NASA satellite data is revolutionizing the way Maine oyster farmers choose their sites, leading to faster growth rates and increased success. By using temperature and food availability data, farmers can now make more informed decisions, reducing financial risk and increasing their chances of a successful harvest.
The study, published in the journal Aquaculture, demonstrates how temperature data from Landsat, combined with European Sentinel-2 satellite estimates of plankton, can predict the growth rate of eastern oysters. This model, built by University of Maine scientists, takes into account the oysters' energy distribution among growth, survival, and reproduction. By feeding the model with sea surface temperature and satellite estimates of chlorophyll and particulate organic matter, it can predict how fast oysters will grow, going beyond just spotting good or bad sites for farms.
The project is helping pave the way for other NASA missions, such as the PACE satellite, which is delivering hyperspectral observations of coastal waters. This richer picture of coastal life can help farmers forecast and apply evidence to their harvest, reducing the mystery and increasing the success of their ventures.
NASA's Earth science program is supporting communities by providing valuable data that can be used locally to help them work smarter and make their livelihoods more sustainable. This is a great example of how technology and science can work together to benefit local industries and communities.
