During the summer 2019 term of NASA’s DEVELOP National Program, participants used geospatial data and technologies to investigate, analyze, and monitor several issues around the world. Some of the topics explored throughout the term included agriculture, agroforestry, biodiversity, changing ecologies, conservation, energy, fire, health, invasive species, natural disasters, urbanization, and water resources. Each project completed by a DEVELOP team is conducted in partnership with agencies or organizations local to the study area. Fundamental to the analytical and geospatial component of each of these projects is NASA Earth science remote sensing data. 

Several of these projects used data distributed by NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), including data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua platforms, Terra's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) platforms, and NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 2000.

All projects conducted in the summer term, as well as in past terms, can be found in the DEVELOP archive.

Featured Project: Jaguar Corridor in Costa Rica

The small country of Costa Rica accounts for 6% of the world’s biodiversity. One of the animals found there is the jaguar, an important part of the Costa Rican ecosystem. The jaguars of Costa Rica live in two disconnected southern regions: the Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula and the La Amistad International Peace Park in the Talamanca Mountains. According to the Talamanca-Osa Ecological Forecasting II DEVELOP team, urbanization, deforestation, and agriculture expansion has isolated these populations of jaguars and decreased their home ranges by 40%. This has led to inbreeding, a decrease in the genetic diversity, and limited food resources. The jaguars frequently leave these protected areas in search of food, putting humans and livestock at risk for interactions with jaguars. The NASA DEVELOP team worked with the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation and Osa Conservation to create models to determine an ideal location for a jaguar corridor using NASA Earth observation data. This corridor will allow jaguars to move freely between the two conservation areas while limiting their exposure to humans and livestock.

Instruments and Techniques Used

The DEVELOP team specifically used Terra ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTGTM) data from LP DAAC to observe elevation and calculate the slope of the region for the future corridor. In addition, the team used Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data to assess trends in land use and land cover (LULC) from 1987 to 2019 and to forecast LULC to 2030. They used these data, combined with the Terra ASTER data and vector road and urban center data, to create maps of human-jaguar conflict risk areas.

Major Findings

The DEVELOP team’s findings were used to create a suitability assessment for the future implementation of the wildlife corridor and are also being used for monitoring and outreach efforts by their partners.

About the NASA DEVELOP National Program

The DEVELOP National Program is part of NASA’s Applied Sciences Program. Participants from around the country join the DEVELOP program for 10-week terms to apply data acquired by NASA Earth-observing satellites to bridge the gap between science and society. DEVELOP participants work with non-profit, local, state, and federal partners to create maps and other products in eight focus areas, including Food Security & Agriculture, Disasters, Ecological Forecasting, Energy, Health and Air Quality, Urban Development, Water Resources, and Transportation & Infrastructure.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Publication References

Furey, S., Landry, O., Trust, S., and Fynn, I., 2019, Talamanca - Osa Ecological Forecasting II — Assessing habitat suitability and human-jaguar conflict areas to identify potential jaguar corridors connecting La Amistad and Corcovado National Parks in Costa Rica: NASA DEVELOP National Program web page, accessed May 8, 2020.

NASA DEVELOP National Program, 2019, Corridor connection—A pathway to jaguar survival: NASA DEVELOP National Program video, 00:04:11, posted September, 27, 2019, accessed May 8, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfQWEnlb9t8 (link removed by source).