Imaging spectroscopy measures desertification in United States and Argentina

Much international environmental research and policy development now focuses on desertification in arid and semi-arid ecosystems of the world. These “dryland” regions, which include most of the world's shrublands grasslands, and savannas, cover nearly 45% of the Earth's land surface and support a large fraction of the world's food production. The U.S. Senate, along with 173 other countries, recently ratified the United Nations (U.N.) Convention to Combat Desertification [UNEP, 1992], a multinational effort to address this pressing human and environmental problem [Showstack, 2001].