Wetlands like the marshes located just outside the city of New Orleans, LA are often overlooked, but these ecosystems provide many vital services. Wetlands, like all ecosystems, are under threat by climate change and particularly the increased tropical storms and hurricanes that tear across our coasts. So how can we monitor vast areas of wetlands to check their health, year after year? Statistician-in-Residence Tiffany Christian explains how researchers can remotely monitor wetland health and spot disruption of annual growth cycles.

Find our transcript here: LINK

Curious to learn more? Check out these additional links:

Review of storm effects on wetlands: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1872203215000657#:~:text=Impacts%20of%20tropical%20storms%20on%20wetland%20landscape%20changes,change%20wetland%20morphology%20and%20elevation

Using remote sensing to detect changes in wetlands growing season: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380015002197 

Overview of wetland health in Louisana and impact of MRGO: https://mississippiriverdelta.org/coalition-unveils-findings-on-mrgo-ecosystem-recovery-15-years-after-hurricane-katrina/ and the associated white paper https://mrgomustgo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MRGO-White-Paper-10-01-2020.pdf 

Importance of wetlands: https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/why-are-wetlands-important#:~:text=Wetlands%20and%20People,our%20use%20at%20no%20cost. 

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Follow Tiffany Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-christian-733137b5/

This episode was audio engineered by Tyler Damme.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is funded by NSF grant DMS-1929348.