Water resources are becoming increasingly scarce in the state of California. In an effort to reduce the effects of drought, NASA is preparing to bring new technologies to the fore.
Last January, Governor Edmund Brown Jr. declared a state of emergency in California due to worsening conditions of drought. While state authorities are doing their best to prepare for upcoming water shortages, NASA is also preparing to provide technological aid in an effort to reduce the effects of the drought.
Along with NASA scientists and engineers, state resource management agencies, and experts from Department of Water Resources (DWR) will also contribute to the effort. Given the diminishing supply of water in the state, resource monitoring and managements will be one of the key factors to help reduce the incidence of water shortages. Other key capabilities include remote sensing, accurate meteorological data and forecast modeling. Many of these key capabilities will be bolstered considerably by NASA's orbital and airborne instrumentation.
"Over the past two decades, NASA has developed capabilities to measure and provide useful information for all components of Earth's freshwater resources worldwide," said Michael Freilich. "Working with partners like DWR, we are leveraging NASA's unique Earth monitoring tools and science expertise to help managers address the state's water management challenges." Freilich is the director of the NASA Earth Science Division.
Back in 2009, California state authorities and NASA started collaborating on solving a number of important problems such as the sinking of valuable farmlands in certain areas of the state as well as the lack of precipitation in a number of areas within California. The preliminary research that was gathered by NASA since then, will be invaluable in dealing with the current drought.
NASA has already assigned 13 of their satellites to focus solely on gathering water data. Moreover, the agency is also preparing to conduct three more water research projects in the coming months. One of these projects involves the launch of a new satellite that will be used to help gather more data for the collaboration. With the help of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the new satellite will be launched sometime today.
"We value the partnership with NASA and the ability of their remote sensing resources to integrate data over large spatial scales, which is useful for assessing drought impacts," said the manager of the Interstate Water Resources, Jeanine Jones. "Early detection of land subsidence hot spots, for example, can help forestall long-term damage to water supply and flood control infrastructure."
