Hydrosat: Next Generation High-Resolution Daily Surface Temperature for Interconnected Earth Processes

Temperature is the critical signal that allows monitoring of a myriad of Earth’s processes. From direct measurements of wildfire and urban heat to more complex relationships with drought, agriculture, aquaculture, and biodiversity, maintaining a steady pulse on Earth’s surface temperature enables us to mitigate for and adapt to the impacts of extreme events and increasingly variable water availability under a changing climate. All these Earth processes are highly dynamic in space and time; the underlying problem is that they require high spatial and high temporal resolution measurements of temperature. Hydrosat is innovating through this space-time barrier to provide 20 m surface temperature data every day, globally. We propose in this 6-months Phase I investigation to conduct a sensitivity analysis and impact assessment framework to determine how much high spatiotemporal resolution surface temperature can improve applications across: I) wildfire; II) drought; III) urban heat; IV) agriculture; and, V) aquaculture. The results of this analysis will streamline a Phase II investigation into a subset of these applications and will integrate the technology development with the Hydrosat satellite constellation.