Using Remote Sensing and GIS Tools to Assess the Impact of Agricultural Practices on Public Health in Mexico’s Lerma-Chapala Watershed

WISEDEVELOP Virtual Poster Session, Original

map highlighting the five states discussed in this project

map highlighting the five states discussed in this projectCould unsafe agricultural practices be contributing to disease outbreaks in five states in west central Mexico? This project aims to find out through employing remote sensing satellites and GIS tools to analyze trends in agricultural practices, population, and disease occurrence and their relation to water quality in Mexico’s Lerma River and Lake Chapala.

Air Quality Analysis Using Remote Sensing and GIS in the Monterrey, Mexico, Metropolitan Area

EarthzineDEVELOP Virtual Poster Session, Original

This image was developed through the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and represents a 72-hour backward trajectory from the city of Monterrey, Mexico. With this information, the Wise Air Quality Team has discovered that Monterrey could be receiving air pollutants from other areas.

map highlighting monterey county in mexicoPoor air quality in Monterrey, Mexico, is causing numerous cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In the fall 2011 term, the Air Quality team focused on observing particulate matter concentrations and developed a mathematical model to relate air quality to public health in the metropolitan area. This relationship will allow officials take more effective action and raise awareness among metropolitan area inhabitants.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Investigating Spawning and Feeding Habits of the Invasive Asian Carp Using Remote Sensing and GIS

EarthzineDEVELOP Virtual Poster Session, Original

Map of Lake Michigan

Asian carp are opportunistic feeders and eat phytoplankton and algae. The USGS has been conducting studies into feeding habits of Asian carp, and was interested in knowing blue-green algae concentrations in Lake Michigan. Source: NASA.Blue-green algae is a potential food source for Asian carp in the Great Lakes, and was investigated by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative DEVELOP team using remote sensing techniques to analyze NASA MODIS data in the SeaDAS processing program. In addition, a risk assessment of streams accessible for spawning was conducted.