GEOCORE: Geospatial Studies of Coral Reef Ecology and Health using Satellite and Airborne Data

The University of Guam is at the cusp of a rapid expansion of capacity for scientific research, especially in the areas of marine and geospatial studies. The recent award of a $6 million National Science Foundation EPSCoR program and a NASA EPSCoR Space Grant Research Infrastructure Development grant provide the focus and the resources to build cyberinfrastructure, STEM education capabilities, workforce development, and coral reef genomic research. For the proposed project, UOG will collaborate with JPL scientists and associates with expertise on NASA science technologies and missions. Dr. Bruce Chapman, of the Radar Science and Engineering Section, and Dr. Ben Holt, of the Ocean Circulation and Air Sea Interaction group, will guide the application and analysis of SAR data for understanding landscape change, erosion, and oceanic dynamics. Leo Cheng, a Physicist and JPL Systems Engineer raised on Guam, will perform technical management and educational outreach. Dr. Eric Hochberg and Dr. Michelle Gierach, of the NASA CORAL mission, and Dr. Arjun Chennu and Dr. Joost den Haan, of the Max Planck Institute, will provide expertise on imaging spectroscopy and its use in studying coral reefs and coastal ecosystems. Dr. Douglas Comer, University of Guam Adjunct Professor and Director of CSRM Foundation, will coordinate the engagement of UOG scientists with NASA JPL scientists and oversee the development of a reef fish spawning aggregation site predictive model. Dr. Tom Schils and Dr. Atsushi Fujimora, of UOG, will contribute to the Ocean Science proposed here, and Dr. Terry Donaldson, a UOG Marine Biologist, will serve as Sc-I. In pursuing this CAN, NASA Guam EPSCoR has two primary goals for the three-year project period: 1. To significantly further NASA research and technology development by contributing to the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Earth Science Division’s science goals and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) research areas, and by informing the science and engineering requirements of coming NASA missions; and 2. To continue UOG’s momentum in expanding and deepening higher education, science and technology capacity, research infrastructure, and the economy on Guam. To achieve these goals, NASA Guam EPSCoR has designed its project mission around two specific objectives: 1. We will develop a geodatabase of Micronesian reef habitats by incorporating remotely sensed data on ocean and land conditions, such as SST, turbidity, productivity (chlorophyll concentration), salinity, sedimentation, bathymetry, and geomorphology. This geodatabase will constitute the foundation of a cutting-edge UOG research regime for the study of coral reef health, its relation to sedimentation dynamics and ocean environmental forcing, and the dynamics of reef fish spawning aggregation. Remotely sensed data will be validated with field data collected in situ by the GEOCORE team and integrated into the GIS structure. 2. Based on this geodatabase, we will build a predictive model that will forecast reef fish spawning aggregation sites and their spatial changes over time.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.