Affiliated Research Groups



Global Remote Sensing Group
Using a Satellite in orbit 705 kilometers above the Eearth to track a microscopic virus might seem a little like using a backhoe with a six-foot bucket to find a needle in a haystack. But the use of remote sensing to track and manage the spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, subtype H5N1) has increased along with fears the disease could become a worldwide pandemic.

Scientists Xiangming Xiao and Steve Frolking of the Complex Systems Research Center (CSRC) are using data from the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites to help the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) better understand the global ecology of avian influenza – in particular its association with agricultural land use and wild waterfowl migration.
Our Sponsors: CEARS UNH NASA EOS-IDS
Earth Science Information Partners (ESIPS) Project
Earth observation information from satellites and ground-based collection sites has the potential for providing scientifically valid answers to many of the world’s most pressing environmental problems. However, the data sets tend to be very large, poorly cataloged, widely distributed and difficult to access.

The Federation of Earth Science Information Partners is a unique consortium of more than 90 organizations that collect, interpret and develop applications for remotely sensed Earth observation information. Included in the ESIP network are NASA, NOAA and USGS data centers, research universities, government research laboratories, supercomputing facilities, education resource providers, information technology innovators, nonprofit organizations and commercial enterprises.

With our Strategic Partners the National Aeronautical and Space Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Federation and its operations arm, the Foundation for Earth Science, are working to make observation information relating to a broad spectrum of Earth science issues more available and understandable to researchers, educators, policy makers and the general public. By so doing, the Federation hopes to contribute significantly to the creation of a healthy and sustainable planet.

Our Sponsors: CEARS UNH NASA EOS-IDS
NH GRANIT Project
The New Hampshire Geographically Referenced Analysis and Information Transfer System (NH GRANIT) is a cooperative project to create, maintain, and make available a statewide geographic data base serving the information needs of state, regional, and local decision-makers. A collaborative effort between the University of New Hampshire and the NH Office of Energy and Planning, the core GRANIT System is housed at the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space in Durham. It includes a geographic database, hardware and software to build, manage, and access the database, and a staff of experts knowledgeable in geographic information systems, image processing, and computer analysis. In addition to database development and maintenance, the GRANIT staff offers a range of application development, training, and related technical services to GIS users in the state and the region.

The GRANIT approach to a statewide GIS depends upon the cooperative efforts of a host of agencies, collaborating on various elements of database design and construction as well as application development. The collaboration occurs formally through the NH GIS Advisory Committee, and informally through daily interactions between the growing body of GIS users in the state and the region.
Our Sponsors: CEARS UNH NASA EOS-IDS
Global Hydrology Research Group
The fundamental goal of the Water Systems Analysis Group (WSAG) is to act as a formal, active research and advanced training unit within the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire. The group is dedicated to analysis of the critical global change issue of water systems and their alteration by anthropogenic activities. Creation of the Water Systems Analysis Group reflects a rapidly emerging scientific field which pursues integrative studies of hydrology, biogeochemistry, and human-water interactions that is necessary to analyze the full dimension of anthropogenic change at local, regional, and global sca les.
Our Sponsors: CEARS UNH NASA EOS-IDS