PANGEA (PAN tropical investigation of bioGeochemistry and Ecological Adaptation)

Dec 20

Background

The tropics are experiencing dramatic changes as a result of climate change and land-use change. Shifts in carbon flux dynamics, water cycling, and species composition are resulting in feedbacks with globally important consequences. However, tropical forests are not a monolith. They vary enormously in terms of species diversity, climate, soils, human impact, and much more. As a result, tropical forest ecosystems will almost certainly vary in response to climate change and land-use change. Yet, these differences remain highly uncertain and poorly understood. PANGEA (PAN tropical investigation of bioGeochemistry and Ecological Adaptation) is a NASA decadal Terrestrial Ecology campaign that aims to better understand the combined effects of climate and land-use change in tropical forests within and between continents. If selected, NASA would support a 6-9 year field campaign that will combine in-situ field data with remotely sensed airborne and spaceborne data.

My Role

As a member of the NASA team working on PANGEA scoping campaign, I…

co-lead an international working group that engaged with over 800 individuals and 300 organizations from 42 countries across 5 continents,
worked collaboratively with the PANGEA team to identify synergies between the PANGEA campaign and local research priorities in the landscape where PANGEA may be implemented,
co-developed a community engagement strategy for the PANGEA terrestrial ecology campaign, and helped draft the Community Engagement and Earth Science to Action sections of the PANGEA White Paper, and
led bi-weekly engagement meetings and working group discussions, and presented at outreach and engagement events in Cameroon, Belgium and the United States.