NASA has funded an interdisciplinary research project at the University of Florida that will study the relationship between climate variability and land use and land cover change. The study will use remote sensing and socio-economic surveys to create models to guide communities in adapting to climate change.

The research will include field projects in southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia and Zambia) to address the variability in climate in light of extended drought. The project will address variability of the timing and amount of rainfall and resulting human suffering.

“We hope the grant allows us to better understand the social-ecological systems response to climate variability and so to allow us to develop understanding for future climate scenarios,” said geography professor Jane Southworth, the principal investigator. “Ideally, it will allow for better adaptation strategies for local communities under changing environmental conditions.”

The following YouTube video summarizes the challenge in this region:

More details on the grant and the research project called “Adaptive Management: Water, Wetlands and Watersheds” or AM:W3 can be found here.

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