Satellites to Monitor Global Deforestation on Earth

Satellites are to be used to keep pace on global deforestation in a project that involves several space agencies and internet search engine Google, it emerged on Tuesday October 20th. 

According to one of those involved in this project – which will see satellites employed to keep track of climate change – aerial observation represents the sole real means of monitoring how fast trees are disappearing from the Earth’s surface.

Group on Earth Observations

“The only way to measure forests efficiently is from space”, GEO (Group on Earth Observations) director Jose Achache told news agency Reuters.  GEO is the body behind the new climate change technology venture, which has the involvement of multiple international governments and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA. 

Presently, data on the amount of CO2 trapped by the world’s forests is gathered twice every decade.  Once in motion, the new venture will see this rate of assessment sped up to an annual event and Google – whose Google Earth application provides satellite imagery – will figure prominently.  The exact scope of Google’s involvement is not yet known, but information on this is scheduled to be released next month, according to Achache. 

Deforestation and Climate Change

Deforestation is taking place at locations around the world and the greenhouse gas emissions created as a result of the practice make up approximately 20 per cent of the global total (forest areas act as carbon sinks, absorbing CO2 which – when the trees are cut down – is released back into the atmosphere).  Scientists therefore identify a clear link between deforestation and climate change.

NASA aside, other space-related deforestation project participants will include ESA (European Space Agency) and Brazil’s, Germany’s, India’s, Italy’s and Japan’s own domestic space organisations. 

Trials are set to be carried out on several forest areas and these will start later on in 2009, and carry on into 2010.  Among the countries that will be surveyed are Australia, Brazil and Tanzania. 

Satellites have been capturing images of the Earth for well over 30 years.  On this basis, the new project will be able to use historical data, compare this to more up-to-date images and, therefore, be able to determine the rate at which deforestation is happening. 

Enviro-News will provide further coverage of this new venture as future facts emerge. 

See also:

Environmentalists in Climate Change Deforestation Plea

Deforestation Planned Across British Countryside