Research Interests

S.J.Goetz, 2002, Recent advances in remote sensing of biophysical variables: an overview of the special issue (PDF), Remote Sensing of Environment, 79(ER2-3): 145-146.

S.J.Goetz, Prince, S.D., and Small, J., 2000, Advances in satellite remote sensing of environmental variables for epidemiological applications pages 293-311 in Remote sensing and GIS in public health, S.I. Hay (ed.), Academic Press, London.

S.J.Goetz, Prince, S.D., Goward, S.N., Thawley, M.M., Small, J. and Johnston, A., 1999, Mapping net primary production and related biophysical variables with remote sensing: application to the BOREAS region, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104 (22) : 27719-27733.

S.J.Goetz and S.D.Prince, 1999, Modeling terrestrial carbon exchange and storage: the evidence for and implications of functional convergence in light use efficiency, Advances in Ecological Research, 28 : 57-92.

S.J.Goetz, 1997, Multi-sensor analysis of NDVI, surface temperature and biophysical variables at a mixed grassland site, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 18(1):71-94.

• Earth system science research and regional applications of remote sensing benefit from development, application and validation of algorithms to infer biophysical and ecosystem processes using satellite observations. One aspect of the work focuses on the synthesis of physical and biological components of earth system models including, for example, the conversion of absorbed light energy (estimated from satellite observations) into measures of CO2 exchange between plants and the atmosphere (primary production). This requires modeling of ecophysiological processes and is mainly focused on boreal ecosystems (e.g, central Alaska and Canada), but also includes analyses from continental to global scales. Macroscale biogeographic patterns are another area of research interest, particularly the links between primary production, environmental variables, and aspects of biodiversity (species richness) in different biogeographic settings. My publications explore these topics in more detail.

• Another aspect of my research focuses on remote sensing for resource management. This work uses satellite remotely sensing, ecosystem modeling, and land use change mapping for various science and resource management applications (including land use planning, watershed management, environmental monitoring and forestry). Together, these two primary foci (biophysical remote sensing and resource managment) have important implications for assessing the impacts of environmental change at local to global scales.