BioSCape in the News

An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir demonstrated that Earth's biodiversity can be monitored and measured from space, leading to a better understanding of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. 

In a bid to delve deeper into the world of microalgae and its pivotal role in maintaining the health of South Africa’s drinking water dams, a team of researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has undertaken a project in the Theewaterskloof Dam, situated in the Western Cape.

Two aircraft from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took to the skies on Tuesday to start collecting data for a unique biodiversity research project in the Cape.

A research project funded by NASA that is launching this week in South Africa, co-led by UC Merced environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir, is aimed at better understanding the biodiversity of the region and providing new mapping tools that could be used on a global scale.

Cape Town - A biodiversity research project has been launched to help scientists better understand the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR).

The first of two Nasa Gulfstream jets touched down in Cape Town on Wednesday to begin a unique aerial survey with local scientists of one of Earth’s biodiversity hotspots.

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) researchers have deployed a buoy equipped with a series of instruments in Theewaterskloof dam, in the Western Cape, to gain deeper insights into microalgae biodiversity and its significance in supporting the ecosystem health of South Africa’s drinking water dams.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) researchers on Tuesday deployed a buoy equipped with a series of instruments in the Theewaterskloof Dam to gain deeper insights into microalgae biodiversity and its significance in supporting the ecosystem health of South Africa’s drinking water dams.

CSIR researchers deployed a buoy equipped with a series of instruments in Theewaterskloof Dam, one of the largest dams in the country, located in the Western Cape.

Cape Town, South Africa – A new biodiversity research project called BioSCape will be launched in the Western Cape, South Africa, on Tuesday, 17 October.

'n Vliegtuig wat spesiale data vir 'n nuwe biodiversiteitsnavorsingsprojek insamel, sal Dinsdag in Kaapstad gelanseer word.

A new biodiversity research project known as BioSCape, which will link data collected from satellites and airplanes with field observations to better understand the biodiversity of the Greater Cape Floristic Region and nature's contributions to people, was launched on Monday, 16 October 2023.

Hugging the southwestern corner of Africa, a buffer of green separates the ocean from the arid South African interior. Contained within this relatively narrow band is the entirety of one of Earth’s six floral kingdoms, known as the Greater Cape Floristic Region.

This training series highlighted the use of hyperspectral Visible to Shortwave Infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectroscopy data, for example from AVIRIS-NG and PRISM instruments, for measuring and monitoring terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity (e.g., mapping plant or phytoplankton functional types). Then, the series focused on using thermal and lidar data for characterizing the structure and function of ecosystems using airborne campaigns including the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) and NASA's Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS).  Learn more here.

Regarded as one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet, South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region is set to be the subject of a first-of-its-kind biodiversity survey conducted by NASA.

Scientists from South Africa and the United States are launching a campaign to map marine, freshwater, and terrestrial species and ecosystems in one of Earth’s biodiversity hotspots: the Greater Cape Floristic Region at the southwestern edge of South Africa. 

We [spoke] to Dr Jasper Slingsby, a senior lecturer in biological sciences at UCT and the SA lead on the fynbos project with NASA. 

Next year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, will be spending six weeks in the Western Cape flying over the greater Cape floristic kingdom in order to map marine, freshwater and terrestrial species and ecosystems.

Scientists from the U.S. and South Africa are launching a campaign to map marine, freshwater, and terrestrial species and ecosystems in one of Earth’s biodiversity hotspots: the Greater Cape Floristic Region at the southwestern edge of South Africa.

Think of Nasa and the images that spring to mind are probably rocket launches or the International Space Station. Certainly not fynbos.

The South African Department of Science and Innovation has recently identified part of the BioSCape study region as an Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON).