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.
![Landsat 9 image of Yangtze River Delta in 2022](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/L9-yangtze_thumbnail.png)
NASA Scientists Map Global Salt Marsh Losses and Their Carbon Impact
The world has lost 561 square miles (1,453 square kilometers) of salt marshes over the past 20 years.
![A soybean field in Nebraska](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/AGU2016_Jill.Deines.2-1.png)
Space for Ag: How Satellites Aid Water and Food Security
Satellites offer a wealth of information pertinent for water and food security. Landsat has long been a foundational piece of the “Space for Ag” initiative.
![Feb. 2014 Landsat 8 image mosaic of Mississippi River Delta](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mississippi_oli_2014_lrg-full-e1669758404473.jpg)
Landsat Helps Scientists Track Dramatic Wetlands Loss in Louisiana
New research uses Landsat observations and advanced computing to chronicle wetlands lost (and found) around the globe.
![NPS ranger boards a cruise ship in Glacier Bay](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GLBA_NPS_transfer_sm.jpg)
The Satellite Stewards of Glacier Bay
Nestled in the science-based information that park rangers share with visitors to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve are insights from Landsat satellites and NASA climate scientists.
![ASO plane in California](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/airborne_snow_observatory_aso_plane_truckee_airport_ca_12-10-21.jpg)
Eyes on the Snow as Water Supplies Dwindle
Airborne Snow Observatories, Inc. uses higher-resolution snow cover data from Landsat to update their model snow cover.
![Ibis and egret colony in the Yantabulla Swamp, Australia](https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Richardkindsford-YantabullaSwampAustraliaEgretIbis-th.jpg)
Time is of the Essence When Monitoring Dryland Floods
More frequent satellite observations, such as those of the Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) dataset, are needed to fully capture flood dynamics in regions experiencing short-lived, ephemeral flooding.