Huemmrich's paper discusses PACE's observations of changing fall foliage colors

A new paper led by K. Fred Huemmrich (618/UMBC) titled "Observing fall foliage with PACE pigment indices" was published in Remote Sensing Letters (May 2026) and co-authored by Skye Caplan (616/SSAI). Dr. Huemmrich explains that "This new paper is using the PACE [satellite] data to look at the timing and extent of fall foliage colors. We can produce indices related to the amount of different foliar pigments ... that cause colors in leaves. We use those pigment indices to observe the leaf color change and can map it using the satellite’s data. PACE is the first mission that can measure these indices (has narrow spectral bands) over large areas and repeatedly so we can look at change through the fall." From the paper's abstract: "PACE’s repeated hyperspectral observations provide a new view of seasonal fall foliage change based on pigment indices related to the key pigments involved in leaf color, greens from chlorophyll, reds from anthocyanin, and yellows to oranges from carotenoids." 

The UMBC News story “For the leaf peepers: How NASA’s PACE is improving fall color forecasts” by Sarah Hansen, UMBC Communications Manager, STEM, was recently published online. Additionally, Earth.com also has an article on their paper on fall foliage titled "NASA satellite can now track fall colors leaf by leaf from space."

Dr. Huemmrich is discussing this research in the PACE Science Showcase (virtual) on Thursday, June 18th at 3pm (note: PACE Science Speakers present weekly on Thursdays at 3pm); this is the meeting link via Teams (Meeting ID: 244 308 564 699 and Passcode: yP7q3Xv6).