Rapid Prototyping of NASA MODIS 250m Data in the Calibration/Validation of a Sediment Transport Model for Water Quality Assessment and Public Health Decision Support

Team Members:
Ioannis Georgiou, Ph.D., J. Alex McCorquodale, Ph.D., P.E.; Chandra Sekhar Chilmakuri; Keely Crowder

Project Description:
A major goal of the NASA Applied Sciences Program is to accelerate and expand the use of NASA research products in decision-making processes that directly benefit society. Considerable progress has been made in incorporating NASA data and products derived from NASA data. However, the use of NASA data or research products in numerical models that are routinely used by decision makers is not as well developed. The goal of this project is to rapidly assess the utility of MODIS 250 m reflectance data for calibrating (i.e. defining the initial and boundary conditions) and validating a well-developed model for the resuspension and transport of sediments and materials (ECOMSED). An equally important focus of this project is to define and document the rapid prototyping process within the context of future rapid prototyping of NASA research products in regional-to-national numerical models. Rapid prototyping will enable partner organizations to participate in the systems engineering approach that includes iterative testing and refinement of an enhanced prototype product. The final prototype will provide an interim implementation of an enhanced product, in this case an improved model that will allow for future verification, validation and benchmarking before a permanent solution is adopted by decision makers. Rapid prototyping will help support the systematic transition of NASA research results to operational use by partners through the early identification, demonstration, and documentation of NASA research results that can be adopted in an operational environment.

Data and Files:
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