Stephanie Spera

Gund Affiliate - Research Professor, University of Maryland

sspera@richmond.edu
Stephanie Spera
sspera@richmond.edu
Personal Website
Alma mater(s)
  • PhD, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park
  • MA, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park
  • BS, Biology and Environmental Studies, Tufts University

BIO

Stephanie Spera's research seeks to understand landscape-level human-environment feedbacks with regard to social, economic, and environmental drivers and consequences. She analyzes large datasets, develops algorithms, and integrates spatial data to characterize landscapes and landscape-scale dynamics. Broadly, she asks, ‘How do we ensure that we manage our landscapes sustainably?’ She is interested in how and to what extent humans are modifying the landscape; what is driving changes in land cover; how these changes are affecting the environment; and how humans are, in turn, responding to these changes. She answers these questions focusing on a range of scales and landscapes, from the Richmond, Virginia to Acadia National Park, Maine to biomes across South America.

Area(s) of expertise

Remote sensing of vegetation, private sector agriculture, food security, Africa food prices, technology applications

Bio

Stephanie Spera's research seeks to understand landscape-level human-environment feedbacks with regard to social, economic, and environmental drivers and consequences. She analyzes large datasets, develops algorithms, and integrates spatial data to characterize landscapes and landscape-scale dynamics. Broadly, she asks, ‘How do we ensure that we manage our landscapes sustainably?’ She is interested in how and to what extent humans are modifying the landscape; what is driving changes in land cover; how these changes are affecting the environment; and how humans are, in turn, responding to these changes. She answers these questions focusing on a range of scales and landscapes, from the Richmond, Virginia to Acadia National Park, Maine to biomes across South America.

Areas of Expertise

Remote sensing of vegetation, private sector agriculture, food security, Africa food prices, technology applications

Publications

  • K. Zhao, M. Wulder, T. Hu, R. Bright, Q. Wu, H. Qin, Y. Li; E. Toman, B. Mallick, X. Zhang, M.E. Brown (2019) Detect change-point, trend, and seasonality in satellite time series data to track abrupt changes and nonlinear dynamics: A Bayesian ensemble algorithm. Remote Sensing of Environment. In press.
  • M.E. Brown, V.M. Escobar (2019) NASA’s Early Adopter Program Links Satellite Data to Decision Making. Remote Sensing Journal. 11:4, 406; doi: 10.3390/rs11040406
  • Osgood, Daniel; Powell, Bristol; Diro, Rahel; Farah, Carlos; Enenkel, Markus; Brown, Molly E; Husak, Gregory; Blakeley, S. Lucille; Hoffman, Laura and McCarty, Jessica (2019) Farmer Perception, Recollection, and Remote Sensing in Weather Index Insurance for Agriculture in the Developing World: an Ethiopia Case Study. Remote Sensing Journal 10: 12, 1887; doi: 10.3390/rs10121887
  • T. Iizumi, M. Kotoku, P.C. West, J.S. Gerber, W. Kim and M.E. Brown (2018) Uncertainties of potentials and recent changes in global yields of major crops resulting from census- and satellite-based yield datasets at multiple resolutions. PLoS One 13: 9, e0203809. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203809
  • Enenkel, M., D. Osgood, M. Anderson, B. Powell, J. McCarty, C. Neigh, M. Carroll, M. Wooten, G. Husak, C. Hain, M.E. Brown (2018) Exploiting the convergence of evidence in satellite data for advanced weather index insurance design. Weather, Climate and Society 11: 1 doi: 10.1175/WCAS-D-17-0111.1
  • Niles, M. and M.E. Brown (2017) A multi-country assessment of factors related to smallholder food security in varying rainfall conditions. Scientific Reports. 7: 16277, doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-16282-9.
  • D. Davies, M.E. Brown, K. Murphy, N. Stavros, B. Zavodsky, M. Carroll (2017) NASA Data for Time-Sensitive Applications: A Workshop Summary.  IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine. Doi: 10.1109/MGRS.2017.2729278
  • M.E. Brown, Funk, C.C., Pedreros, D., Korecha, D., Lemma, M., Rowland, J.D., Williams, E., Verdin, J.P., 2017. A Climate Trend Analysis of Ethiopia—Examining Subseasonal Climate Impacts on Crops and Pasture Conditions. Climatic Change 142(1-2): 169-182. doi:
  • 10.1007/s10584-017-1948-6
  • M.E. Brown, E.R. Carr, K. Grace, K. Wiebe, C. Funk, W. Attavanich, P. Backlund, L. Buja (2017) Do markets and trade help or hurt the global food system adapt to climate change? Food Policy Journal. 68 pp154–159. doi: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.02.004

Associations and Affiliations