ECOSTRESS: NASA's Next-Generation Mission to Measure Evapotranspiration from the ISS

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Published: April 2, 2019

NASA's ECOSTRESS Mission studies how plants use water by measuring their temperature from space. During this webinar learn about ECOSTRESS mission measurements, data and tools.

In 2018, NASA launched the ECOSTRESS mission to the International Space Station. Based on thermal radiometer measurements, ECOSTRESS produces multiple data products at 70 m spatial resolution: land surface temperature and emissivity (L2_LSTE), evapotranspiration (L3_ET; partitioned into canopy transpiration, soil evaporation, and interception evaporation), water use efficiency (L4_WUE), and the Evaporative Stress Index (L4_ESI). The Space Station orbit passes over the same spot on Earth every 3-5 days and at different times of the day, allowing sampling of the diurnal cycle. ECOSTRESS has three main science questions: 1) How is the terrestrial biosphere responding to changes in water availability? 2) How do changes in diurnal vegetation water stress impact the global carbon cycle? 3) Can agricultural vulnerability be reduced through advanced monitoring of agricultural consumptive use and improved drought detection? In addition to learning about the mission, tune in to learn where to find additional resources for working with ECOSTRESS data including a Python script and tutorial.