Landsat’s Role in Managing Water Resources
Water is essential for life. A third of Earth’s populace has unreliable access to clean water. With current population growth and environmental trends, the U.N. Environmental Program estimates that 1.8 billion people will face water scarcity by 2025. Water means survival for people and other species we rely upon to thrive, making proper stewardship of our water resources vital. Good decisions require good data. Since 1972 the Landsat series of satellites has been providing such data. Landsat-based decisions on how to manage limited water resources have impacted millions of people worldwide. From finding water for refugees in arid nations to reducing pollution in our national waterways, Landsat enables decisions that directly help people.
Hydropower Dams Cool Rivers in the Mekong River Basin, Landsat Shows
Researchers used Landsat satellites to track changes in surface water temperature for the Sekong, Sesan and Srepok rivers. Within one year of the opening of a major dam, downstream river temperatures during the dry season dropped by up to 3.6ºF.
Landsat: Farming Data From Space
With Landsat data, farmers can find new ways to grow more crops with less water.
Space Key to Wetland Conservation
Wetlands worldwide are vanishing at an alarming rate. New satellite-informed maps produced by ESA’s GlobWetland Africa project show how satellite observations can be used for the effective use and management of wetlands in Africa.
When a River Runs Through Drylands
There is a dance between the vegetation that thrives along a river’s edge and the availability of water; with Landsat, that relationship is now being understood in ways not previously possible.
Fire & Water: How Wildfires Can Impact Drinking Water
Fires in forested watersheds that support drinking water supplies can introduce contaminants that overwhelm current treatment capabilities. Earth observation data are helping.
Improving Water Management in New Mexico with Landsat and ECOSTRESS
New Mexico is one of the most arid states in the US, and precise and accurate information on water use is of utmost importance.
