Nadine Therese Laporte is a researcher and academic in the fields of forestry and remote sensing.

Early life and education Nadine Therese Laporte was born in France. She is the only child of two farmers from a small farming community.N. T. Laporte, personal communication, 2022

Laporte was the recipient of several French government and European grants to pursue higher education in France and Italy. She obtained a Diploma of General Studies in Sciences in 1982, Bachelor of Biology in 1984, Master in Biology of Organisms and Populations in 1985, Advanced Studies Degree in Ecology in 1986, and a Doctorate in Tropical Ecology and Remote Sensing in 1990, which was a relatively new field at the time. She received her PhD from Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse.

While in school she interned at the Laboratory for International Mapping in France because Paul Sabatier University did not have a remote sensing division. This was a relatively new field at the time.Nadine Laporte. (n.d.-b). Scinapse.

Career Prior to becoming a scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, where she was director of the Africa program,Bagwell, R. (2022). Mapping the Changing Forests of Africa. Earthdata. https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/mapping-the-changing-forests-of-africa she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland in College Park and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland.

She is adjunct research professor at Northern Arizona University.Scott J. Goetz. (n.d.). Northern Arizona University. https://experts.nau.edu/en/persons/scott-goetz/network-persons/

Research Much of Laporte's research focuses on mapping and monitoring carbon emissions, deforestation, and forest biomass. The main area of study is tropical and sub-tropical land masses. Much of her work has focused on Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The satellite remote sensing data is used to assess how much CO2 would be released into the atmosphere if a forest were to be cut down, based on the amount of biomass in existing trees. It can also help record the amount of biomass, which then contributes to these CO2 estimates. This recording of biomass is not only to assess CO2 emissions, but also to contribute to the conservation of forest species, including primates.

Laporte's research contributed to tropical forest policies a part of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation.)Bertazzo, S. (2019). What on Earth is ‘REDD+’? https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth-is-redd/ REDD+ is a policy mechanism to reduce carbon emissions by helping to protect tropical forests and lessen deforestation. She assisted the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to quantify forest carbon stocks and emissions reporting for REDD+ under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This method was suggested because it would help protect biodiversity, people living in the area, and maintaining stored carbon in these tropical ecosystems.Butler, R. (2008). Forest carbon credits could guide development in Congo. Mongabay Environmental News. https://news.mongabay.com/2008/05/forest-carbon-credits-could-guide-development-in-congo/

Other roles Laporte has been a panelist and guest speaker for NASA, the ClimateWorks Foundation,In the Spotlight: April 2, 2021. (2021). The NAU Review – the Official News Source for Northern Arizona University. https://news.nau.edu/spotlight-april-2-2021/ Woods Hole Research Center, and several other research programs.

She was the principal investigator for NASA’s Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program (LCLUC) project: An Integrated Forest Monitoring System (INFORMS) for Central Africa. This project began in 2000 and ended in 2003. Collaboration between multiple entities, including in-country National Forest Services, developed a forest monitoring system in this study.An Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa | LCLUC. (n.d.). https://lcluc.umd.edu/projects/integrated-forest-monitoring-system-central-africa She was also the principal investigator for the project Forest Biomass and Land-Use Change in Central Africa: Reducing Regional Carbon Cycle Uncertainty, starting 2004 and ending in 2007. This study aimed to develop remote sensing that could be utilized for national reporting.Forest Biomass and Land-Use Change in Central Africa: Reducing Regional Carbon Cycle Uncertainty | LCLUC. (n.d.). https://lcluc.umd.edu/projects/forest-biomass-and-land-use-change-central-africa-reducing-regional-carbon-cycle

Publication Laporte's articles have been published in Nature Climate Change,2. Baccini, A., Goetz, S., Walker, W. et al. (2012). Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from tropical deforestation improved by carbon-density maps. Nature Climate Change 2, 182–185 https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1354 Carbon Balance and Management,Goetz, S.J., Baccini, A., Laporte, N.T. et al. (2009). Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks with satellite observations: a comparison of methods. Carbon Balance Management 4, 2 https://doi.org/10.1186/1750-0680-4-2 Science,Laporte, N. T., Stabach, J. A., Grosch, R., Lin, T. S., & Goetz, S. J. (2007). Expansion of Industrial Logging in Central Africa. Science, 316(5830), 1451–1451. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141057 International Journal of Remote Sensing,MALINGREAU, J. P., TUCKER, C. J., & LAPORTE, N. (1989). AVHRR for monitoring global tropical deforestation. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 10(4–5), 855–867. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431168908903926Society for Conservation Biology,Rose, R. A., Byler, D., Eastman, J. R., Fleishman, E., Geller, G., Goetz, S., Guild, L., Hamilton, H., Hansen, M., Headley, R., Hewson, J., Horning, N., Kaplin, B. A., Laporte, N., Leidner, A., Leimgruber, P., Morisette, J., Musinsky, J., Pintea, L., . . . Wilson, C. (2014). Ten ways remote sensing can contribute to conservation. Conservation Biology, 29(2), 350–359. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12397 Environmental Conservation,SUNDERLIN, W., NDOYE, O., BIKIÉ, H., LAPORTE, N., MERTENS, B., & POKAM, J. (2000). Economic crisis, small-scale agriculture, and forest cover change in southern Cameroon. Environmental Conservation, 27(3), 284–290. Environmental Research Letters,Goetz, S. J., Hansen, M., Houghton, R. A., Walker, W., Laporte, N., & Busch, J. (2015). Measurement and monitoring needs, capabilities and potential for addressing reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under REDD+. Environmental Research Letters, 10(12), 123001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/123001 International Forestry Review,Johns, T., Merry, F., Stickler, C., Nepstad, D., Laporte, N., & Goetz, S. (2008). A three-fund approach to incorporating government, public and private forest stewards into a REDD funding mechanism. International Forestry Review, 10(3), 458–464. https://doi.org/10.1505/ifor.10.3.458 American Journal of Primatology,Devos, C., Sanz, C., Morgan, D., Onononga, J. R., Laporte, N., & Huynen, M. C. (2008). Comparing ape densities and habitats in northern Congo: surveys of sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees in the Odzala and Ndoki regions. American Journal of Primatology, 70(5), 439–451. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20514 and Nature Sustainability.Kleinschroth, F., Laporte, N., Laurance, W.F. et al. Road expansion and persistence in forests of the Congo Basin. Nature Sustain 2, 628–634 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0310-6

Personal life Laporte is married to Scott J. Goetz, a professor of informatics, computing, and cybersystems at Northern Arizona University.

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