This tree close to one of our leaf litter traps at the #NorthAustralianSatelliteValidationFacility@LitchfieldSSS has been hit and killed by lightning in the wet season. Another tree about 25m away is dead, too. It looks like it has been killed by lightning as well.
to get tall enough to block out sunlight from grasses + get out of the "fire trap". To protect themselves from the intense sun that shines through the canopy gaps, saplings have produced large amounts of sun protective pigments (anthocyanins) giving them a red/purple appearance.
We've done our first trip in 2024 to the #NorthAustralianSatelliteValidationFacility (#NASVF) @LitchfieldSSS to sample leaf traps, download large volume datasets and do general instrument maintenance. 36C with 65% humidity (equiv to a heat index of 49C) meant it was very hot!!!
Currently at the FLEX workshop @esa ESRIN presenting our work on retrieval of solar-induced fluorescence from @DLR_en DESIS data at the #NorthAustralianSatelliteValidationFacility@LitchfieldSSS . Some great discussions around validation, applications and signal interpretation.
We've been working late and getting up early for leaf area index (#LAI) measurements at dusk and dawn for for #satellite#validation. Collaboration with @CopernicusGBOV
Touring the Litchfield Savanna SuperSite @LitchfieldSSS. Lindsay Hutley @HutleyLindsay gives an overview of Eddy Covariance measurements conducted at the site. They have done an amazing job battling the elements (fire, lightning, etc.) over the years. @Jo_Owens_2020@TERN_Aus
Looks like this year will be quite wet at the @LitchfieldSSS . So far we've recorded 1930.2mm of rain since 1st July 2022. And there are still a couple of months left in the wet season.