Climate change threatens the survival of forests worldwide. Severe localized heatwaves affect urban forests disproportionately because of the heat island effect which occurs when temperatures in urbanized areas surpass surrounding non-urban areas.
Urban heat waves are a leading cause of global weather-related fatalities. In the US, the impact of urban forest health on human health is becoming increasingly pronounced. By 2050, 90 percent of the US population will live within greater urban areas. In New York City, people of color are more likely to suffer from heat-related stressors and are more likely to fall ill and die during heat events as a result of the unequal geographical location of forests, parks and green spaces among urban neighbourhoods.
City College of New York earth and atmospheric scientist Nick Steiner and colleague Kyle McDonald will join the science team for the NASA Earth Venture mission, Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) in a project to measure the capacity of the greater New York urban forest to mitigate the local effects of climate change. The project, titled “Remote sensing of urban ecosystem function in the megacity: Fine resolution characterization of water stress in New York City urban forests with ECOSTRESS” will measure temperature reduction in New York parks as a proxy for heat mitigation. Their project runs from 2022-2025.
Under drought conditions, trees modulate their water stress by using increased transpiration – opening their stomata – or decreasing transpiration – closing their stomata, depending upon climatic conditions and soil moisture. This alters the rate of evaporative cooling and latent heat flux in the local environment. Steiner will measure sap flow and soil moisture in-situ in New York City forests in order to correlate temperature reduction as measured with transpiration and water stress over the course of the seasonal progression and extreme temperature events.
Launched in 2018, ECOSTRESS was designed to identify critical thresholds of water use and water stress in plants and to detect the timing, location, and predictive factors which lead to increased or decreased water uptake by vegetation in green spaces. The Ecostress sensor is currently on the space station and will operate through 2023 with the possibility of extension.
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will collaborate on the project, as will the New York Botanical Gardens, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization DegreeChoices ranks CCNY #3 nationally for social mobility. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Erica Rex
p: 845.668.0322
e:
erex@ccny.cuny.edu