Watch the Carnegie Airborne Observatory make the world's
highest resolution carbon map of a country (Panama) in less than one minute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fQwv4coRR8
Washington, DC—A team of researchers has for the first time
mapped the above ground carbon density of an entire country in high fidelity.
They integrated field data with satellite imagery and high-resolution airborne
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to map the vegetation and to quantify
carbon stocks throughout the Republic of Panama. The results are the first maps
that report carbon stocks locally in areas as small as a hectare (2.5 acres)
and yet cover millions of hectares in a short time. The system has the lowest
demonstrated uncertainty of any carbon-counting approach yet—a carbon
estimation uncertainty of about 10% in each hectareoverflown with LiDAR as
compared to field-based estimates. Importantly, it can be used across a wide
range of vegetation types worldwide.