Richard P. Watson – Associate Director Department of Geography

1. The Center for Rapid Environmental Assessment & Terrain Evaluation (CREATE) at the University of New Mexico Richard P. Watson – Associate Director Department of Geography Theresa R. Watson- Ground Station Manager CREATE Louis Scuderi – Director Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences

2. CREATE at the University of New Mexico CREATECenter for Rapid Environmental Assessment & Terrain Evaluation The CREATE project focuses on the rapid acquisition, processing and distribution of NASA, NOAA, and commercial remote sensing imagery and augments these products with derivative, geospatially referenced analytic data sets. NDVI and NEXRAD Products

3. Presentation Overview • Introduction to CREATE • Overview of CREATE Research • Arid Land ET Estimation • Monitoring and Composition Assessment of Volcanic Plumes • Continuous Index Monitoring of Vegetation • The Vegetation Monitoring and Assessment Program (VMAP) Decision Support System

4. CREATE at the University of New Mexico Multidisciplinary Center Data Acquisition & Processing Application Development Research Education http://www.unm.edu/create

5. A Brief History of CREATE • Funded through 2 Federal Appropriations in FY 2003 & FY 2004 (Administered by NASA) • Installed antennas, acquisition, and processing systems in June 2004 • Acquired 1st MODIS pass June 15th 2004

6. CREATE at the University of New Mexico The Area of Coverage includes the region from southern Mexico on the south to southern Canada on the north and from the East Coast on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west.

7. CREATE Hardware & Facilities • One 4.5 meter X-Band satellite receiving dish • One 1.5 meter L-Band satellite receiving dish • Two Acquisition Processors with Backup Storage • 5-Node Linux cluster with 15 Terabytes of storage • Linux Processing server and image processing hardware and software

8. CREATE Hardware & Facilities CREATECenter for Rapid Environmental Assessment & Terrain Evaluation • One 4.5 meter X-Band satellite receiving dish • One 1.5 meter L-Band satellite receiving dish • Two Acquisition Processors with Backup Storage • 5-Node Linux cluster with 15 Terabytes of storage • Linux Processing server and image processing hardware and software

9. CREATE Hardware & Facilities • One 4.5 meter X-Band satellite receiving dish • One 1.5 meter L-Band satellite receiving dish • Two Acquisition Processors w/ Backup Storage • 5-Node Linux cluster with 15 Terabytes of storage • Linux Processing server and image processing hardware and software

10. CREATE Hardware & Facilities The CREATE Lab and Computing Facilities are housed at the University of New Mexico Center for High Performance Computing (HPC)

11. Data Acquisition The Center's systems currently receive and process MODIS data from NASA's Aqua and Terra Satellites, and AVHRR data from NOAA's HRPT satellites.

12. Data Acquisition 2-4 MODIS passes/day 4-5 AVHRR passes over NM/day (30± daily passes)

13. CREATE Data Products • CREATE produces over a dozen data products based on NASA and NOAA validated algorithms • Vegetation Indices: NDVI, EVI, LAI, & FPAR • Land Cover, Fire • Atmospheric Products: Visibility, Cloud Mask, Aerosol, Water Vapor • Ocean Products: SST, Ocean Color • CREATE also implements custom algorithms to meet research and client needs. We are currently implementing an empirically-based ET model for the estimation of daily state-wide evapotranspiration at a 60 meter resolution.

14. CREATE Research Areas • Data Fusion - MODIS & NEXRAD • Climate Variability and Change • Ecosystem & Vegetation Variability and Change • ET Modeling with Empirical Satellite Data

15. Arid Land ET Estimation Using MODIS Data CREATECenter for Rapid Environmental Assessment & Terrain Evaluation Energy Balance Model using MODIS and other physical inputs to estimate evapotranspiration in New Mexico

16. CREATE Evapotranspiration Model Energy Balance Model MODIS INPUTS MODEL Parameters Albeido Elevation Slope Surface Temperature Aspect Insolation Land Cover Daily ET Estimates

17. Continuous Index Monitoring of Vegetation Change Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) 09142004. NASA MODIS image acquired and processed by CREATE

18. Invasive Species The advance of Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) in the Parker Dunes of the Sonoran Desert

19. Vegetation Monitoring and Analysis Program (VMAP) • Database providing decision support to NM BLM from approximately 5000 locations sampled using 4 orthogonal transects covering an area of approximately 20 acres that are sampled about once every 5 years. • Centralized database of rangeland monitoring data collected since 1980. • Data is most complete in the Pecos District Office. • Provides Data Sharing, Portability, and Centralized Storage and Access through the NM BLM State Office. • Provides a series of analysis options through database queries and analysis reports.

20. The Vegetation Monitoring and Assessment Program (VMAP) Decision Support System • Centralized database of rangeland monitoring data collected since 1980. • Provides Data Sharing, Portability, and Centralized Storage and Access • Provides a series of analysis options database queries

21. Volcanic Plumes Current research focuses on the identification and characterization of volcanic plumes for: 1) determination of chemical composition 2) monitoring emissions as precursors to eruptions.

22. Local Precipitation and Rapid Environmental Change - 9/29/05

23. Thank You