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.
Detecting Detrimental Change in Coral Reefs
Over dinner on R.V. Calypso while anchored on the lee side of Glover’s Reef in Belize, Jacques Cousteau told Phil Dustan that he suspected humans were having a negative impact on coral reefs.
Measuring Flood Extent in Mozambique
• On January 16, 2012, Mozambique’s coast was hit by the tropical depression “Dando” followed by cyclone “Funso.” With wind speeds up to 220 km/hour and torrential rains, the storms
Combating drought in the Horn of Africa
• UNESCO began mapping groundwater this January in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, in order to bring the population a sustainable water supply. Drought has caused the region’s worst famine
USGS and USAID Partner to Conserve Forests, Water in Africa
Contributor: Vicky Fakan, USAID USAID has long been a major actor helping to conserve Guinea’s forest reserves, which replenish many of West Africa’s life-sustaining waterways. Now, a recent partnership between USAID
EarthSky Interview with Martha Anderson: Using Landsat to Monitor Water Use from Space
Martha Anderson, a research scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, uses images from the Landsat satellite program to monitor water use and drought on U.S. farms with pinpoint accuracy,
Landsat Images Illustrate Flooding from Irene in New York State
Remnants of Hurricane Irene caused heavy flooding, as shown in thisAugust 31 Landsat 5 image, in the hamlet of Pine Island in the town of Warwick (Orange County), New York.