Airborne Validation Unified Experiment: Land to Ocean (AVUELO)

Overview

Airborne Validation Unified Experiment Land to Ocean (AVUELO) is a NASA investigation that aims to advance the validation of spaceborne hyperspectral data for tropical ecosystems by combining airborne hyperspectral imagery for terrestrial and marine sites in Panama and Costa Rica with contemporaneous field measurements and collections in February 2025. This campaign was led and supported by NASA and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, with additional major contributions from other scientists and institutions. NASA’s Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer 3 (AVIRIS-3) was deployed to collect hyperspectral imagery. Terrestrial collection in Panama encompassed many intensively studied sites and wide variation in soil type, geology, rainfall, and vegetation type. In Costa Rica, AVUELO focused on Rincon de la Vieja and Turrialba volcanoes, well-studied forests sites, and Pacific coastal areas in collaboration with the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) team. Associated terrestrial field work focused on acquiring data on the traits and taxonomic identity of canopy plant species captured in the airborne imagery.