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.
![Harsha Lake Ohio algal bloom](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/20181011_nu1-1.png)
Satellites on Toxic Algae Patrol
Increasingly, water managers are turning to satellites like Landsat to monitor inland waters.
Reading the Tides: Monitoring Estuarine Habitats in Northern Australia with Landsat
Australian researchers have used Landsat imagery to map coastal habitats critical to threatened and migratory species in northern Australia.
USGS Video: Landsat in Action—Water Use with Molly Maupin and Gabriel Senay
Find out how Landsat imagery has been used by the National Water Census and in studying water use trends.
Where Rivers Meet the Sea—Envisioning Science with Landsat
A Landsat 8 image of the Suwannee River meeting the Gulf of Mexico took first place in this year’s Envisioning Science image competition held by NC State.
Seeing Hidden Worlds Under Melting Ice
Multi-year comparison of Landsat images can unmask previously unknown geography.
![Cape Cod National Seashore](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20180718_nu1-1.png)
Landsat-based Global Study of World’s Beaches Shows Threat to Protected Areas
Using 30 years of Landsat data, a team of scientists and engineers from the Netherlands determined how Earth’s sandy beaches are changing.