SDSU, School of Mines to work on NASA-funded study with EROS, GIScCE
Switchgrass may be better than corn energy-wise, specialists say.
Kara Gutormson
Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: News
Instead of harvesting fields of corn for ethanol, farmers may be harvesting switchgrass in years to come; but will a shift from corn to switchgrass affect regional weather patterns?
To answer that question, SDSU researchers are working on a three-year project with the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The project-funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-will model potential effects of switchgrass production under different scenarios.
Geoffrey Henebry and Michael Wimberly are leading the project. Henebry and Wimberly are SDSU professors and scientists at the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence (GIScCE) on campus. Henebry is a member of NASA's Land Use Land Cover Change Science Team and is a specialist in the field of ecological remote sensing. Wimberly is developing geospatial models for the project from the satellite imagery provided by EROS.
A project of this nature uses an "alternative futuring" approach. In alternative futuring, satellite images on the current landscape help predict the outcome of the landscape in a number of plausible scenarios.
"Satellite research makes it feasible to cover an entire region with data and allows us to see the world at a completely different level," said Wimberly. "The process is not as humanized, which allows us to see the bigger picture, not just what could happen on a smaller scale."
Data for the project will come from sites located in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. Not all of the data can be collected via satellites; some fieldwork will be necessary. Thomas Schumacher of the SDSU plant science department will be leading the fieldwork effort. "Sites have been identified, and we will undergo the fieldwork as soon as weather permits," he said.
Schumacher, a specialist in soil biophysics, said switchgrass may be better than corn, because energy derived from it is more environmentally friendly. In comparison with corn-based ethanol, the switchgrass cellulosic ethanol has an even higher energy output ratio. "It's a great alternative to corn, but as of yet, no one has come up with a commercially viable way to produce cellulosic ethanol," said Schumacher.
To answer that question, SDSU researchers are working on a three-year project with the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The project-funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-will model potential effects of switchgrass production under different scenarios.
Geoffrey Henebry and Michael Wimberly are leading the project. Henebry and Wimberly are SDSU professors and scientists at the Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence (GIScCE) on campus. Henebry is a member of NASA's Land Use Land Cover Change Science Team and is a specialist in the field of ecological remote sensing. Wimberly is developing geospatial models for the project from the satellite imagery provided by EROS.
A project of this nature uses an "alternative futuring" approach. In alternative futuring, satellite images on the current landscape help predict the outcome of the landscape in a number of plausible scenarios.
"Satellite research makes it feasible to cover an entire region with data and allows us to see the world at a completely different level," said Wimberly. "The process is not as humanized, which allows us to see the bigger picture, not just what could happen on a smaller scale."
Data for the project will come from sites located in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. Not all of the data can be collected via satellites; some fieldwork will be necessary. Thomas Schumacher of the SDSU plant science department will be leading the fieldwork effort. "Sites have been identified, and we will undergo the fieldwork as soon as weather permits," he said.
Schumacher, a specialist in soil biophysics, said switchgrass may be better than corn, because energy derived from it is more environmentally friendly. In comparison with corn-based ethanol, the switchgrass cellulosic ethanol has an even higher energy output ratio. "It's a great alternative to corn, but as of yet, no one has come up with a commercially viable way to produce cellulosic ethanol," said Schumacher.
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