Our group in Stanford's Department of Earth System Science studies how ecosystems and the carbon cycle respond to variations in water availability at large scales, and how ecosystems will change under future climate. Our research questions are quite varied, but many of them surround the role of vegetation water content in predicting plant health, associated carbon fluxes and growth. In order to answers these questions, we primarily use remote sensing data analysis and model development. In particular, we often use new microwave measurements of vegetation water content. We believe that a deep understanding of remote sensing background helps us do better science and therefore also work on developing new remote sensing datasets and their validation.