<![CDATA[PHOTON INFORMED ECOLOGY LAB - Home]]>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:26:19 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[PIE Lab is hiring a Postdoctoral Scholar!]]>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 23:25:56 GMThttps://zoepierrat.weebly.com/home/pie-lab-is-hiring-a-postdoctoral-scholarThe Dept of Geography, UCSB is excited to announce the opening of a Postdoc Scholar in the PIE lab. To apply, visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03063. A reasonable estimate for this position is ~$69k- $80k. UCSB is an AA/EOE, including disability/vets.
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The postdoctoral scholar will engage in research at the intersection of remote sensing, ecosystem science, and climate-ecosystem interactions and will contribute to projects focused on multi-scale observations of ecosystem carbon and water fluxes. 🌱💧🛰️ 🌎
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]]><![CDATA[New Research Out Now on Human Impacts to the Water Cycle in California!]]>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 23:10:38 GMThttps://zoepierrat.weebly.com/home/new-research-out-now-on-human-impacts-to-the-water-cycle-in-californiaA new study from the PIE lab shows that California’s dramatic swing from extreme drought in 2022 to record-breaking rains in 2023 didn’t reset the water cycle the way we might expect. Despite the surge in precipitation, evapotranspiration (ET) — the water returning to the atmosphere from soils and plants — stayed remarkably stable. Why? Because humans are a major driver of it. During the drought, irrigation and other managed water use made up about 30% of statewide ET, buffering ecosystems and food production against collapse but increasing reliance on groundwater. In the wet year that followed, human activity still accounted for nearly half of ET in managed landscapes, revealing that exceptional rainfall will not compensate for California's agricultural water demand. In California, the water cycle is not just shaped by climate — it’s co-engineered by people.
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]]><![CDATA[AGU Schedule]]>Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:48:38 GMThttps://zoepierrat.weebly.com/home/agu-scheduleGoing to AGU? Come find me at any of the following events! Presenting my own work and filling in for JPL colleagues
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]]><![CDATA[Guest on Hotter Weirder Smarter Podcast!]]>Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:40:15 GMThttps://zoepierrat.weebly.com/home/guest-on-hotter-weirder-smarter-podcastI had the amazing opportunity to be interviewed for the new podcast Hotter Weirder Smarter hosted by the incredible Dr. Ruby Patterson. We chat about all kinds of things from plants, fieldwork, and imposter syndrome to finding community, riding bikes, and Ruby's and my killer skills on the triangle.
One of the things I loved the most about living in LA were the people. There are so many incredibly talented people in LA and sometimes they invite you to do cool things like come be a guest on their podcast :)
]]><![CDATA[Speaking at AGU!]]>Wed, 23 Jul 2025 17:19:28 GMThttps://zoepierrat.weebly.com/home/speaking-at-aguI will be speaking at the American Geophysical Union Fall Conference in New Orleans, LA! My talk, "Proximal remote sensing for scaling forest ecophysiology from leaf to globe" will discuss scaling challenges for hyperspectral remote sensing data and how proximal systems (i.e., optical instruments mounted to towers) can provide a foundation for temporally scaling biochemical traits to airborne and satellite platforms. 

I am looking forward to connecting with future graduate students and postdocs at AGU this year so please reach out or come find me to learn about upcoming opportunities in the group.  
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]]><![CDATA[Welcome to the Photon Informed Ecology Lab!]]>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:24:04 GMThttps://zoepierrat.weebly.com/home/welcome-to-the-photon-informed-ecology-labPicture
The Photon Informed Ecology (PIE) Lab at the University of California Santa Barbara combines remote sensing and data science to understand terrestrial ecosystems in a changing climate. PIE lab research is multi-scale in nature and mechanistically links remote sensing observations with biologic processes - with a particular emphasis on quantifying carbon and water fluxes. We do this by leveraging proximal (tower-mounted) optical systems to understand how physical and physiological drivers impact remote sensing signals and ultimately how we can scale to what is observable from space. 

The PIE lab will be recruiting graduate students and a postdoctoral researchers Fall of 2025 so please stay tuned for updates. 
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