Following the devastating impact of the 2005 hurricane season, state and local government leaders along the Gulf of Mexico needed to improve coastal management practices. However, they lacked the data necessary to make informed policy and project decisions. In 2004, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) was formalized — a partnership between the five Gulf States to increase regional collaboration with local, state and federal entities. NASA’s Earth Science Division requested NASA’s Stennis Space Center to focus their research on GOMA-related issues.

In response, Stennis scientists partnered with GOMA and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program to conduct land-use and land-cover research around Mobile Bay, Ala.

"The Mobile Bay project can be considered a success for NASA's Applied Sciences Program and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program,” said Anne Peek, Stennis Applied Science and Technology Project Office chief. “The collaboration resulted in improving the end-users’ capacity to utilize space-based observations in everyday decision-making." Jean Ellis spent about 18 months working at Stennis under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act through Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and teamed with Joseph Spruce of Science Systems and Applications Inc. at Stennis to lead the Mobile Bay project.

That makes NASA land-use and land-cover data products a key issue because changes in the estuarine environment could have a crippling impact, noted Ellis, now a faculty member at the University of South Carolina.

“For instance, if you increase the flow of sediment into the area, you can cause an imbalance in the system that may reduce submerged aquatic vegetation,” Ellis said. “The result is that there are no fish. ”

The project results serve as critical tools for urban and land-use planning for Mobile Bay leaders, Ellis said. The maps and statistics also help identify potential research projects that can further benefit the area. In addition, the project results will be available on the Internet. for public and scientists use alike.