Edil Sepúlveda Carlo is a NASA earth scientist, licensed attorney, climate change expert, and social activist, currently living in the Washington, DC area. He has been working in the environmental and climate science policy sector for over 10 years. He is currently a senior research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, where he works as the Applications Coordinator for NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) Initiative, as well as the Co-Chair for the Applied Earth Observations Innovation Partnership between NASA & USDA Forest Service. He engages stakeholders from all sectors – federal, state and local agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, and the private sector – with NASA-funded carbon scientists to ensure that data products developed are used in diverse applications and decision-making contexts.
After Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico, some of his work shifted towards disaster recovery and resilience. Edil was part of NASA's Black Marble Science Team, which was awarded NASA's Group Achievement Medal in 2018 for their efforts to support Puerto Rico’s recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The team developed the first ever near-real time monitoring of power outage-affected areas in Puerto Rico at neighborhood scales using the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) “day-night band” on board the Suomi NPP satellite. He also provides support to the applications efforts of other NASA’s Earth Science Division missions, such as Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2); the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE); and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. Edil also contributes to the NASA in Spanish Program and is a frequent speaker on climate science topics for major Spanish language networks in the United States like Telemundo and Univision, and other media in Latin America and Spain. He was an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar in 2019.
Before working at NASA, Edil was a consultant in climate change and environmental legal issues for the Government of Puerto Rico. He holds a B.S. in Geology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and a Master’s degree in Climate & Society with an Energy & Environmental Policy Concentration from Columbia University in the City of New York.
Carbon Cycle Science & Policy
Climate Change Societal Impacts
Natural Climate Solutions
Disaster Resilience
Climate & Environmental Justice
NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS)
Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)
Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2)
Applied Earth Observations Innovation Partnership
North American Carbon Program (NACP)
M.A., Climate & Society, Energy and Environmental Policy Concentration, Columbia University
J.D., University of Puerto Rico School of Law
B.S., Geology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Refereed
Brown, M. E., V. Escobar, F. M. Younis, et al. 2022. "Scientist-stakeholder relationships drive carbon data product transfer effectiveness within NASA program."
Environmental Research Letters,
[10.1088/1748-9326/ac87bf]
Edil Sepúlveda Carlo is a NASA earth scientist, licensed attorney, climate change expert, and social activist, currently living in the Washington, DC area. He has been working in the environmental and climate science policy sector for over 10 years. He is currently a senior research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, where he works as the Applications Coordinator for NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) Initiative, as well as the Co-Chair for the Applied Earth Observations Innovation Partnership between NASA & USDA Forest Service. He engages stakeholders from all sectors – federal, state and local agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, and the private sector – with NASA-funded carbon scientists to ensure that data products developed are used in diverse applications and decision-making contexts.
After Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico, some of his work shifted towards disaster recovery and resilience. Edil was part of NASA's Black Marble Science Team, which was awarded NASA's Group Achievement Medal in 2018 for their efforts to support Puerto Rico’s recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The team developed the first ever near-real time monitoring of power outage-affected areas in Puerto Rico at neighborhood scales using the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) “day-night band” on board the Suomi NPP satellite. He also provides support to the applications efforts of other NASA’s Earth Science Division missions, such as Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2); the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE); and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. Edil also contributes to the NASA in Spanish Program and is a frequent speaker on climate science topics for major Spanish language networks in the United States like Telemundo and Univision, and other media in Latin America and Spain. He was an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar in 2019.
Before working at NASA, Edil was a consultant in climate change and environmental legal issues for the Government of Puerto Rico. He holds a B.S. in Geology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and a Master’s degree in Climate & Society with an Energy & Environmental Policy Concentration from Columbia University in the City of New York.
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