Riley Pacer is a master’s student in LOQATE Lab and ECH20 Lab. She is interested in understanding how our changing climate impacts the surface temperature and local cooling potential of restored prairie landscapes. She currently uses eddy covariance and remote sensing to monitor surface meteorology, ecosystem energy, and water fluxes which drive changes in land-surface and air temperatures. 

Riley is an FAA certified Remote Pilot with experience using UAVs to conduct field research, specifically using lidar and thermal sensors to track temporal changes in plant canopy structure and surface temperature. Riley is also interested in UAV applications in the field of archaeology and has worked various archaeological sites in Iowa as well as well as sites in Portugal and Italy. She is a teaching assistant for the course Contemporary Environmental Issues within SEES.