NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Jeff Morisette is an Earth scientist who studies his home planet using NASA satellite data. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Geography at the University of Maryland at College Park, Md.

Jeff's Work at NASA

At NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Morisette uses data from Earth-observing satellites in several ways that show its usefulness in assessing conditions on Earth. In his research and development efforts, Jeff uses satellite data to map invasive species habitat in the U.S., monitor active fires throughout the world, and support improvements in climate and carbon modeling in North America. In addition to making substantial and practical contributions to these areas, Morisette is very involved with the remote-sensing community and has an international reputation. His research and collaborations within NASA, other federal agencies and with international organizations have helped expand the use of Earth observation satellite data for operational assessment of terrestrial conditions.

Jeff is one of the key players at Goddard in the development of the joint NASA/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS). Morisette serves as the science lead for the ISFS development work at Goddard. In that role he is leading the development of modeling techniques and satellite data layers that will be included in the operational system.

As part of the invasives species work, he led the effort to successfully integrate satellite data and tens of thousands of field sampling points through modeling to create a habitat suitability map that is 90 percent accurate. This "suitability map" ranks areas in the lower 48 .states in terms of being "highly likely" and "moderately likely" habitats for Tamarisk.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently identified Tamarisk as one of the most harmful invasive species in the nation. Because the plant’s long roots tap into underground aquifers. Its groundwater-absorbing qualities may be adding to the severity of the drought in the western U.S. Tamarisk also increases the salt concentration of the soil and degrades habitats for native species along river systems.

Morisette has also played an integral part in quantifying the accuracy of satellite-derived fire products. He works with the fire product team at University of Maryland using data from the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument, aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, to provide information on active fires and burnt area for both global change science and practical applications.

In his current fire-related research, Morisette is working with the National Park Service to explore the interaction between invasive species and fire activity. The work will be conducted throughout three major park systems: Yellowstone/Grand Teton, Sequoia/King Canyon/Yosemite, and National Parks throughout Alaska. The work will compare the fire histories of each park system with alien species invasions and their associated habitats.

Morisette is a member of the North American Carbon Program’s (NACP) science steering group. NACP is a multidisciplinary research program to obtain scientific understanding of North America’s carbon sources and sinks and of changes in carbon stocks needed to meet societal concerns and to provide tools for decision makers. He's one of the primary remote sensing scientists on the NACP Science Steering Group.

For more information about the ISFS and Tamarisk on the Web, please visit:

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