Hurricane Georges and vegetation change in Puerto Rico using AVHRR satellite data

Abstract

This study assesses natural disturbances at Puerto Rico resulting from hurricane Georges in September 1998. The study was done using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) 14 satellite. Specifically, the Luquillo Experimental Forest, the Guanica Dry Forest and five cities were examined using AVHRR data. It was found that although there is probably no significant relationship between Georges and the before/after temperature data, there is a statistically significant relationship between distance to the location affected by the hurricane and the extent of changes in NDVI, a fact that suggests that it is possible to measure hurricane impacts on vegetation by using AVHRR data.

Acknowledgments

The authors greatly acknowledge the support of the Center for Hydrology, Soil Climatology, and Remote Sensing (HSCaRS) Department of Plant & Soil Science and the Agricultural Experiment Station, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762, Journal No. 500. This paper was supported in part by Grant No. NCC8-140 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington, DC. Any use of trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.