{"id":465271,"date":"2026-05-02T17:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T17:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/465271\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T17:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T17:09:14","slug":"nasa-scientists-found-a-faster-way-to-detect-forest-clearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/465271\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA scientists found a faster way to detect forest clearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study has found that fresh forest clearing in the tropics can be detected up to 100 days sooner than light-based satellite<\/a> systems allow.<\/p>\n

That earlier warning narrows a dangerous blind spot, because cut forest can green over before standard records ever capture the loss.<\/p>\n

Forest clearing in Brazil
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\n \"EarthSnap\"\/
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In southwest Brazil, small openings in tropical forest appeared in satellite records while ordinary images still struggled against cloud cover.<\/p>\n

By tracing those hidden changes, Africa I. Flores-Anderson at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center<\/a> demonstrated that radar could catch fresh cuts before they disappeared from view.<\/p>\n

The signal was strongest during the first stage of clearing, when trunks and branches still lay where loggers dropped them.<\/p>\n

That narrow window explains why faster detection matters, and why older forest alerts can miss damage that later looks like regrowth.<\/p>\n

Why clouds matter<\/p>\n

Older forest alerts depend heavily on optical satellites, spacecraft that read sunlight reflected from the ground.<\/p>\n

Clouds break that approach, because thick tropical weather hides the ground even when trees are gone.<\/p>\n

For more than 50 years, Landsat<\/a>, a U.S. land-imaging satellite program, has helped governments track changing land from space.<\/p>\n

In wet tropical regions, that strong record can still leave gaps long enough for illegal clearing to continue.<\/p>\n

Seeing through clouds<\/p>\n

Radar changes timing because synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, can \u201csee\u201d through clouds.<\/p>\n

Shorter C-band, a common radar wavelength range, scatters off treetops and leftover branches after cutting.<\/p>\n

Longer L-band<\/a>, a deeper-reaching radar wavelength range, can reach lower forest structure and exposed ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cL-band SAR gives us the opportunity to see what optical doesn\u2019t,\u201d said Sylvia Wilson, chief forest and climate scientist at Wilpa Capacity Development, an organization focused on forest monitoring.<\/p>\n

Radar and forest clearing index<\/p>\n

Numbers made the difference sharper when the team compared radar signals from intact and newly logged forest.<\/p>\n

The radar forest degradation index, a measure that compares returned radar signals, responded strongly when branches stayed on the ground.<\/p>\n

Tests across 92 forest locations in southwest Brazil over three years found L-band signals distinguished fresh logging from intact forest better than C-band signals.<\/p>\n

Even so, the result did not turn radar into a perfect answer, because flooded forest sometimes looked falsely damaged.<\/p>\n

\"Scientists<\/a>Scientists pioneered a new system that combines data from multiple Earth-observing satellites to identify forest clearing up to 100 days earlier than current methods. Credit: NASA. Click image to enlarge.Accuracy without panic<\/p>\n

Speed only helps if alerts stay trustworthy, since false alarms can waste money and weaken enforcement.<\/p>\n

To keep mistakes down, the model confirmed clearing only after repeated signs of loss from different observations.<\/p>\n

A related system<\/a> that combines data from several satellites correctly identified cleared areas 99.19% of the time and detected them in about 16 days on average.<\/p>\n

Very cloudy areas could receive warnings up to 100 days earlier than optical-only systems, giving responders more time to act.<\/p>\n

Forest structure and tree canopy<\/p>\n

Fresh forest clearing often begins with cut trees lying under broken canopy, not bare soil.<\/p>\n

That messy stage changes forest structure, yet short radar<\/a> waves still bounce from debris that masks the damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf an image of a cleared forest isn\u2019t available until the following year, the area may already be regrown, and deforestation will be missing from our data,\u201d said Flores-Anderson.<\/p>\n

Earlier alerts create a narrow window before fires, regrowth, or new farms hide the sequence of damage.<\/p>\n

NASA partners with India<\/p>\n

Faster alerts will face their real-world test as NISAR<\/a>, a radar satellite for tracking Earth, expands coverage beyond special study areas.<\/p>\n

NASA and India\u2019s space agency built a new satellite called NISAR, which launched on July 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

It will scan land and ice around the world every 12 days, giving scientists regular, up-to-date views of changes on Earth.<\/p>\n

Regular 12-day coverage could give models fresh radar views before old gaps erase early evidence.<\/p>\n

Human stakes grow<\/p>\n

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO<\/a>) reported about 42,000 square miles of yearly deforestation from 2015 to 2025.<\/p>\n

That scale turns speed into more than a technical upgrade, because early proof can guide patrols and land claims.<\/p>\n

Communities, conservation groups, and agencies need alerts while roads, smoke, and ownership conflicts can still be checked.<\/p>\n

Delayed records can make a fresh loss look like old land use, which weakens accountability after the fact.<\/p>\n

Forest clearing, radar, and future tech<\/p>\n

Better radar will not settle every forest<\/a> dispute, because an alert still needs local interpretation.<\/p>\n

Flooded forests can confuse radar by sending strong returns that resemble the rough structure of cutting.<\/p>\n

Older L-band radar satellites did not pass over the same areas very often, which slowed how quickly changes could be spotted.<\/p>\n

Future systems will need masks for seasonal flooding and careful checks before enforcement actions follow.<\/p>\n

By catching first damage sooner, the system links what satellites see to the moment when people can still act.<\/p>\n

Better public radar data could sharpen forest protection, but field checks and local knowledge must keep the alerts honest.<\/p>\n

The study is published in Remote Sen<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

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