OVERVIEW Organization Researchers Partners NASA Whitepaper (2.02 MB PDF) RESAC Pamphlet For more information on the Upper Midwest RESAC, please contact resac@gis.umn.edu.

Overview As part of NASA's Earth Science Applications Research Program, the Regional Earth Science Applications Center (RESAC) Program is applying remote sensing, complementary geospatial technologies, and models driven by remote sensing measurements to issues and problems of regional significance. The Upper Midwest RESAC represents the combined efforts of two projects: The Midwest Center for Natural Resource Management, at the University of Wisconsin; and the Upper Great Lakes Regional Earth Science Applications Center, led by the University of Minnesota, with co-investigators at Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin. The Upper Midwest RESAC is applying current and future remote sensing data and biophysical process models, along with Internet delivery of data and information, to applications in forestry, agriculture, land cover and land use change, and water resources that have substantial economic and environmental importance in the region. In turn, our public sector (including key state and federal agencies) and corporate partners are bringing these state-of-the-art monitoring and modeling tools into every-day decisions made by resource managers in the four application areas. Agriculture The agricultural applications have been identified by our partners as having high potential for producing significant economic and environmental benefits. These applications include research on monitoring grain and soil moisture, pest and disease indicators in support of precision agriculture, and production of an improved data base for analysis of trends in crop production. Forestry Applications in the forestry sector are evaluatiung forest growth and health, model carbon sequestration and will provide improved classification and inventory information -- all with the goal of providing forest managers with improved decision-making tools. Land Cover In the area of land-cover mapping and change monitoring we are developing methodology for improving the accuracy of land cover classification and change monitoring that can be used by a wide variety of environmental and natural resource agencies. Water Resources Research in water resources is concentrated on monitoring water availability, particularly evapotranspiration and regional water levels, and water-quality monitoring, particularly the trophic state of lakes in the region. Selected global-change issues that may have significant impact on the region's natural resource systems are also being investigated, in support of the goals of the United States Global Climate Research Program for regional assessments, and providing information on the susceptibility of the Upper Midwest to climate change. Research and applications will build on the experience of the investigators in the areas of remote sensing and modeling biophysical processes, climate and atmosphere, as well as successful efforts in delivering geospatial data, analysis tools and models using the Internet. The project's use of models and remote-sensing data will form an expanding basis for similar applications in other geographical regions. This approach will integrate the development of applications and information products, research, and outreach activity, including an interactive and iterative process between researchers and the user community. To read more about the Upper Midwest RESAC please see our whitepaper (2.02 MB PDF).