2. Landsat – A key climate sensor Compton Tucker NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland and Climate Change Science Program Washington DC

3. Houston, We Have a Problem… We are altering our planet’s climate

4. Atmospheric CO 2 since 1740 Different  CO 2 slopes  time reflect techno-economic conditions 385 ppm now

5. What? Me worry?

6. What do we need to be rescued from?

7. Landsat – A key climate sensor Absolutely crucial land climate sensors: Landsat 1972 – now AVHRR-MODIS-VIIRS continuum 1981 -- now Lidar for the 3 rd Dimension (DESDnyI) Why? Land use, land cover change Carbon cycle land Cryosphere, etc.

8. Landsat – A key climate sensor Why? 1.30 m spatial resolution close-to-perfect match to surface variability (Townshend and Justice 1988) 2.Spectral bands are well situated 3.Repeat cycle OK 4.Excellent data system

9. Tropical Glaciers of Peru & Bolivia: Landsat data from 1972 to 2008 90% of world’s tropical glaciers are in Peru (70%) and Bolivia (20%) 5500-6500+ m elevations, summer growth/winter recession Compton Tucker, Tim Killeen, and Dan Slayback NASA/GSFC Code 610 & Conservation International NASA/GSFC Code 610 & Conservation International

10. Study Area and Landsat Scenes Used (WRS-2)

11. Cordillera Blanca Peru 2006

12. Cordillera Blanca 22-Jul-2006 / TM5 / 543

13. Landsat-4/5 TM Data Used

15. Tropical Glaciers of Peru & Bolivia: 1982-1986: 2,854 km 2 2006-2007: 2,150 km 2 90% of world’s tropical glaciers are in Peru (70%) and Bolivia (20%) 5500-6500+ m elevations, summer growth/winter recession

16. How to enhance Landsat Landsat exploits the spatial & spectral domains – 30 m spatial resolution excellent – Excellent spectral band selection Exploit the time domain (e.g. AVHRR, MODIS, Seawifs, etc.) but at 30 m spatial resolution with TM/ETM spectral bands Wider field of view, 4-5 day repeat cycle Build multiple instruments (e.g. Landsat-5’s TM) = Continuity!!

18. Tropical Air Temperature

19. Cloud cover variations 1978 to 2004