Keck: Studying photosynthesis, from outer space

This is an illustration of the process of measuring photosynthesis from space, courtesy of the Keck Institute for Space Studies. 

Credit: Keck Institute for Space Studies

Plants convert energy from sunlight into chemical energy during a process called photosynthesis.

This energy is passed on to humans and animals that eat the plants, and thus photosynthesis is the primary source of energy for all life on Earth.

But the photosynthetic activity of various regions is changing due to human interaction with the environment, including climate change, which makes large-scale studies of photosynthetic activity of interest.

New research from a team including Carnegie's Joe Berry reveals a fundamentally new approach for measuring photosynthetic activity as it occurs around the planet.

It is published this week by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Their work is based on a breakthrough in the capacity to use satellite technology to measure light that is emitted by plant leaves as a byproduct of photosynthesis.

This light is called fluorescence and it is produced when sunlight excites the photosynthetic pigment chloropyll.

The method offers a direct measurement of activity occurring as the satellite passes overhead. Other approaches to detecting photosynthetic activity on a large scale are less direct, so until now, models have been the primary tool for estimating photosynthetic productivity on a planetary scale. The accuracy of these models has been difficult to evaluate.

"This new method uses satellites to sense fluorescence emitted during photosynthesis," Berry said. "It changes everything. It gives us a direct observation of photosynthesis on a large scale for the first time ever."

The team's paper reports on observations of fluorescence from large areas of crops in the Midwestern Corn Belt. The data show that the previous model-based estimates of photosynthesis are too low.

What's more, these studies provide a new-and-improved tool to evaluate the comparative productivity of the breadbaskets of the world, such as the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Eastern China.

The relationship between fluorescence measured from space and gross primary production measured in the Corn Belt also provides a way for researchers to assess in near real-time the production of other, non-agricultural areas of the world, including vast expanses of uncultivated forests and grasslands.

More information: Global and time-resolved monitoring of crop photosynthesis with chlorophyll fluorescence, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1320008111

SOFIA Airborne observatory records outer space in unprecedented detail

SOFIA records outer space in unprecedented detail.

Soaring at 41,000 feet in the air, a team of Ithaca College physics students and a professor recently took photos from a flying observatory to help discover what makes up our universe.

A collaboration between NASA and other researchers, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) provides key insight into the formation and evolution of stars and planets.

SOFIA allows scientists to observe infrared light and collect data—such as never-before-seen images of Jupiter and the galaxy M82—nearly impossible to obtain previously.

SOFIA is made up of an eight-foot-wide, 17-ton telescope situated within a modified Boeing 747.

While in flight, the cavity door of the plane opens, similar to a large garage door opening, to expose the giant telescope and capture images of space.

A non-pressurised open area in the fuselage, or side of the plane, is then created to route the airflow over the telescope while the aircraft flies at 500 mph.

Luke Keller

Luke Keller, Ithaca College associate professor of physics, is a member of the team assisting in the test flight series for the airborne telescope using an infrared camera system referred to as FORCAST (Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope).

"Astronomers and physicists are constantly looking for better ways to view space and learn about our environment beyond Earth's atmosphere," Keller says.

"With SOFIA now in operation, we are going to see the universe in detail never before possible."

Keller is responsible for developing and testing the software used in flight to process and analyze data, assisting with optical testing, and collaborating on the development of the camera's calibration system.

The ability to image astronomical objects and environments at different infrared wavelengths enables Keller and his colleagues to analyse physical characteristics such as temperature and composition, thus allowing the scientists to watch dynamic processes taking place.

Over the next 20 years, additional instruments will be installed on the telescope, each one designed to investigate targeted infrared wavelengths and capture even more detail from space.

Kirobo: Japan's conversation robot ready for outer space - Video

Humanoid communication robot Kirobo, left, talks with Fuminori Kataoka, project general manager from Toyota Motor Corp., during a press unveiling in Tokyo Wednesday, June 26, 2013. 

The world's first space conversation experiment between a robot and humans is ready to be launched. 

Developers from the Kirobo project, named after "kibo" or hope in Japanese and "robot," gathered to demonstrate the humanoid robot's ability to talk. 

Credit: AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

The world's first space conversation experiment between a robot and humans is ready to be launched.

Developers from the Kirobo project, named after "kibo" or hope in Japanese and "robot," gathered in Tokyo Wednesday to demonstrate the humanoid robot's ability to talk.

"Russia was the first to go outer space, the U.S. was the first to go to the moon, we want Japan to be the first to send a robot-astronaut to space that can communicate with humans," said Yorichika Nishijima, the Kirobo project manager.



Tomotaka Takahashi, CEO of Robo Garage Co. and associate professor at the University of Tokyo, said he hopes robots like Kirobo that hold conversations will eventually be used to assist astronauts working in space.

"When people think of robots in outer space, they tend to seek ones that do things physically," said Takahashi. "But I think there is something that could come from focusing on humanoid robots that focus on communication."

Humanoid communication robot Kirobo is shown during a press unveiling in Tokyo Wednesday, June 26, 2013. 

The world's first space conversation experiment between a robot and humans is ready to be launched. 

Developers from the Kirobo project, named after "kibo" or hope in Japanese and "robot," gathered to demonstrate the humanoid robot's ability to talk. 

Credit: AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi