Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS)

The Colorado Headwaters Ecological Spectroscopy Study (CHESS) is a collaboration between the Department of Energy Watersheds Science Focus Area, NASA JPL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, NEON, and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL). From June-July 2025, the CHESS team collected vegetation and soil data across three sampling domains in western Colorado (Almont, Crested Butte, and Upper Taylor). Ground sampling occurred within 72 hours of NEON AOP overflights. CHESS aims to use the in-situ data to validate trait estimates derived from airborne VSWIR and LiDAR imagery to improve scalable remote mapping of terrestrial ecosystems.