NASA Scientists Map Plant Productivity with Data from PACE Satellite
📍 By Cathy Ching — NASA, Aug 2025
NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite is providing scientists with a powerful new way to track how plants grow and respond to environmental changes throughout the year. While originally designed to study the oceans and atmosphere, PACE is now delivering valuable insights for agriculture and land management on Earth’s surface.
Why Plant Productivity Matters
Monitoring plant productivity — the efficiency with which plants convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis — is vital for:
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Sustaining ecosystems and biodiversity.
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Detecting agricultural stress early.
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Supporting global food security.
Sudden drops in productivity can signal problems like heat stress, droughts, or cold snaps, allowing land managers to respond before harvests fail or ecosystems collapse.
From MODIS to PACE
For years, researchers relied on the MODIS instruments aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. MODIS detects specific wavelengths of light linked to photosynthesis, helping scientists monitor Earth’s vegetation.
Now, with the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) on PACE, launched in February 2024, scientists have a sharper tool. Unlike MODIS, OCI:
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Captures a broader range of light reflected by plants.
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Collects more detailed seasonal data across landscapes.
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Offers improved precision in tracking subtle shifts in plant health.
Early Results: Seasons in Motion
In a study published July 10, 2024, NASA scientists used OCI data from March through September 2024. The results showed how plant productivity shifts northward as winter ends in the Northern Hemisphere, vividly illustrating seasonal changes in ecosystems.
The resulting maps reveal not only farmland and forests, but also vegetation across mountains, tundra, and tropical regions — giving researchers a unified, global view of Earth’s green pulse.
Looking Ahead
The tools built on PACE data could soon become essential for:
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Farmers and land managers, receiving earlier warnings of climate-driven stress on crops.
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Ecologists, tracking biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.
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Climate researchers, studying the links between carbon cycles, vegetation health, and atmospheric changes.
By expanding its mission beyond oceans, NASA’s PACE satellite is transforming into a guardian of Earth’s green landscapes — ensuring that humanity can better predict, adapt to, and mitigate the challenges of a changing climate.
