Climate change is projected to reduce raw water quality, posing risks to drinking water even with conventional treatment. This work closely aligns with the United Nation’s 2030 sustainable development goals pertaining to clean water and life below water. We selected six California reservoirs to measure cyanobacteria, which may be harmful if ingested, using CIcyanodata provided from the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network. Primary land class, post-fire soil loss erosion, and wildfire frequency were considered to determine if they influence cyanobacterial trends. We found a slight increasing CIcyanotrend for all water pixels in the lake and a greater increase when only considering CIcyanopixels and the percentage of the lake covered with CIcyanopixels. Higher soil loss and wildfire frequency did not lead to higher a CIcyano, but land class may have a greater influence. Future work incorporating temperature and drought may help better understand cyanobacteria dynamics.

This study investigates the effects of post-wildfire sediment runoff on giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) populations in Malibu, California, following the 2018 Woolsey Fire. The research utilizes satellite data and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to assess changes in sediment delivery and its correlation with reduced kelp abundance. Findings indicate a significant decrease in kelp canopy recovery, post-fire, with ongoing limited regrowth up to 2023. This study underscores the critical impacts of wildfire-induced sediment runoff on marine ecosystems and emphasizes the need for tailored coastal management and restoration strategies to mitigate these effects and support the resilience of kelp forests, which are vital for biodiversity and coastal ecosystem services.

Wildfires in coastal-draining watersheds can lead to increased sediment and carbon export, affecting macroalgae abundance and distribution. This study aims to characterize the impact of changing light conditions due to wildfire runoff on giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) along coastal California, USA. Focusing on four historically dense giant kelp forests that receive drainage from a recently burned watershed-Malibu, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Big Sur-we evaluate pre- and post-fire terrestrial changes, and fraction of giant kelp canopy biomass. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), a watershed model, is used to simulate river discharge and sediment loads, while satellite-derived kelp canopy biomass and turbidity products are compared to model results. Thus far, model outputs and time series statistics have indicated a relative increase in sediment load and discharge after the Woolsey wildfire near Malibu, California and a relative decrease in kelp biomass after a wildfire event in the four watersheds.

Snow surface albedo is a crucial component to the energy balance of our seasonal snowpack on planet Earth, reflecting most of the incoming solar radiation, and maintaining cool snow surface temperatures. Snow surface albedo, as well as other optical properties (fractional snow cover and specific surface area (SSA)), can be modeled using imaging spectroscopy measurements. The added spectral information, as compared to multispectral remote sensing, enables us to reduce errors by providing information to solve spatially heterogeneous mixed pixels. However, there is a computational burden to solve due to the added complexity of hundreds of spectral bands at 30 meter resolution. To help address these challenges, we present a fast open-source algorithm for computing snow surface properties from imaging spectroscopy, which we refer to as Global Optical Snow properties via High-speed Algorithm With K-means clustering (GOSHAWK). In this brief paper, we present the current algorithm methodology as well as validation to net-radiometers across North America.

The San Francisco Estuary and Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (Bay Delta) is a highly sensitive and critical habitat for the Delta Smelt, an endangered endemic fish, with water temperature being a key determinant of habitat suitability. This study investigates the relationship between open water surface and subsurface conditions from spaceborne thermal measurements (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) and Landsat-8) andin situsensor data from the California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) to produce estimates of spatially continuous bulk temperature in the Bay Delta. We found that ECOSTRESS and Landsat-8 surface temperature measurements are well-correlated with bulk water temperatures ($N =236$and$r = 0.907$and$N = 226$and$r = 0.976$, respectively). For the ECOSTRESS-in situcomparison, accounting for time of day improved the correlation between surface and subsurface conditions ($r = 0.946$, 0.881, and 0.944 for morning, midday, and evening, respectively). We found that ECOSTRESS surface temperatures were warmer than bulk temperatures in the midday period (2 °C peak at 2 P.M.) and cooler in the morning and evening periods (−1°C peak at 6 A.M.). We also found that a simple harmonic regression model can capture the diurnal variability of the skin effect to predict bulk water temperature (root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 0.809°C). With ECOSTRESS, we found that across the Bay Delta, including open waters and pelagic bays, temperature conditions causing stress and mortality for the Delta Smelt were persistent throughout the day during summer months. ECOSTRESS is a unique dataset capable of informing conservation efforts in the Bay Delta.

On Jan. 5, 2018, at the request of NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Committee on the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences released the 2017 Decadal Survey, “Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observations from Space” [1]. The 700-page document is the second such Earth sciences survey produced by NASEM. The first, “Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond,” was released in 2007. The 2018 study designated a global “Surface Biology and Geology” (SBG) investigation that would include both imaging spectroscopy and thermal infrared observations [1]. This suite of measurements would address a wide range of global science questions. Its themes include: flows of energy, carbon, water, and nutrients sustaining terrestrial and marine ecosystems; the variability of the land surface and the fluxes of water and energy; inventory of the world's volcanoes, and the composition and temperature of volcanic products immediately following eruptions; other natural hazards including wildfires; snow accumulation and melt; water balance from the headwaters to the continent; land and water use effects on evapotranspiration; functional traits and diversity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and vegetation; and more. Figure 1 shows example spectra from these surfaces, illustrating the enormous diversity of scene content that would be observed. Tables 1 and 2 show examples of the core and higher-level products that the SBG mission would produce.

The National Academies Decadal Survey for Earth Science recommended that NASA pursue global imaging spectroscopy and thermal infrared measurements in the coming decade [1]. Both measurements would offer repeat coverage on approximately five-day to biweekly cadence, with comprehensive coverage of the globe's coastal and terrestrial area. This would be an unprecedented volume of data with the potential to transform remote sensing practice. To address this recommendation, NASA has sponsored a concept study by NASA research centers and associated university partners (https://sbg.jpl.nasa.gov). This study is determining a family of architecture options - including launch vehicle, spacecraft, instrument, and suborbital components - that could address the Decadal Survey objectives. The architecture study is driven by science needs and builds on input of the research community. As of this writing, the study is entering a phase in which a large field of system possibilities is pared down to a representative handful for an ultimate decision by NASA.