TED talks: ecology from the air – Greg Asner

This week’s featured TED talk sees ecologist Greg Asner, who leads the Carnegie Airborne Observatory project, tell us about the fascinating, high-tech system he uses to map nature.

Asner’s laser technology gathers comprehensive data on forests and carbon. But to truly preserve and improve our ecosystems, he says, we need even more research.

“We’re able to see, if you will, the forest and the trees at the same time”, Asner adds.

“We’re able to now understand an image, map and measure huge expanses of the environment while maintaining the detail. Not just the spatial resolution, but the biological resolution—the actual organisms that live in these places.”

To watch this video on the TED website, click here.