NASA Earth Science Division Scientific Research Related to the Global COVID-19 Pandemic
The Earth Science Division is using information from NASA’s Earth-observing satellites, surface sensors, and computer-based datasets to study the environmental, economic and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine whether environmental factors influence the spread of the virus.
The Earth Science Division is accepting proposals for research pertaining to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic through its Rapid Response and Novel research in the Earth Sciences (RRNES) program element, which supports research in response to evolving natural hazards and other time-sensitive events that impact the Earth. Typically leveraged to study the immediate effects of events like hurricanes and earthquakes, RRNES allows the scientific community to quickly leverage existing NASA data and refocus research that is currently underway.
This list will be continually updated as new projects are selected. For more information on the RRNES element, please click here.
Project Title: In-Season Crop Monitoring Using Earth Observations in Major Food-Producing Countries to Mitigate Market Uncertainty Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Principle Investigators: Hannah Kerner, University of Maryland, College Park
Summary: This project will use satellite data and machine learning algorithms to map where commodity crops, such as corn and soybeans in the U.S. and winter wheat in Russia, are growing to help the U.S. Department of Agriculture collect data and help reduce agricultural market uncertainty and volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: MODIS and VIIRS Active Fire Data
Principle Investigators: Ben Poulter, Goddard Space Flight Center
Summary: This project will use satellite data to track how travel restrictions and social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic affect prescribed burns and wildfires to better understand how changes in fires could affect biodiversity, fuel loads, and atmospheric chemistry.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Impacts of Bay Area Shelter-In-Place During COVID-19 on Urban Surface Heat Fluxes
Principle Investigators: Christopher Potter, Ames Research Center
Summary: This project will use satellite thermal infrared sensor brightness temperatures from Landsat and Land Surface Temperature from ECOSTRESS aboard the International Space Station to map large, flat urban features in the Bay Area and measure changes in their temperature and radiative output due to changes in human activity.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Impact of Air Traffic Reductions During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Aircraft-Induced Clouds and Their Radiative Effects
Principle Investigators: William Smith and Dave Duda, Langley Research Center
Summary: This project will study how changes in air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the creation of airplane contrails and Earth’s radiation budget.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Impacts of Coronavirus-Driven Reduction in Aerosols and Pollution on Precipitation in the Western United States
Principle Investigators: Gabriele Villarini, University of Iowa
Summary: This project will examine the connection between reduced air pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic and sharp decreases in precipitation in the western U.S.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Impact of COVID-19 on Water Quality: Isolating the Urban Signature on Nutrient Fluxes in Belize
Principle Investigators: Rob Griffin, University of Alabama, Huntsville
Summary: This project will examine how decreased tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting urban and agricultural sources of pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus on water quality off the coast of Belize.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Dispersion of COVID-19 Tied to Saharan Dust in the Tropics
Principle Investigators: Pablo Méndez-Lázaro, University of Puerto Rico in San Juan
Summary: This project will examine if seasonal African dust outbreaks, which occur every year in the Caribbean between May and August, will have significant impacts on health and mortality associated with COVID-19.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Weather Conditions (Precipitation) and Air Quality Impacting Novel Coronavirus Transmission Rates
Principle Investigators: Yulia Gel, University of Texas, Dallas
Summary: This project will study whether surface air temperature and humidity are impacting transmission rates of the novel coronavirus, and, if so, how.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Eight Projects Exploring Connections Between the Environment and COVID-19
Project Title: Linking COVID-19 to Agricultural Production and Trade Impacts: A Geospatial Perspective
Principle Investigators: Michael Humber, University of Maryland, College Park
Summary: This project will create a web-based geospatial tool, which provides data describing agricultural production, trade flows, market indicators, and policy changes in addition to the most recent data on COVID-19. This tool will enable users, including policymakers and humanitarian aid organizations, to visualize and analyze the effects of the current health crisis on the interconnected components of the agricultural sector.
Science Stories: New NASA Research Projects Probe COVID-19 Impacts
Project Title: Satellite-Based Snowpack Information to Inform Water Resource Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Principle Investigators: Noah Molotch, University of Colorado, Boulder
Summary: As the global pandemic limits surveyors’ ability to travel and take critical snow water equivalent measurements in the field, this project merges NASA satellite data, physical and statistical models, and previous ground-based snow measurements to minimize disruptions to water supply forecasts upon which water resource managers and agricultural sector rely.
Science Stories: New NASA Research Projects Probe COVID-19 Impacts
Project Title: COVID-19 Human Activity Monitoring with Spaceborne SAR Observations
Principle Investigators: Sang-Ho Yun, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary: This project aims to quantify the changes in human activity due to COVID-19 shutdowns using satellite-derived synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to map changes in activity levels in cities around the world.
Science Stories: New NASA Research Projects Probe COVID-19 Impacts
Project Title: Near-Airport Changes in Column NO2 and Formaldehyde during COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Recovery
Principle Investigators: Jennifer Kaiser, Georgia Institute of Technology; Elena Lind, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Summary: This project looks at how COVID-19 travel bans and lockdown orders are impacting air quality around airports using NASA ground monitoring sensors from the Pandora Project. Current conditions create a unique opportunity to study airport-related pollutants, especially nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde.
Science Stories: NASA Probes Environment, COVID-19 Impacts, Possible Links
Project Title: Generation of Imagery from OMI Data
Principle Investigators: Joanna Joiner and Bryan Duncan, Goddard Space Flight Center
Summary: This project creates maps and images that show how COVID-19 has reduced nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution across the world, using data from the Dutch-Finnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA’s Aura satellite.
Science Stories: NASA Probes Environment, COVID-19 Impacts, Possible Links
Project Title: Inconsistent Effects of Social Distancing on Air Quality in Global Cities: Lessons for Protecting Near-Term Public Health and Designing Longer-Term Urban Transportation Policies
Principle Investigators: Susan Anenberg and Dan Goldberg, George Washington University
Summary: This project links satellite remote sensing with weather, traffic counts and other data to shed light on why we are seeing inconsistent effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on air quality in different cities around the world.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Four Research Projects on COVID-19
Project Title: Utilization of Night Lights To Look at Transportation/Relationship of COVID-19 Spread
Principle Investigators: Miguel Román, Earth from Space Institute
Summary: This project uses satellite nighttime light data to help assess the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic locally to globally, as well as the effectiveness of policy actions taken to control the spread of the virus.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Four Research Projects on COVID-19
Project Title: Identify Shifting Emissions and Chemical Regimes
Principle Investigators: Kang Sun, University of Buffalo
Summary: This project uses satellite data to quantify the reduction in emissions and its impact on air quality and chemistry in three regions: Jianghan Plain (which includes Wuhan) in China, Po Valley in Italy, and southern California in the U.S.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Four Research Projects on COVID-19
Project Title: Analyze the Impact of Atmospheric Deposition on Aquatic Ecosystems/Water Quality
Principle Investigators: Maria Tzortziou and Brice Grunert, CUNY
Summary: This project examines the effect of reduced nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on coastal aquatic ecology. In general, an overabundance of nitrogen and other chemicals and nutrients in the water can cause excessive algae growth, which has a negative effect on water quality.
Science Stories: NASA Funds Four Research Projects on COVID-19
