Hixon Center Climate Colloquium: “Using Microwave Satellites to Quantify How Plants Respond to Drought Stress”

September 23, 2025 2:45–4 p.m.

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Lelia Hawkins
lhawkins@g.hmc.edu

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Increasingly common hotter and drier conditions cause drought stress on plants. The response of plants to these conditions is a significant source of uncertainty in hydrologic and water resources predictions, climate change forecasts, and wildfire risk estimates, among others. However, characterizing plant responses to water stress is challenging because of the large diversity of relevant vegetation traits (including root, xylem, and stomatal properties) within species, within ecosystems, and across the globe.

Alexandra Konings, associate professor of Earth system science at Stanford, will describe how remote sensing (i.e., satellite measurements) of vegetation water content—which naturally integrates over these sources of variability and provides data across the globe—may be a useful tool for better understanding plant water stress response. After describing the scientific challenges in quantifying plant-water stress, Konings will introduce microwave remote sensing and what data it can provide. She will then discuss several examples of the utility of this data: including for accounting for spatial variability in ecosystem behavior and better predictions of hydrologic cycle, and for understanding wildfire risk under different conditions. She'll also briefly discuss emerging frontiers and opportunities.

This event is for: alumni, community connections, faculty, staff, students

Community Connections events provide opportunities for HMC faculty, students and staff to cultivate community, foster open conversations and share important information as together we live out our mission and shape the future of the College.