Climbing to New Heights: Vegetation Management Training at Nan Madol

CSRM Foundation is collaborating with The United State Forest Service to provide essential vegetation management training and actives at the Nan Modal World Heritage site. The vegetation management will prevent loss of the islets and structures at the World Heritage Site.

This project will also provide access to the entire World Heritage Site by water, through the main canal, and past the most important structures at the site. Visitor experience will be vastly improved, and tourism will generate income that will be essential to continuing vegetation management.

Read the full report here:

Climbing to New Heights: Vegetation Management Training at Nan Madol, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)

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Reclaiming the Hidden Islets of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site

Hidden beneath dense vegetation that has grown up since its abandonment four centuries ago are about 100 artificial islets with the remains of stone palaces, temples, mortuaries, and residential domains the elite. This was an incredible construction, built in the water on the shallow reef flat. Known as Nan Madol, it was the ceremonial center of the Saudeleur Dynasty, just off the shore of Pohnpei Island, in the Federated States of Micronesia.  The vegetation not only conceals the wonders of the site but is destroying it. Through the US State Department Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Large Grant program, CSRM Foundation is overseeing the sustainable conservation of the site: managing the vegetation through the generous support of the US Forest Service, providing for interpretation of the site through exhibits at a new visitor center and guide training, and working with the Federated States of Micronesia and Pohnpei State to develop an organization for the management of Nan Madol. Watch this video to see how the LiDAR survey conducted by CSRM Foundation will be used to guide this work.

Reclaiming the Hidden Islets of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site

Multisensor Analyses of Pacific Island Migration and Societal Development

This drone footage was taken in 2019 over the site of Nan Madol, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia during the planning phase of a LiDAR survey that led to the publication of Comer et al. 2019 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11182152).

The area surrounding the Nan Madol World Heritage Site shown in this video is characteristic of the types of coastal environments that we are studying. Here, our goal is to identify potential defensive structures and humanly altered terrestrial and aquatic landscape features that may have been constructed to enhance coastal and marine ecosystem productivity.

Introduction

Cultural Site Research and Management Foundation is pleased to announce the start of a new project in Micronesia: Multisensor Analyses of Pacific Island Migration and Societal Development. With funding from NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES), this project will utilize a full suite of remotely sensed data collected by airborne and satellite platforms to study Pacific Island migration and societal development. This project will continue and complement the conservation work that we have been conducting at the site of Nan Madol, Pohnpei, FSM. For updates on our conservation project, please visit Nan Madol, Pohnpei, FSM: Sustainable Conservation Plan, AFCP.

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NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES): Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science (IDS) Program

This project was selected as part of Subelement 6: Space Archaeology: Using the Past to Inform the Present and Future:

“It is widely recognized that current Earth system changes are strongly associated with changes in the coupled human-environment system, making the integration of human history and Earth system history a timely and important task. The IDS Space Archaeology subelement seeks to utilize existing remote sensing observations and data sources to discover archaeological evidence of human settlements. A secondary goal is to produce an integrated account and attribution of how changes in relevant environmental processes (e.g., climate, atmospheric chemistry and composition, ecosystem distribution, material and water cycle dynamics, biodiversity) have impacted human system dynamics (e.g., land-use systems, historical and pre-historical human settlement patterns, technologies, patterns of disease, patterns of language and institutions, conflicts and alliances). To achieve this ambitious goal, it will be necessary to integrate innovative remote sensing observations with perspectives, theories, tools and knowledge from a variety of disciplines spanning the full spectrum of natural and social sciences.
Cultures have blossomed, flourished, and then faded, sometimes abruptly, as societies have sought to optimize exploitation of the natural environment (climate, weather, physiography, hydrology, and biotic and mineral resources). A better understanding of how these cultures have flourished or transformed in response to local, regional, and global change is of profound significance to the present as societies grapple with possible adaptations to our changing world. In addition, past cultural practices often had profound impacts on the landscape by altering land-cover through land-use and modifying the hydrologic regime with associated potential consequences for biodiversity and climate. Thus, a better understanding of our past and how interactions between human and environmental systems have impacted and fed back into new, transformed societies might better inform current and future human-environmental interactions.”

— NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)

Overview of Multisensor Analyses of Pacific Island Migration and Societal Development

The Pacific Islands, and in particular, islands in Micronesia, provide ideal laboratories in which to study how “environmental processes (e.g., climate, atmospheric chemistry and composition, ecosystem distribution, material and water cycle dynamics, biodiversity) have impacted human system dynamics (e.g., land-use systems, historical and prehistoric human settlement patterns, technologies, patterns of disease, patterns of language and institutions, conflicts and alliances),” as the NASA ROSES Space Archaeology announcement puts it. Here, dynamics such as sea level rise and temperature change clearly have had, and continue to have, profound effects on social and cultural trajectories. Our observations and conclusions in Micronesia will be relevant to environmental change and archaeology everywhere, especially in coastal regions, where environmental change can lead to large-scale population displacement and threaten infrastructure. Today as in the past, societies are forced to adapt to environmental changes; our understanding of the cycle of environmental change and societal adjustment, and especially how this is influenced by the pace of environmental change, can be greatly informed by linking archaeological and present-day landscapes to records of and observations of continuing environmental change in Micronesia.

We propose to use a full suite of remotely sensed data collected by airborne and satellite platforms: previously and newly collected airborne NIR and blue-green LiDAR, Landsat and Sentinel-2 (optical) and Sentinel-1 (radar), ICESat-2 (blue-green altimetry), and GEDI (infrared laser). Recently, by using LiDAR in the heavily vegetated environments at the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen island, a complex agricultural field system that was both unknown and unexpected was discovered (Comer et al., 2019). The form and sophistication of this system is a key to understanding the pattern and chronology of human occupation of islands in the Pacific. We fully expect to find and map other similarly informative archaeological landscapes, both on and offshore, at areas on Pohnpei and Yap where previous archaeological and ethnographic work suggest them to be present. This previous work found what might be thought of as scattered pieces of a puzzle; using airborne and satellite data, we intend to see the entire pattern of the puzzle, and moreover see it in the context of the environment that shaped it. That environment and environmental processes will be modeled using both optical and SAR satellite data. Moreover, we will utilize high resolution, fine-grained LiDAR data sets to inform the analysis of GEDI and ICESat-2 data in ways that will allow us to discern and differentiate archaeological landscapes. Satellites offer global coverage, while collecting airborne LiDAR, especially in remote regions such as those in the Pacific, is difficult to the extent of often being unfeasible. Success in detecting and characterizing archaeological landscapes, both terrestrial and bathymetric, using satellite LiDAR data would provide an enormously important new tool for archaeologists around the world.

Approximate Chronological Dispersal of Austronesian People across the Pacific (per Bellwood in Chambers 2008)

Short Description of Sensors

Airborne LiDAR: An airborne LiDAR system is a platform attached to an aircraft in flight that creates a point cloud model of the landscape. This method generates the most accurate and detailed digital elevation model (DEM). LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is an active sensor method by which distances (ranges) are measured by illuminating a target using laser light and recording its reflection with a sensor.

Landsat: Originally launched in 1972, the Landsat mission is a joint NASA/USGS venture and the longest-running satellite imagery acquisition program. Landsat-8 (the sensor of primary use for this project) imagery is multispectral, has 9 spectral bands and a 30-meter spatial resolution for Bands 1 – 7 and 9. Panchromatic band 8 has a 15-meter spatial resolution.

Sentinel-1: The Sentinel-1 mission includes two polar-orbiting satellites (that operate during the day as well as during the night) and produce C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Like Sentinel-2, Sentinel-1 is a mission developed by the European Space Agency for the Copernicus initiative.

Sentinel-2: The Sentinel-2 mission includes two polar-orbiting satellites placed in the same sun-synchronous orbit, phased at 180° to each other. Its goal is to monitor variability and change in land surface conditions. The coverage limits are from between latitudes 56° south and 84° north. Sentinel-2 products are wide-swath, high-resolution, multi-spectral satellite images with 13 spectral bands (four bands at 10 m, six bands at 20 m and three bands at 60 m spatial resolution).

NASA’s ICESat-2 or the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 aims to changes in elevation across the surface of the Earth using a photon-counting laser altimeter. As suggested by its name, the planet’s cryosphere will be the main priority for measuring elevation. In addition to generating detailed elevation data of ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice, products related to land elevation and canopy heights will also be developed.

GEDI: Located on the International Space Station, the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar system produces high-resolution laser ranging observations of the 3D structure of the Earth, generating precise measurements of forest canopy height, canopy vertical structure, and surface elevation.

Building Environmental Sustainability and Food Security Through Satellite Applications

With a touch of salt and pepper, these fish would undoubtedly titillate the tastebuds of even the most refined food critic.

Around the world, over a billion people rely on fish for daily sustenance (World Health Organization). Among those people are those on the Micronesian islands where fish are one of the most accessible and prevalent sources of food. Unlike commercial fishing companies who have government-issued licenses for large-scale, deep-water fishing, indigenous people rely on the fish from coastal reefs. These ecosystems are important for the well-being of Micronesians and an intrinsically valuable source of biodiversity and beauty. Fishing is an integral part of their cultural practices, serving as a source of sustenance, income, as well as playing an integral role in Pan-Micronesian identity and religious practice. The reefs create a social safety net. Regardless of employment status, people can eat and trade fish. 

A Micronesian fisherman carrying tuna.

With the growth and dispersion of modern freezers, fishing rates have increased. People can now harvest as many fish as they can fit in their freezer instead of immediately eating or selling everything they catch. Because of this and the confluence of other societal and environmental factors, fishing levels have become unsustainable. For example, the Micronesian island, Pohnpei, uses 1.6 million pounds of fish a year to feed its population. Currently the local reefs only produce 1.1 million pounds of fish a year (Brighter Greener). Overfishing threatens to increase poverty, food insecurity, and endangers Micronesian culture. 

Example of nutrient detection around Guam.

CSRM Foundation is working in partnership with the University of Guam and NASA EPSCOR to develop technological applications that will identify, monitor, and manage environmentally sensitive and protected areas in Guam, Pohnpei, and Palau. Many fish species are more vulnerable during their spawning season, when they can easily be scooped out of the water with nets or picked up by divers. This makes fish spawning sites especially valuable to local fishers who can efficiently and lucratively exploit them. To decrease the negative externality created by this behavior, CSRM Foundation is working to facilitate the regulation of coastal fisheries. CSRM Foundation is using spectral data from Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 satellites to detect condtions that are correlated with fish spawning sites. Once these areas are identified, the government can target monitoring of these areas. This will maximize what is good for the whole population instead of allowing fishers with special knowledge and access to the coastal fisheries to monopolize resources, thus mitigating the economic instability that accompanies environmental destruction. 

A prime example of the long-jaw squirrel fish patrolling its habitat for a delectable snack.

Approximately 27% of the worlds population lives within 100 km of the coast (Matti et al). Many coastal cultures rely heavily on fish for economic, nutritional, and cultural reasons. For this reason, the satellite identification techniques and regulatory framework developed to prevent overfishing in Micronesia can be used as a model for future efforts around the world. Given the accelerating destruction of coastal environments and the ever increasing collection and development of satellite data, CSRM Foundation’s work in this area is increasingly relevant and potentially impactful on a global scale. 

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Works Cited

“Global and Regional Food Consumption Patterns and Trends.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 6 Aug. 2008, www.who.int/nutrition/topics/3_foodconsumption/en/index5.html.

“Federated States of Micronesia.” Countries and Their Cultures, www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Federated-States-of-Micronesia.html.

Hall, Nick. Working Toward Sustainability Alongside Pacific Fisheries.

Kummu, Matti, et al. “Over the Hills and Further Away from Coast: Global Geospatial Patterns of Human and Environment over the 20th–21st Centuries.” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 11, no. 3, 2016, p. 034010., doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/3/034010.

Osakabe, Yasuo. Air Force Delivers Hope and Goodwill to Fais Island . 8 Dec. 2015.

“Overfishing of the Pacific: How Long Until the Fish - and Everything Else - Is Gone?” Brighter Green, brightergreen.org/2010/11/overfishing-of-the-pacific-how-long-until-the-fish-and-everything-else-is-gone/.

Smith, Anderson. Long-Jawed Squirrelfish. Truk Lagoon, Micronesia.