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#           Eyes on Earth Episode 64 – Colorado Bark Beetles      

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      By Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center       December 27, 2021    

## Eyes on Earth podcast

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            -              Overview           

Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn how Landsat helps to track bark beetle outbreaks.

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**Summary**: Outbreaks of native bark beetles can lead to conspicuous changes in a forest landscape. They’ve been present for thousands of years with occasional outbreaks, but there’s a lot we don’t yet understand about them. Exactly when and where have outbreaks occurred? How severe were they? What happened to the forest afterward? How will a warming climate influence outbreaks? On this episode of Eyes on Earth, we hear from researchers Dr. Sarah Hart and Dr. Kyle Rodman, who use Landsat to help find answers to those questions. A recent study led by Dr. Rodman used Landsat to identify the locations and severity of bark beetle outbreaks in the southern Rocky Mountains. The researchers were surprised to find smaller areas of severe mortality than they expected. Landsat can even be used to help predict patterns of future outbreaks. Dr. Zhiliang Zhu, a USGS researcher, adds his perspective of the effects of forest disturbance as well.

**Guests: **Dr. Sarah Hart, forest ecologist, Colorado State University; Dr. Kyle Rodman, research scientist, Northern Arizona University’s Ecological Restoration Institute; Dr. Zhiliang Zhu, USGS biologic carbon sequestration researcher

**Host:** Jane Lawson

**Producer:** John Hult

**Release date:** December 27, 2021

**More on forest disturbances:**

Landsat: The Watchman That Never Sleeps

Image of the Week: Beetle Damage in the Black Hills

New York tries creative ways, including satellites, to fight hemlock-killing insect

### Contacts

#### Timothy A. Glynn

##### Chief of Staff

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center 

tglynn@usgs.gov

605-594-6046

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                      - Colorado
                      - bark beetles
                      - invasive species
                      - Landsat
                      - Landsat 8
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Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn how Landsat helps to track bark beetle outbreaks.

View Media Details

View

Download and Transcript Access

View Media Details

Eyes on Earth

**Summary**: Outbreaks of native bark beetles can lead to conspicuous changes in a forest landscape. They’ve been present for thousands of years with occasional outbreaks, but there’s a lot we don’t yet understand about them. Exactly when and where have outbreaks occurred? How severe were they? What happened to the forest afterward? How will a warming climate influence outbreaks? On this episode of Eyes on Earth, we hear from researchers Dr. Sarah Hart and Dr. Kyle Rodman, who use Landsat to help find answers to those questions. A recent study led by Dr. Rodman used Landsat to identify the locations and severity of bark beetle outbreaks in the southern Rocky Mountains. The researchers were surprised to find smaller areas of severe mortality than they expected. Landsat can even be used to help predict patterns of future outbreaks. Dr. Zhiliang Zhu, a USGS researcher, adds his perspective of the effects of forest disturbance as well.

**Guests: **Dr. Sarah Hart, forest ecologist, Colorado State University; Dr. Kyle Rodman, research scientist, Northern Arizona University’s Ecological Restoration Institute; Dr. Zhiliang Zhu, USGS biologic carbon sequestration researcher

**Host:** Jane Lawson

**Producer:** John Hult

**Release date:** December 27, 2021

**More on forest disturbances:**

Landsat: The Watchman That Never Sleeps

Image of the Week: Beetle Damage in the Black Hills

New York tries creative ways, including satellites, to fight hemlock-killing insect

### Contacts

#### Timothy A. Glynn

##### Chief of Staff

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center 

tglynn@usgs.gov

605-594-6046

### Explore Search

                      - Landsat 
                      - Remote Sensing Research and Development
                      - Climate
                      - Information Systems
                      - Maps and Mapping
                      - Eyes on Earth
                      - Remote Sensing
                      - podcasts
                      - Colorado
                      - bark beetles
                      - invasive species
                      - Landsat
                      - Landsat 8
                      - EROS

View All **