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.
Looking to Landsat for Idaho Water Management
Source: Times-News Magic Valley Since 2000, Dr. Rick Allen has been using Landsat to manage water in Idaho. By using Landsat to measure evapotranspiration, water consumption can be accurately estimated. Allen
Landsat can be an Impartial Arbitrator in Water Conflict Issues
• Speaking at an important state-wide water summit in March, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval lauded DRI’s METRIC program calling its Landsat satellite technology an important tool in monitoring water usage.
Landsat Key Element in Flood Study
• Floods are considered the number one natural hazard, causing more deaths and damage year after year. The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided funding to a college in North Dakota
Fields of Green Spring up in Saudi Arabia
The green fields that dot the desert draw on water that in part was trapped during the last Ice Age. In addition to rainwater that fell over several hundred thousand
World Water Day
• Water is an essential resource for food cultivation. With 7 billion humans to feed, efficiently managing the planet’s water supply is essential. On March 22, 2012 the UN celebrates World
A New Way To Map Drought and Water Use Worldwide
Every month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Center for Climate Prediction has a drought briefing by teleconference to identify the latest drought areas in North America. ARS scientists
