Raising Awareness of Deforestation with Satellite Imagery
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
In Person or Zoom Presentation
In-Person
Campus
Daytona Beach
Status
Student
Faculty/Staff Department
Honors
Student Year and Major
Junior, Aeronautical Science
Presentation Description/Abstract
Deforestation is a major environmental issue that affects ecosystems, wildlife, climate, and communities. The loss of forests can destroy animal habitats, increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, increase the risk of flooding and disease, and negatively affect local economies. This project uses Global Nature Watch and Copernicus satellites to focus on deforestation in Florida, the Amazon Rainforest, and Madagascar. These regions were selected due to their diverse locations across three continents and their varying infrastructure demonstrating the universal nature of this problem. It examines how satellite imagery can raise awareness of the deforestation happening around the world for the purpose of allowing people to better understand these situations. This would be most effective for those who do not live in majorly affected areas and do not suffer immediate, direct consequences of this deforestation. This study utilizes satellite imagery and data from Global Nature Watch (GNW) and Copernicus to compare forest and vegetation cover from approximately 30 years ago, 15 years ago, and present day to identify the amount and rate of changes over time. The results of this research study showed a significant reduction in forest cover across these three locations and demonstrated how satellite imagery can make the effects of deforestation more visible. This study revealed ways that satellite imagery can be used not only to monitor environmental changes, but also to raise public awareness. By making deforestation more transparent through comparisons over time, satellites help the public better comprehend the scale of deforestation. This encourages the preemptive conservation of biodiverse ecosystems and forests not only in these regions but around the world.
Keywords
Deforestation, Satellites, Brazil, Madagascar, Florida, Ecosystems, Amazon Rainforest
Raising Awareness of Deforestation with Satellite Imagery
Deforestation is a major environmental issue that affects ecosystems, wildlife, climate, and communities. The loss of forests can destroy animal habitats, increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, increase the risk of flooding and disease, and negatively affect local economies. This project uses Global Nature Watch and Copernicus satellites to focus on deforestation in Florida, the Amazon Rainforest, and Madagascar. These regions were selected due to their diverse locations across three continents and their varying infrastructure demonstrating the universal nature of this problem. It examines how satellite imagery can raise awareness of the deforestation happening around the world for the purpose of allowing people to better understand these situations. This would be most effective for those who do not live in majorly affected areas and do not suffer immediate, direct consequences of this deforestation. This study utilizes satellite imagery and data from Global Nature Watch (GNW) and Copernicus to compare forest and vegetation cover from approximately 30 years ago, 15 years ago, and present day to identify the amount and rate of changes over time. The results of this research study showed a significant reduction in forest cover across these three locations and demonstrated how satellite imagery can make the effects of deforestation more visible. This study revealed ways that satellite imagery can be used not only to monitor environmental changes, but also to raise public awareness. By making deforestation more transparent through comparisons over time, satellites help the public better comprehend the scale of deforestation. This encourages the preemptive conservation of biodiverse ecosystems and forests not only in these regions but around the world.