Water - it shapes our world in many ways. It has the power to cut through
rock and turn stone into sand. We rely on it to trade goods, power our homes,
grow our crops, quench our thirst. For these and many other reasons, water is
precious to life on Earth and essential to sustaining life beyond.
Astronauts orbiting the International Space Station have the unique vantage
to see our world defined by oceans and the stretches of land between them. It
also gives them the vantage to see the havoc water and its absence can cause for
us on Earth: hurricanes, typhoons, fires, flood, drought.
Following two consecutive years of drought conditions, 2014 is shaping up to
be one of the driest years on record in California. Tides ebb and flow, and so
do levels of rain and snowpacks. But these low levels have never been seen
before - not in our lifetimes. In January, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared
a drought State of Emergency and directed state officials to take all necessary
actions to prepare for water shortages.
The severity of California's drought is visible at
Folsom Lake, near Sacramento. On July 20, 2011, the lake was at 97 percent of
capacity; on Jan. 16, 2014, it was at 17 percent.
Image Credit:
California Department of Water
Resources
If you don't already, why should you care about California's record-breaking
drought? California’s 81,500 farms and ranches produced $43.5 billion in cash
receipts in 2012, making it a major source of income and jobs for the region and
United States. California's growers produce a spectacular diversity of specialty
crops including half of the U.S. grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. These crops
are in the produce stands across the U.S. and the world. Like other western
states, California agriculture uses approximately 80 percent of the available
water resources.
“California farmers and water managers are increasingly concerned about the
long-term sustainability of our agricultural water supplies, and years like this
underscore the challenges facing California’s farmers,” said Forrest Melton, a
senior research scientist for California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB)
and the Cooperative for Earth Science Research and Technology at NASA's Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
Since 1982, the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) has operated
more than 140 monitoring stations that provide daily measurements of
agricultural weather conditions and the amount of water lost to the atmosphere
by a well-water grass surface. Data from this network is distributed through the
California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS), operated by CDWR.
To date, this information has been shown to have great value as a tool for
irrigation managers to determine the water requirements for their crops.
One of the first complete views of the United
States from Landsat 8
Image Credit: NASA/David Roy
Where does NASA come in?
“Our goal is to find new ways to make satellite and weather information both
highly useful and easily available to growers in California and across the
western U.S.,” Melton said. "We want to support farmers in improving on-farm
water management and help water managers plan and mitigate the impacts of
drought. One of the lowest cost solutions to our water management challenges is
improving water use efficiency where it’s practical and cost-effective."
NASA invested significant resources over the past 10 years in the development
of new technologies including the Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System
(TOPS) and a platform for scientific collaboration called NASA
Earth Exchange (NEX), that can deploy the high-end computing power of the
NASA Advanced Supercomputer at Ames to solve real-world problems by quickly
processing and integrating data from a variety of sources including satellites
such as Terra, Aqua, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8.
“TOPS/NEX technologies now allow us to bring together the information needed
to support efficient natural resources management in near-realtime, what we have
been dreaming for decades,” said Rama Nemani, principal scientist for the NEX
project at Ames.
Using these technologies, Melton and a team of scientists working on the
Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) project are working closely with
CDWR, partner growers and the Western Growers Association to develop a system
for mapping crop conditions and crop water requirements across millions of acres
of California farmland.
By combining NASA satellite data with information provided by CIMIS, the team
is able to develop near real-time estimates of crop water requirements for every
field in the state. This information is designed to help California growers
better manage irrigation, monitor crop development, and improve on-farm water
use efficiency. It also helps water managers improve estimates of agricultural
water requirements.
"We are implementing web and mobile data interfaces to increase the ability
of the agricultural community to access and use satellite data in irrigation
management and crop monitoring," said Melton.
The SIMS project team also is collaborating with CDWR and partner growers to
conduct validation studies using wireless sensor networks.
NASA is implementing web and mobile data interfaces
to increase the ability of the agricultural community to access and use
satellite data in irrigation management and crop monitoring.
Image Credit: NASA Ames/Cooperative for Earth Science Research
Technology
“Assessment of the SIMS estimates of crop water requirements emphasizes two
independent measurement methods, requiring the deployment of instruments to
measure the surface energy balance, and soil moisture instrumentation to track
the soil water balance,” said Kirk Post, research scientist with CSUMB and the
Cooperative for Earth Science Research and Technology at Ames. “The project also
is providing students with technical applied science training using state of the
art instrumentation. Students interested in the development and applications of
these technologies are able to work collaboratively with researchers and
California growers in developing information driven solutions.”
Water managers, scientists and growers alike are highly encouraged by the
results to date. Trials conducted on lettuce and broccoli crops in Salinas
during 2012 and 2013 have demonstrated sustained yields while reducing the
amount of water used by up to 33 percent relative to standard practice; saving
water means saving money.
"These carefully controlled scientific experiments clearly showed the
feasibility of matching water applications to the actual crop uptake pattern,
and have proved useful in evaluating both ground- and satellite-based irrigation
scheduling tools," said Melton.
Initial results also indicate benefits for water quality, including the
potential to reduce the leaching of nitrates from the soil below the root zone
into groundwater. This also means fertilizers are being used more efficiently
with more nutrients staying in the soil to help future crops grow.
The SIMS project team also is working with scientists at U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) this year to leverage
the NEX capabilities for rapid satellite data processing to identify the change
in fallowed land in California – cultivated land intentionally allowed to lie
idle during growing season – due to the state's water shortage.
"Shortage of water due to drought leads to an increase in the extent of
fallowed land in the Central Valley because farmers are unable to fully irrigate
crops, and will often prioritize use of the limited available agricultural water
supplies to attempt to sustain perennial crops on their farms and ranches," said
Melton. "Timely and accurate knowledge of the extent of fallowing can provide
insights into the severity of drought impacts, and provide the basis for sound
decisions for drought response. Such decisions can ensure efficient allocation
of scarce available water for on-farm use, and authorize provision of emergency
assistance."
That's why NASA Ames, CDWR, USDA, USGS, and CSUMB have partnered together and
demonstrated they can modify and apply the methods to produce the USDA's annual
Cropland Data Layer (CDL) to support within-season mapping of fallowed
agricultural lands based on the fallow/idle crop class in the CDL. The
partnership also has demonstrated how new methods using time-series of data from
NASA and USGS satellites – including Terra, Aqua, and Landsat – can be used to
track the development of crop canopies, and can provide information on land
fallowing and reductions in planted acreage early in the year.
"This capability can provide early identification of changes in fallowed
acreage due to water shortage during drought, filling an important information
gap and reducing ambiguity surrounding drought impact assessment and decision
making for drought mitigation," said Jim Verdin at USGS.
The project team completed a one-year feasibility and validation study in
2013, and is currently preparing to produce data and maps of fallowed acreage
for the Central Valley beginning in April 2014, to support monitoring of impacts
of the ongoing drought in California. The NASA Applied Sciences Program and the
NIDIS Program Office at NOAA support the project.
Before and After Images:
Caption:
Images captured in January 2011 and January 2014 by
the Landsat satellite over the San Joaquin Valley in California. Areas with
dense vegetation are shown in green. Yellow and brown indicate sparse vegetation
or bare soil. These images illustrate the effect of the ongoing drought in
California on both agricultural fields and the grasslands to the west.
Image Credit: NASA
Also in April, NASA and CDWR will resume flights of NASA’s Airborne Snow
Observatory to map the snowpack of the Tuolumne River Basin in the Sierra Nevada
and Uncompahgre watershed in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The Tuolumne
watershed is the primary water supply for 2.6 million San Francisco Bay Area
residents. The airborne observatory measures how much water is in the snowpack
and how much sunlight the snow absorbs, which affects how fast the snow melts.
These data enable accurate estimates of how much water will flow out of a basin
when the snow melts. Last year, observatory data helped water managers optimize
reservoir filling and more efficiently allocate water between power generation,
water supplies and ecological uses.
Another NASA project mapped significant areas of subsidence (ground sinking)
in the San Joaquin Valley from 2007 to 2011 caused by decreased groundwater
levels. Groundwater is increasingly important in water resource management, yet
knowledge of groundwater levels is not uniformly available. Satellite- and
airborne-based radar can monitor groundwater levels by measuring surface
deformation due to the withdrawal and recharge of aquifers.
NASA has produced regional maps of the rate and total amount of subsidence,
along with animations and detailed histories of individual locations that can
help deduce year-to-year changes in groundwater storage. Researchers hope to
extend the data to the present day to give state water managers updates of how
the subsidence has progressed during the drought and detect possible new areas
of concern. The data can be used to focus on problem areas where too much water
is being pumped. The maps also help managers of infrastructure that can be
affected by subsidence, such as aqueducts, flood-control channels and the
California High-Speed Rail Authority.
NASA is teaming with CDWR; University of California, San Diego; and others to
conduct airborne campaigns, satellite studies and analyses of weather and
climate models to enhance understanding and improve forecasts of atmospheric
rivers. These narrow, low-altitude, elongated corridors of water vapor account
for most major flooding events, provide about 40 percent of California’s
freshwater and are often “drought busters.” They help us understand and predict
the global water cycle and its regional extremes.
NASA satellite data and modeling studies have contributed to a better
description and understanding of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a recurring
pattern of tropical weather and climate that impacts weather in Earth’s
mid-latitudes, including California. Weather forecast models now demonstrate the
ability to forecast this pattern up to four weeks in advance, potentially
providing new, long-lead precipitation forecast information for California. The
NASA team is working with the global weather and climate forecast communities to
enable and improve routine forecasts of this phenomenon.
NASA monitors Earth’s vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of
satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA
develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems
with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our
planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global
community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world
that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.
Three of the five new NASA Earth
science missions scheduled to launch in 2014 will contribute to water cycle
research and water-related policy decisions.
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint
satellite project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency scheduled for
launch Feb. 27, will inaugurate an unprecedented international satellite
constellation that will produce the first nearly global observations of rainfall
and snowfall. The new information will help answer questions about our planet's
life-sustaining water cycle, and improve water resource management and weather
forecasting.
ISS-RapidScat, scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in
June, will extend the data record of ocean winds around the globe. The data are
a key factor in climate research, weather and marine forecasting and tracking of
storms and hurricanes.
Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), launching in November, will inform water
resource management decisions on water availability. SMAP data also will aid in
predictions of plant growth and agricultural productivity, improve short-term
weather forecasts and long-term climate change projections, and advance our
ability to monitor droughts and predict floods and mitigate their related
impacts on people’s lives.
NASA also plans to launch four additional water-related satellites in the
next seven years: The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2);
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-on; Surface Water Ocean
Topography mission; and the NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation Synthetic
Aperture Radar mission. These satellite missions join more than a dozen NASA
airborne sensors focused on regional-scale issues, understanding detailed Earth
science processes and calibrating and validating NASA satellites.
“Over the past two decades, NASA has developed capabilities to measure and
provide useful information for all components of Earth’s freshwater resources
worldwide," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division in
Washington. "Working with partners like CDWR, we are leveraging NASA’s unique
Earth monitoring tools and science expertise to help managers address the
state's water management challenges.
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Alan Buis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Alan Buis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
NASA is partnering with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to develop and apply new technology and products to better manage and monitor the state's water resources and respond to its ongoing drought.
NASA scientists, DWR water managers, university researchers and other state
resource management agencies will collaborate to apply advanced remote sensing
and improved forecast modeling to better assess water resources, monitor drought
conditions and water supplies, plan for drought response and mitigation, and
measure drought impacts.
"Over the past two decades, NASA has developed capabilities to measure and
provide useful information for all components of Earth's freshwater resources
worldwide," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in
Washington. "Working with partners like DWR, we are leveraging NASA's unique
Earth monitoring tools and science expertise to help managers address the
state's water management challenges."
In January, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a drought state of emergency
and directed state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for water
shortages as 2014 shapes up to be one of the driest years on record in
California.
NASA and DWR began exploring opportunities to apply remote sensing data and
research to the process of water resource management through a partnership
established with funding from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Ongoing collaborations include monitoring California delta levees; mapping
fallowed agricultural lands; and improving estimates of precipitation, water
stored in winter snowpack, and changes in groundwater resources. The agencies
also are working to combine data from NASA satellites and DWR's network of
agricultural weather stations to improve estimates of crop water requirements
for California farmers seeking to better manage irrigation.
"We value the partnership with NASA and the ability of their remote sensing
resources to integrate data over large spatial scales, which is useful for
assessing drought impacts," said Jeanine Jones, Interstate Water Resources
Manager, DWR, Sacramento. "Early detection of land subsidence hot spots, for
example, can help forestall long-term damage to water supply and flood control
infrastructure."
In April, NASA and DWR will resume flights of NASA's Airborne Snow
Observatory to map the snowpack of the Tuolumne River Basin in the Sierra Nevada
and the Uncompahgre watershed in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The Tuolumne
watershed is the primary water supply for 2.6 million San Francisco Bay Area
residents.
The airborne observatory measures how much water is in the snowpack and how
much sunlight the snow absorbs, which affects how fast the snow melts. These
data enable accurate estimates of how much water will flow out of a basin when
the snow melts. Last year, observatory data helped water managers optimize
reservoir filling and more efficiently allocate water between power generation,
water supplies and ecological uses.
Another pilot project is demonstrating the feasibility of using satellite
imagery to track the extent of fallowed land -- cultivated land intentionally
allowed to lie idle during growing season -- in California's Central Valley.
NASA is working with DWR, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) and California State University at Monterey Bay to
establish an operational fallowed land monitoring service as part of a
California drought early warning information system. New methods using
time-series of crop data from NASA and USGS satellites can provide information
on land fallowing and reductions in planted acreage early in the year. The team
is preparing to produce data and maps of fallowed acreage in the Central Valley
beginning this April to help monitor the impacts of the ongoing drought.
Faced with an inability to fully irrigate their crops due to drought, Central
Valley farmers often must prioritize use of limited available water supplies to
sustain perennial crops. Taking land out of production reduces farm income and
agricultural sales and increases unemployment. Timely and accurate knowledge of
the extent of fallowing can give decision makers vital insights into the
severity of drought impacts and provide a basis for sound drought response
decisions.
Another NASA project mapped areas of subsidence, or ground sinking, in the
San Joaquin Valley from 2007 to 2011 caused by decreased groundwater levels.
Groundwater is increasingly important in water resource management, yet
knowledge of groundwater levels is not uniformly available. Satellite-based and
airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar can monitor groundwater levels
by measuring surface deformation due to the withdrawal and recharge of
aquifers.
Satellite radar maps produced to date reveal significant areas of subsidence.
NASA produced regional maps of the rate and total amount of subsidence, along
with animations and detailed histories of individual locations that can help
deduce year-to-year changes in groundwater storage. Researchers hope to extend
the data to the present day to give state water managers updates on how
subsidence has progressed during the drought and detect possible new areas of
concern. The data can be used to focus on problem areas where too much water is
being pumped. The maps also help managers of infrastructure that can be affected
by subsidence, such as aqueducts, flood-control channels and the California
High-Speed Rail Authority.
NASA is teaming with DWR, University of California at San Diego and others to
conduct airborne campaigns, satellite studies and analyses of weather and
climate models to enhance understanding and improve forecasts of atmospheric
rivers. These narrow, low-altitude, elongated corridors of water vapor account
for most major flooding events, provide about 40 percent of California's
freshwater, and often are "drought busters." They help scientists understand and
predict the global water cycle and its regional extremes.
NASA satellite data and modeling studies have contributed to a better
description and understanding of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a recurring
pattern of tropical weather and climate that impacts weather in Earth's
mid-latitudes, including California. Weather forecast models now demonstrate the
ability to forecast this pattern as much as four weeks in advance, potentially
providing new, long-lead precipitation forecast information for California. The
NASA team is working with the global weather and climate forecast communities to
enable and improve routine forecasts of this phenomenon.
Three of the five new Earth science missions NASA is scheduled to launch this
year will contribute to water cycle research and water-related national policy
decisions.
The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint
satellite project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency scheduled for
launch Thursday, Feb. 27, will inaugurate an unprecedented international
satellite constellation that will produce the first nearly global observations
of rainfall and snowfall. The new information will help answer questions about
our planet's life-sustaining water cycle, and improve water resource management
and weather forecasting.
ISS-RapidScat, scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS)
in June, will extend the data record of ocean winds around the globe. The data
are a key factor in climate research, weather and marine forecasting and
tracking of storms and hurricanes.
The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), launching in November, will inform
water resource management decisions on water availability. SMAP data also will
aid in predictions of plant growth and agricultural productivity, improve
short-term weather forecasts and long-term climate change projections, and
advance our ability to monitor droughts and predict floods and mitigate their
related impacts on people's lives.
NASA also plans to launch four additional water-related satellites in the
next seven years: The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2);
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-on; Surface Water Ocean
Topography mission; and the NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation Synthetic
Aperture Radar mission. These satellite missions join more than a dozen NASA
airborne sensors focused on regional-scale issues, understanding detailed Earth
science processes and calibrating and validating NASA satellites.
NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of
satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA
develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems
with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our
planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global
community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world
that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.
For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014,
visit:
For information on the latest NASA Earth science findings, visit:
Doug Carlson
California Department of Water Resources, Sacramento
916-653-5114
Paul.carlson@water.ca.gov
California Department of Water Resources, Sacramento
916-653-5114
Paul.carlson@water.ca.gov
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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