Remote Sensing and Machine Learning to Better Define Wetland Loss and Gain in the Mississippi Delta

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific postdoctoral opportunity focuses on Mississippi Delta wetlands research, addressing three main themes: (1) defining and mapping changes in wetland-water separation classes and water level corrections in the Barataria and Breton Sound basins using hundreds of spectral bands from drone flights; (2) analyzing marsh vegetation community structure using field surveys and hyperspectral image data collected from drones; (3) detecting submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in imagery to identify its extent and role in trapping sediment and leading to land gain. The research is connected to Louisiana's 50-year Master Plan for Coastal Restoration and Protection, particularly the construction of sediment diversions in the Mississippi River as a tool for building and sustaining coastal wetlands. The fellowship aims to assess how coastal wetlands are responding to climate change stressors, sea-level rise, and planned coastal restoration activities.