Welcome to the NTSG

The Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG) operates as a Research Center of Excellence under the University of Montana (UM) Office of Research & Creative Scholarship. Founded in 1987 within the UM College of Forestry & Conservation, NTSG is a nexus for UM research and technology development in satellite remote sensing and Earth system science. Our primary mission is to advance knowledge of ecosystem structure, function & resiliency through emerging technologies in remote sensing & computational modeling, grounded in the biophysical sciences. Our facilities are located on the 4th floor of the Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) on the UM campus.

Recent Science Highlights

NTSG Publications

• Continuity of Global MODIS Terrestrial Primary Productivity Estimates in the VIIRS Era Using Model-Data Fusion
• Widespread spring phenology effects on drought recovery of Northern Hemisphere ecosystems
• Intensified warming and aridity accelerate terminal lake desiccation in the Great Basin of the western United States
• Herbaceous production lost to tree encroachment in United States rangelands
• Pan-Arctic soil moisture control on tundra carbon sequestration and plant productivity
• GLOBAL ARIDIFICATION AND THE DECLINE OF NPP: A COMMENTARY on Projected increases in global terrestrial
  net primary productivity loss caused by drought under climate change.
• Respiratory loss during late-growing season determines the net carbon dioxide sink in northern permafrost regions
• Decoupling of greenness and gross primary productivity as aridity decreases
• A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management
• Earlier snowmelt may lead to late season declines in plant productivity and carbon sequestration in Arctic tundra ecosystems.
• DroughtCast: A Machine Learning Forecast of the United States Drought Monitor.

NTSG Data Products

NTSG supports several NASA satellite Earth missions and is a leader in developing operational algorithms, data products and science applications for these missions. We are a NASA Earth Science Information Partner(ESIP), developer and repository for a variety of global land data products from satellite Earth missions, including MODIS (MOD16/17) vegetation productivity and evapotranspiration, AMSR land parameters, and SMAP (L4C) carbon flux products. Access our data through the Projects and Data page.

Research Students

NTSG teaching/instruction emphasizes research training for postdocs and GRAs in the skills needed to become effective research scientists in ecological remote sensing and modeling. These skills include writing competitive research proposals; writing and publishing research papers in peer-reviewed literature; application of geospatial software and computer programming for processing and analyzing large global satellite datasets; management of interdisciplinary research projects and field campaigns. We provide our GRAs and postdoctoral scholars with state-of-the-art remote sensing data and science computing facilities; opportunities for travel, science leadership, and networking, and presenting their work at national and international workshops. For additional information on:

• Graduate Research Assistance positions email NTSG at info@ntsg.umt.edu
• Postdoctoral applications are found on the NTSG Jobs page
• Current class information is found on the NTSG Teaching page