance site

Sap flow sensor at Snake Pinyon-Juniper West

Photo: B. Johnson

Point dendrometer at Snake Subalpine East

Runoff Collectors

Canon PTZ Internet Camera Monitoring of weather, phenology, show melt and sensor conditions

Oct 1, 2011 Mar 19, 2012 May 6, 2012

Snake Subalpine West seasonal changes above Sheep Pinyon Juniper hourly differences of a nearby wildfire

Sept 9, 2011, 12:00 Sept 9, 2011, 16:00

NRCS Soil Description and Characterization

Transect Zone Soil Taxonomy Altitude

(m)

Snake

Salt Desert West Fine-loamy, mixed superactive mesic

Xeric Calciargids 1756

Sagebrush West Loamy-skeletal, mixed superactive,

mesic Xeric Calciargids 1790

Pinyon-Juniper West

Loamy-Skeletal, superactive mesic shallow Cambidic Durixerolls

2200

Montane West Fine, smectitic Xerollic Haplocryalfs 2810

Subalpine West Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive

Calcic Pachic Argicryolls 3355

Subalpine East Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive

Xeric Haplocryolls 3070

Sagebrush East Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive,

mesic Xeric Calciargids 1835

Salt Desert East Fine, smectitic, mesic Typic

Calciargids 1560

Sheep

Mojave Desert Shrub

Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, thermic Typic Torriorthents

900

Blackbrush Loamy-skeletal, carbonatic, mesic,

shallow Calcic Petrocalcids 1670

Pinyon-Juniper Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive,

mesic, Calcic Argiustoll 2065

Montane Clayey-skeletal, mixed, super, mesic, Aridic, Lithic Argiustoll

2320

EARLY RESULTS Snake Range Transect Precipitation

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Tota

l Pre

cipi

tatio

n (m

m)

Monthly Precipitation HY 2011-2012 Sagebrush West Pinyon-Juniper West Montane WestSubalpine West Subalpine East Sagebrush EastSalt Desert East

Snake Range Transect Precipitation

NevCAN Annual Precipitation

Snake Range Transect Air Temperature East – West Comparison, Avg, Min and Max

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50Ju

n-10

Aug-

10

Oct

-10

Dec-

10

Feb-

11

Apr-

11

Jun-

11

Aug-

11

Oct

-11

Dec-

11

Feb-

12

Apr-

12

Jun-

12

Aug-

12

Oct

-12

Dec-

12

Air T

empe

ratu

re D

egre

e C

Sagebrush WestSagebrush East

Snow Cover

Data Example: Sapflow vs Air Temperature: Snake Montane West: Tree 1, White Fir

5/8/2011 4:00 pm

5/8/2011 5:00 pm

5/9/2011 10:00 am

5/11/2011 2:00 pm

5/11/2011 6:00 pm

Data from Britt Johnson and Jay Arnone

NevCAN: Downscaling Climate Model Data Mean Temperature: from GCM ~250km to 4km

John Mejia and KC King

Snow Depth Monitoring and Other Imagery

NASA JPL: Airborne Snow Observatory (lidar and spectral imaging) plans regular flights over the Snake Range this winter. They have previously acquired snow-free images DOE Remote Sensing Lab: Plans to test airborne radiation sensor for snow depth/SWE monitoring. SNWA: 6” aerial photography of entire region acquired in 2006.

Snake Subalpine West

For More Info, Data and Webcam Access

Contact: Lynn.Fenstermaker@dri.edu; 702-862-5412 Information at NV Climate Change Portal (NCCP) http://sensor.nevada.edu Corrected Data available at WRCC : Snake Transect: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/GBtransect/ Sheep Transect: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/SRtransect/ Access Webcams at: http://134.197.38.180/

Assessing Climate Variability and Its Impact on Basin Wide ET and Vegetation

Lynn Fenstermaker1, Dale Devitt2 , Brian Bird2, Jay Arnone1

Richard Jasoni1and Jessica Larsen1

Desert Research Institute1 and University of Nevada Las Vegas2

Funded by the Southern Nevada Water Authority

Study Site

• Spring Valley in east central NV (100 km by 15 km)

• ET Estimation: empirical relationship between eddy covariance data and average growing season NDVI

• 5 sites in native shrub (greasewood and big sage), 1 mixed grass/shrub site and 2 irrigated agriculture

1

2

2b

3

4

5, 6

7

Spring Valley 1 (27% cover)

Spring Valley 2 (100% cover)

Spring Valley 2b (100% cover)

Spring Valley 3 (32% cover)

Spring Valley 4 (100% cover)

Spring Valley 5 (85% cover)

Spring Valley 6 (76% cover)

Spring Valley 7 (19% cover)

Methods • Landsat TM 5 scenes from the growing season

were calibrated, atmospherically corrected and normalized

• NDVI was calculated for each image date, cloud and shadow areas were replaced and average growing season NDVI was calculated

• Empirical relationship between annual tower ET and average growing season NDVI was determined for tower footprint areas.

• ET images were calculated and footprint pixels were compared to tower ET

Impact of Precipitation on Vegetation in Phreatophytic Zone

Graphic Footprint Representation: Weighted footprint based on wind speed and direction; Hsieh et al. (2000)

Footprint diameters: 1000m to 4000m

Empirical Relationship Between ET and Avg NDVI

Annual Tower ET (mm)

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Foot

prin

t Wei

ghte

d Av

erag

e N

DVI

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0Snv1SnV2SV1SV2bSV3SV4SV5SV6SV7WRV2

(n = 30, r2 = 0.954)

Accuracy Assessment Results

This means that in the worst case ET estimation accuracy is 68 to 70% and in the best case 93%.

Assessing Climate Change Treatment Effects with a Radio Control Helicopter Multispectral Platform

Dr. Lynn Fenstermaker, Desert Research Institute ▪ Eric Knight, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

TreatmentI = irrigated, NI = not irrigated

0 kg ha-1 Nitrogen, 10 kg ha-1 Nitrogen, 40 kg ha-1 NitrogenD = disturbed, ND = not disturbed

I-0-DI-0-ND

I-10-DI-10-ND

I-40-DI-40-ND

NI-0-DNI-0-ND

NI-10-D

NI-10-NDNI-40-D

NI-40-ND%

Gre

en C

over

0

5

10

15

20

25

UAV Platform: Class I RC helicopter, 55.7” length

Sensor Package: Tetracam multispectral

camera simulating green, red and IR Landsat bands; altimeter

Climate Treatment Effects on Plant Cover

Multispectral CIR photo Standard color digital photo

Couldn’t Resist One More Soil Slide: Glossic Horizon in Arkansas Fragipan Soil

Hidden Beauty of the Natural World

Thank You and Any Questions?

Science Can Get Tangled At TImes But Takes You to Great Places