Greg Asner

Last updated
Greg Asner
Greg Asner.jpg
Born1968or1969(age 55–56) [1]
EducationB.S. Engineering (Radiative Physics), University of Colorado Boulder, 1991
M.S. Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, 1995 [2]
Ph.D. Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, 1997 [1] [3]
Occupation(s)Director of Arizona State University's Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science [2] and Managing Director, The Allen Coral Atlas [4]
SpouseRobin Martin [5]
Website asnerlab.org

Gregory P. Asner is an American ecologist whose global work has focused on ecosystems, conservation, and climate sciences. He has developed technology to access and analyze large amounts of data about ecosystems, including assessing carbon emissions, coral reef resilience, and biodiversity. He is the founder of the Global Airborne Observatory (GAO, formerly the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, or CAO) [6] and the creator of Carnegie Landsat Analysis System (CLAS) and CLASlite. Since 2019, he has been the Director of Arizona State University's Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science. He is also managing director of the Allen Coral Atlas, an online map of all the coral reefs in the world used as a reference for reef conservation. [4] [7]

Contents

Asner's work mapping forests and coral reefs using airplanes and satellites influenced environmental policy decisions in several countries. [8] [9] He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a 2017 Heinz Award recipient.

Early career

Asner grew up in Maryland, then earned an undergraduate degree in engineering and moved to Hawaii. [10] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was a deep-sea diver in the United States Navy, an experience that initiated his career in ecology. [3] He worked for the nonprofit The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii in the early 1990s. [1] [11] As a result of his work there, he published his first scientific paper, assessing damage done to forests in Kaua'i after Hurricane Iniki in 1992. [12] After his early experiences collecting ecological data in Hawaii, he began working on ways to measure human impacts on ecosystems around the world. [9]

In 1996, NASA selected Asner, then a student at University of Colorado Boulder, as a recipient of one of its Earth System Science Graduate Student Fellowships. [13] He earned his Ph.D. in biology in 1997. [3] Subsequently, he turned his focus to creating better ways to gather data about the status of natural resources. [11] In 1999, Asner began working on CLAS, a new system to map the effects of logging on rainforests. [1] As of September 2017, Asner's team had provided CLASlite, the successor to CLAS, to 5,000 scientists in 137 countries for free in order to assist in collecting data about forest health and inform conservation decisions. [14]

Asner moved his laboratory and research program from the University of Colorado to the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology in 2001. [9] In addition to the airborne CAO – which officially launched in 2006 [15] – the team collected ecological data using satellite sensors and computer modeling. [9]

In 2005, after nearly a decade of research, Asner published a study of logging in the Amazon rainforest demonstrating that "selective logging" is often as harmful to ecosystems as clear-cutting. [16] That same year, he and Peter Vitousek published research showing early indicators of an invasive species of tree growing in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. [17] Popular Science named Asner to its annual "Brilliant Ten" list in 2007. [16]

Work mapping forests and coral reefs

Asner led the team that developed, over the course of 15 years, Airborne Taxonomic Mapping System (AToMS), an advanced technology that uses sensors in a Dornier 228 airplane to map the Earth. [1] [3] AToMS uses spectrometers, lasers, and other tools to generate three-dimensional models of forests. [10] With this technology the GAO can analyze the components of trees' foliage in order to identify which species make up different parts of forests. This granular data helps governments make decisions to protect biodiversity and reduce carbon footprints. [18] For example, maps he has created have guided decisions about creating new national parks in Peru and supporting lion habitats in South Africa. [6] His data has also shown that the Amazon contains 36 types of forest, a level of variation not previously understood. [19] By 2019, Asner and his wife Robin Martin have identified the "spectral signatures" of half of the world's 60,000 tree species. [6]

Throughout his career, Asner has worked to make his research accessible to government leaders and other people in positions of power. His work has influenced conservation policy decisions in the United States, South America and Southeast Asia. [8] He has worked with multiple countries to help measure the carbon locked in their forests. In 2009, he used lidar to map the carbon in 4.3 million hectares (17 thousand square miles) of Peruvian Amazon and provided the results to the Peruvian government. [12] [1] In 2013, his data highlighted the environmental impact of gold mining and deforestation in Peru. [20] Also in 2013, he and the CAO team contributed data to a carbon map of the entirety of Panama, the first time a whole country had been mapped in that way. [21]

The next year, Asner's CAO team released a 69-page report on Peru's rainforests to its Ministry of the Environment. [22] As a result of this research, Norway gave $300 million to Peru in late 2014 to protect Peru's forests and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [10] By January 2017, Asner had mapped all 78 million hectares (300 thousand square miles) of the Peruvian Amazon. [19] Asner has mapped 14 million hectares (54 thousand square miles) of forests in Colombia. [1] As of July 2012, his team had mapped the carbon stocks of 40 percent of the Colombian Amazon. [23] He has used similar technology to evaluate the health of coral reefs according to their coloring as observed from a plane. [24] [25] In 2015, he led a study of how the 2011–2017 California drought was affecting the state's forests, [26] [5] finding that approximately 20 percent of forests in the state were dead or would die. [27] [5] He continued the work in 2016 while associated with Stanford University. [28] Governor Jerry Brown decided to declare a state of emergency in California partly due to this data. [8]

In 2018, Asner and the CAO mapped coral reef health in the Dominican Republic in a collaboration of Asner’s Reefscape Project, The Nature Conservancy, and the private company Planet. [29] Their data assisted the design of the largest marine protected area in the Dominican Republic. [6]

After flying more than 200 missions in 2018, Asner and the CAO team (now renamed to GAO) moved to Arizona State University in January 2019. [15] That year, his team conducted a project mapping coral reefs along the Hawaiian islands. The goal of the project was to assess damage done by ocean warming, overfishing, and coastal development. [30] That July, Asner's team created a website where users can report coral bleaching they have observed. [25] That month, the team launched a network of 140 small satellites to monitor coral health near Hawaii. [31] As of April 2020, they were using data from Planet and the ICESat-2 satellite for further research on coral reef health. [32]

In September 2021, the Allen Coral Atlas, of which Asner is managing director, announced it had completed a comprehensive map of the world's coral reefs, compiled using more than 2 million satellite images. [4]

Honors

Asner received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2000. [33] [34] In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences elected Asner as a member. [35] The Remote Sensing Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers gave him its Outstanding Contribution Award in 2014. [36] In 2015, he became a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, [37] and in 2016, he became a fellow of the Ecological Society of America. [38] Asner received a $250,000 Heinz Award in 2017 for his work with the CAO mapping coral reefs and rainforests. [8] [39]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation</span> Conversion of forest to non-forest for human use

Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon rainforest</span> Large rainforest in South America

The Amazon rainforest, also called Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations and 3,344 formally acknowledged indigenous territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral reef</span> Outcrop of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of stony coral skeletons

A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral bleaching</span> Phenomenon where coral expel algae tissue

Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to loss of symbiotic algae and photosynthetic pigments. This loss of pigment can be caused by various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae that live inside their tissue, causing the coral to turn white. The zooxanthellae are photosynthetic, and as the water temperature rises, they begin to produce reactive oxygen species. This is toxic to the coral, so the coral expels the zooxanthellae. Since the zooxanthellae produce the majority of coral colouration, the coral tissue becomes transparent, revealing the coral skeleton made of calcium carbonate. Most bleached corals appear bright white, but some are blue, yellow, or pink due to pigment proteins in the coral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical rainforest</span> Forest in areas with heavy rainfall in the tropics

Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests that occur in tropical rainforest climate where there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm. True rainforests are typically found between 10 degrees north and south of the equator ; they are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28-degree latitudes. Tropical rainforests are a type of tropical moist broadleaf forest, that includes the more extensive seasonal tropical forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitat destruction</span> Process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species

Habitat destruction occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved to elsewhere or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treefall gap</span> Ecological feature

A treefall gap is a distinguishable hole in the canopy of a forest with vertical sides extending through all levels down to an average height of 2 m (6.6 ft) above ground. These holes occur as result of a fallen tree or large limb. The ecologist who developed this definition used two meters because he believed that "a regrowth height of 2 m was sufficient" for a gap to be considered closed, but not all scientists agree. For example, Runkle believed that regrowth should be 10–20 m (33–66 ft) above the ground. Alternatively, a treefall gap is "the smallest gap [that must] be readily distinguishable amid the complexity of forest structure."

The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical South America in conserving the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest, as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people. ACT was formed in 1996 by ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin and Costa Rican conservationist Liliana Madrigal. The organization is primarily active in the northwest, northeast, and southern regions of the Amazon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Brazil</span>

Brazil once had the highest deforestation rate in the world and in 2005 still had the largest area of forest removed annually. Since 1970, over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. In 2001, the Amazon was approximately 5,400,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi), which is only 87% of the Amazon's original size. According to official data, about 729,000 km² have already been deforested in the Amazon biome, which corresponds to 17% of the total. 300,000 km² have been deforested in the last 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest</span>

The Amazon rainforest, spanning an area of 3,000,000 km2, is the world's largest rainforest. It encompasses the largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest on the planet, representing over half of all rainforests. The Amazon region includes the territories of nine nations, with Brazil containing the majority (60%), followed by Peru (13%), Colombia (10%), and smaller portions in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation by continent</span> Removal of forests worldwide

Rates and causes of deforestation vary from region to region around the world. In 2009, two-thirds of the world's forests were located in just 10 countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, India, and Peru.

Selective logging or partial forest removal is the practice of cutting down a few species of trees while leaving the rest intact and unharmed. Selective logging is often considered a better alternative to clear cutting. Selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest was recently shown in analyses of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus data at high spatial resolution to be occurring at rates of about 12,000–20,000 km2 per year, thus indicating the central role of selective logging in tropical forest disturbance. Although selective logging has far less impact on forest processes than deforestation, selectively logged sites have higher rates of forest fires, tree fall, changes in microclimate, soil compaction and erosion, among other ecological impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Resources Institute</span> Non-profit organization

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. Subsequent presidents include Jonathan Lash, Andrew D. Steer and current president Ani Dasgupta (2021-).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation and climate change</span> Relationship between deforestation and global warming

Deforestation is a primary contributor to climate change, and climate change affects the health of forests. Land use change, especially in the form of deforestation, is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from human activities, after the burning of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases are emitted from deforestation during the burning of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon. Global models and national greenhouse gas inventories give similar results for deforestation emissions. As of 2019, deforestation is responsible for about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from tropical deforestation are accelerating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Moore (scientist)</span> American software engineer (born 1955)

Rebecca Moore is an American software engineer, director of Google Earth, and director and founder of the Google Earth Outreach and Google Earth Engine computer mapping projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecosystem collapse</span> Ecological communities abruptly losing biodiversity, often irreversibly

An ecosystem, short for ecological system, is defined as a collection of interacting organisms within a biophysical environment. Ecosystems are never static, and are continually subject to stabilizing and destabilizing processes alike. Stabilizing processes allow ecosystems to adequately respond to destabilizing changes, or pertubations, in ecological conditions, or to recover from degradation induced by them: yet, if destabilizing processes become strong enough or fast enough to cross a critical threshold within that ecosystem, often described as an ecological 'tipping point', then an ecosystem collapse. occurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires</span> Wildfires in Brazil

The 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires season saw a year-to-year surge in fires occurring in the Amazon rainforest and Amazon biome within Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru during that year's Amazonian tropical dry season. Fires normally occur around the dry season as slash-and-burn methods are used to clear the forest to make way for agriculture, livestock, logging, and mining, leading to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Such activity is generally illegal within these nations, but enforcement of environmental protection can be lax. The increased rates of fire counts in 2019 led to international concern about the fate of the Amazon rainforest, which is the world's largest terrestrial carbon dioxide sink and plays a significant role in mitigating global warming.

This is an article of notable issues relating to the terrestrial environment of Earth in 2020. They relate to environmental events such as natural disasters, environmental sciences such as ecology and geoscience with a known relevance to contemporary influence of humanity on Earth, environmental law, conservation, environmentalism with major worldwide impact and environmental issues.

Oliver Lawrence Phillips, is a British ecologist who specializes in tropical forests and is currently Professor of Tropical Ecology in the School of Geography at the University of Leeds. He is noted for his work coordinating large-scale, collaborative research projects that study how humans have changed the world's tropical forests, and the implications for climate change.

Climate change effects on tropical regions includes changes in marine ecosystems, human livelihoods, biodiversity, degradation of tropical rainforests and effects the environmental stability in these areas. Climate change is characterized by alterations in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events. Tropical areas, located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, are known for their warm temperatures, high biodiversity, and distinct ecosystems, including rainforests, coral reefs, and mangroves.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Yong, Ed (22 February 2012). "Logging the Amazon: the race to map Earth's threatened rainforests". Wired UK. No. March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Gregory Asner". Arizona State University. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Verger, Rob (30 July 2019). "What one ecologist's high-flying studies reveal about our forests". Popular Science. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Jones, Caleb (8 September 2021). "Researchers complete first-ever detailed map of global coral". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Curwen, Thomas (20 October 2015). "X-ray technology reveals California's forests are in for a radical transformation" . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Tullis, Paul (10 June 2019). "To Map a Coral Reef, Peel Back the Seawater". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Rosane, Olivia. "First-ever high-resolution map of world's coral reefs is complete". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Ecologist wins Heinz environment prize for airborne mapping that informs policy". Mongabay. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Gregory Asner, PhD". National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth. PBS. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 Secorun Palet, Laura (22 January 2015). "Ecologist's Airborne Scanners See The Forest And The Trees — All Of Them". NPR. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. 1 2 "Working at 15,000 Feet, Greg Asner Is Still Firmly Rooted on Hawaiian Soil". Environment Hawai`i. April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. 1 2 Tollefson, Jeff (21 October 2009). "Climate: Counting carbon in the Amazon". Nature. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. ↑ Asrar, Ghassem (January–February 1996). "NASA Selects 50 New Graduate Student Fellows in Response to the Earth System Science Graduate Student Fellowship Announcement". The Earth Observer. 8 (1): 41–42. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  14. ↑ "Ecologist wins Heinz environment prize for airborne mapping that informs policy". Mongabay. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  15. 1 2 "A Remote Sensing Partnership Made in Paradise". The National Ecological Observatory Network. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  16. 1 2 Mone, Gregory; Wenner, Melinda; Thompson, Kalee; Aaronson, Lauren; Svoboda, Elizabeth (3 October 2007). "PopSci's 6th Annual Brilliant Ten". Popular Science. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  17. ↑ Graham, Sarah (8 March 2005). "Remote Measurements Reveal Invading Species Early On". Scientific American. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. ↑ Greene, Sean (27 January 2017). "These colorful new maps reveal the hidden diversity of life in Peru's Andean and Amazonian forests". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  19. 1 2 Yong, Ed (26 January 2017). "How a Scientist Mapped the Entire Peruvian Amazon by Plane". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  20. ↑ Jacobs, Harrison (2 November 2013). "This Map Shows How Gold Mining Is Destroying The Amazon Rainforest". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "Research team creates first carbon map of an entire country: Panama". Smithsonian Insider. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  22. ↑ Catanoso, Justin (30 July 2014). "Peru's first-ever high-resolution carbon map could help the world breathe easier". National Geographic. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  23. ↑ Tollefson, Jeff (26 July 2012). "Carnegie advances carbon mapping in Colombia". Nature. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  24. ↑ "Hawaii considers banning certain sunscreens to protect coral reefs". CBS News. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  25. 1 2 Calma, Justine (1 November 2019). "Satellites Track Real-Time Damage of Ocean Blob Menacing Hawaii". The Verge. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  26. ↑ Greene, Sean (31 December 2015). "New maps show spread and impact of drought on California forests". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  27. ↑ Bliss, Laura (6 November 2015). "What Will California Do With Millions of Dead Tr". CityLab. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  28. ↑ Alexander, Kurtis (6 August 2016). "An eye-opening flight over California's dying forests" . San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  29. ↑ Fox, Alex (8 June 2018). "Super plane, satellites help map the Caribbean's hidden coral reefs". Mongabay. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  30. ↑ Reinhart, Katelyn (11 April 2019). "ASU center to assist in Hawaii coral conservation efforts". The State Press. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  31. ↑ Tollefson, Jeff (4 October 2019). "Coral-tracking satellites monitor reef bleaching in near-real time". Nature. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  32. ↑ Voosen, Paul (14 April 2020). "Ice-tracking space laser could also map sea floor and monitor health of coral reefs". Science. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "President Honors Outstanding Young Scientists". Office of Science and Technology Policy (Press release). The White House. 11 April 2000. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  34. ↑ Wei, Ming-Ying (January–February 2000). "Two Earth Scientists Receive the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)". The Earth Observer. 12 (1): 59. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  35. ↑ "Gregory P. Asner". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  36. ↑ "Outstanding Contribution Award". AAG Remote Sensing Specialty Group. American Association of Geographers. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  37. ↑ "American Geophysical Union Announces 2015 Fellows". American Geophysical Union (Press release). 28 July 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  38. ↑ "Ecological Society of America announces 2016 fellows". The Ecological Society of America (Press release). 1 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  39. ↑ "Heinz Awards - Greg Asner".
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