In September 2026, University of Utah scientists using TROPOMI saw Western US forest fluorescence fade two years before bark-beetle mortality showed in aerial surveys. - Silicon Canals

TROPOMI aerosol-index map of the 10 September 2020 smoke cloud over the US West Coast and Pacific Ocean, from Copernicus Sentinel-5P. Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-5P imagery.

In September 2026, University of Utah scientists using TROPOMI saw Western US forest fluorescence fade two years before bark-beetle mortality showed in aerial surveys.

A satellite instrument built to track air pollution has turned out to be a useful early-warning sensor for dying forests. In work covered on 13 September 2026 by