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At least 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Introduction

Since May 1970, personnel on several campuses of the University of California have been conducting investigations which seek to determine the usefulness of modern remote sensing techniques for studying various components of California's earth resources complex. Emphasis has been given to California's water resources as exemplified by the Feather River project and other aspects of the California Water Plan. This study is designed to consider in detail the supply, demand, and impact relationships. The specific geographic areas studied are the Feather River drainage in northern California, the Chino-Riverside Basin and Imperial Valley areas in southern California, and selected portions of the west side of San Joaquin Valley in central California. An analysis is also given on how an effective benefit-cost study of remote sensing in relation to California's water resources might best be made.

Colwell, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space

Accurate snow depth observations are critical to assess water resources. More than a billion people rely on water from snow, most of which originates in the Northern Hemisphere mountain ranges. Yet, remote sensing observations of mountain snow depth are still lacking at the large scale. Here, we show the ability of Sentinel-1 to map the snow depth in the Northern Hemisphere mountains at 1 km² resolution using an empirical change detection approach. An evaluation with measurements from ~4,000 sites and reanalysis data demonstrates that the Sentinel-1 retrievals capture the spatial variability between and within mountain ranges, as well as their inter-annual differences. This is showcased with the contrasting snow depths between 2017 and 2018 in the US Sierra Nevada and European Alps. With Sentinel-1 continuity ensured until 2030 and likely beyond, these findings lay a foundation for quantifying the long-term vulnerability of mountain snow-water resources to climate change.

Hans Lievens↗
NASA NTRS2021

Indicators of Climate Change Impacts on the Water Cycle and Water Management

Managing water is a top social and economic responsibility and is expected to become even more critical as climate change, in addition to other human activities, alters water availability and quality. Robust indicators reflecting the effects of climate change on the U.S. and global water cycles are needed in order to appropriately manage water resources. Here, we describe a suite of seventeen water cycle and management indicators, which are based on synthesis of available datasets. These indicators include: average and heavy precipitation, standardized precipitation index, annual, 7-day low and 3-day high streamflow volume, streamflow timing, snow cover, snow water equivalent, groundwater level, lake water temperature, stream water temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, Palmer Drought Severity Index, water withdrawals and water use. We also identify three indicators that could be included in the suite of water cycle and management indicators with some additional, directed work: snowfall, evapotranspiration and soil moisture. Our conceptual framework focuses on known water cycle changes in addition to potential effects on management, and addresses water quantity and quality, as well as water use and related interactions with freshwater ecosystems, societal impacts, and management. Water cycle indicators are organized into three categories: (1) hydrologic processes, (2) water quality processes, and (3) water quality and quantity impacts. Indicators described here are recommended to serve as critical references for periodic climate assessments. As such, these indicators support analyses of the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy, and water resources, among other sectors. Additionally, we identify research gaps and needs that can be addressed to advance the development of future indicators.

Christa D Peters-Lidard↗
NASA NTRS1973

An integrated study of earth resources in the state of California using remote sensing techniques

The University of California has been conducting an investigation which seeks to determine the usefulness of modern remote sensing techniques for studying various components of California's earth resources complex. Most of the work has concentrated on California's water resources, but with some attention being given to other earth resources as well and to the interplay between them and California's water resources.

Colwell, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A Landsat-based inventory procedure for agriculture in California

Agriculture, which occupies a vital position in the economy of the State of California, depends crucially on the available water. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is, therefore, greatly concerned with the total water requirements for agricultural applications. In view of the limitations of an area-limited, single-date survey system, the DWR has been cooperating with NASA and the University of California in a study of the applicability of Landsat imagery and digital data as an aid in making decisions concerning the management of water resources. Attention is given to a statewide inventory of irrigated land, computer-assisted estimation and mapping of irrigated land, and a crop type analysis using Landsat digital data.

Wall, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Modelling Freshwater Resources at the Global Scale: Challenges and Prospects

Quantification of spatially and temporally resolved water flows and water storage variations for all land areas of the globe is required to assess water resources, water scarcity and flood hazards, and to understand the Earth system. This quantification is done with the help of global hydrological models (GHMs). What are the challenges and prospects in the development and application of GHMs? Seven important challenges are presented. (1) Data scarcity makes quantification of human water use difficult even though significant progress has been achieved in the last decade. (2) Uncertainty of meteorological input data strongly affects model outputs. (3) The reaction of vegetation to changing climate and CO2 concentrations is uncertain and not taken into account in most GHMs that serve to estimate climate change impacts. (4) Reasons for discrepant responses of GHMs to changing climate have yet to be identified. (5) More accurate estimates of monthly time series of water availability and use are needed to provide good indicators of water scarcity. (6) Integration of gradient-based groundwater modelling into GHMs is necessary for a better simulation of groundwater-surface water interactions and capillary rise. (7) Detection and attribution of human interference with freshwater systems by using GHMs are constrained by data of insufficient quality but also GHM uncertainty itself. Regarding prospects for progress, we propose to decrease the uncertainty of GHM output by making better use of in situ and remotely sensed observations of output variables such as river discharge or total water storage variations by multi-criteria validation, calibration or data assimilation. Finally, we present an initiative that works towards the vision of hyper resolution global hydrological modelling where GHM outputs would be provided at a 1-km resolution with reasonable accuracy.

Global hydrological model↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Dynamics of a Semi-Arid Region in Response to Climate and Water - Use Policy

The objectives of this project were to determine the response of semi-arid ecosystems to the combined forcings of climate variability and anthropogenic stress. Arid and semi-arid systems encompass close to 40% of the worlds land surface. The ecology of these regions are principally limited by water, and as the water resources wax and wane, so should the health and vigor of the ecosystems. Water, however, is a necessary and critical resource for humans living in these same regions. Thus for many and and semi-arid regions the natural systems and human systems are in direct competition for a limited resource. Increasing competition through development of and and semi-arid regions, export of water resources, as well as potential persistent changes in weather patterns are likely to lead to fundamental changes in carrying capacity, resilience, and ecology of these regions. A detailed understanding of these systems respond to forcing on a regional and local scale is required in order to better prepare for and manage future changes in the availability of water. In the Owens Valley CA, decadal changes in rainfall and increased use of groundwater resources by Los Angles (which derives 60-70% of its water from this region) have resulted in a large-scale experiment on the impacts of these changes in semi-arid ecosystems. This project works directly with the Inyo County Water Department (local water authority) and the Los Angles Department of Water and Power (regional demand on water resources) to understand changes, their causes, and impacts. Very detailed records have been kept for a number of selected sites in the valley which provide essential ground truth. These results are then scaled up through remote sensed data to regions scale to assess large scale patterns and link them to the fundamental decisions regarding the water resources of this region. A fundamental goal is to understand how resilient the native ecosystems are to large changes in water resources. Are they are on a spring (remove and return resources, do the systems return to the original state) or a vector (when water returns have the systems fundamentally changed).

Mustard, John F.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Applications of Satellite Data to Support Improvements in Irrigation and Groundwater Management in California

In agricultural regions around the world, threats to water supplies from drought and groundwater depletion are driving increased demand for tools to advance agricultural water use efficiency and support sustainable groundwater management. Satellite mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated agricultural lands can provide agricultural producers and water resource managers with information that can be used to both optimize ag water use and improve estimates of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation. We describe the development of two remote sensing-based tools for ET mapping in California, including important lessons in terms of system design, partnership development, and transition to operations. For irrigation management, the integration of satellite data and surface sensor networks to provide timely delivery of information on crop water requirements can make irrigation scheduling more practical, convenient, and accurate.Developed through a partnership between NASA and the CA Department of Water Resources, the Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) framework integrates satellite data with information from agricultural weather networks to map crop canopy development and crop water requirements at the scale of individual fields. Information is distributed to agricultural producers and water managers via a web-based interface and web data services. SIMS also provides an API that facilitates integration with other irrigation decision support tools, such as CropManage and IrriQuest. Field trials using these integrated tools have shown that they can be used to sustain yields while improving water use efficiency and nutrient management. For sustainable groundwater management, the combination of satellite-derived estimates of ET and data on surface water deliveries for irrigation can increase the accuracy of estimates of groundwater pumping. We are developing an OpenET platform to facilitate access to ET data from multiple models and accelerate operational use of ET data in support of a range of water management applications, including implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in CA. By providing a shared basis for decision making, we anticipate that the OpenET platform will accelerate implementation of solutions for sustainable groundwater management.

Satellite↗
NASA NTRS2023

Towards an Indian Land Data Assimilation System (ILDAS): A Coupled Hydrologic-Hydraulic System for Water Balance Assessments

Effective management of water resources requires reliable estimates of land surface states and fluxes, including water balance components. But most land surface models run in uncoupled mode and do not produce river discharge at catchment scales to be useful for water resources management applications. Such integrated systems are also rare over India where hydrometeorological extremes have wreaked havoc on the economy and people. So, an Indian Land Data Assimilation System (ILDAS) with a coupled land surface and a hydrodynamic model has been developed and driven by multiple meteorological forcings (0.1°, daily) to estimate land surface states, channel discharge, and floodplain inundation. ILDAS benefits from an integrated framework as well as the largest suite of observation records collected over India and has been used to produce a reanalysis product for 1981–2021 using four forcing datasets, namely, Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), ECMWF’s ERA-5, and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded precipitation. We assessed the uncertainty and bias in these precipitation datasets and validated all major components of the terrestrial water balance, i.e., surface runoff, soil moisture, terrestrial water storage anomalies, evapotranspiration, and streamflow, against a combination of satellite and in situ observation datasets. Our assessment shows that ILDAS can represent the hydrological processes reasonably well over the Indian landmass with IMD precipitation showing the best relative performance. Evaluation against ESA-CCI soil moisture shows that MERRA-2 based estimates outperform the others, whereas ERA-5 performs best in simulating evapotranspiration when evaluated against MODIS ET. Evaluations against observed records show that CHIRPS-based estimates have the highest performance in reconstructing surface runoff and streamflow. Once operational, this system will be useful for supporting transboundary water management decision making in the region.

Indian Land Data Assimilation System (ILDAS)↗
NASA NTRS2006

Estimating Temperature Retrieval Accuracy Associated With Thermal Band Spatial Resolution Requirements for Center Pivot Irrigation Monitoring and Management

This study explores the use of synthetic thermal center pivot irrigation scenes to estimate temperature retrieval accuracy for thermal remote sensed data, such as data acquired from current and proposed Landsat-like thermal systems. Center pivot irrigation is a common practice in the western United States and in other parts of the world where water resources are scarce. Wide-area ET (evapotranspiration) estimates and reliable water management decisions depend on accurate temperature information retrieval from remotely sensed data. Spatial resolution, sensor noise, and the temperature step between a field and its surrounding area impose limits on the ability to retrieve temperature information. Spatial resolution is an interrelationship between GSD (ground sample distance) and a measure of image sharpness, such as edge response or edge slope. Edge response and edge slope are intuitive, and direct measures of spatial resolution are easier to visualize and estimate than the more common Modulation Transfer Function or Point Spread Function. For these reasons, recent data specifications, such as those for the LDCM (Landsat Data Continuity Mission), have used GSD and edge response to specify spatial resolution. For this study, we have defined a 400-800 m diameter center pivot irrigation area with a large 25 K temperature step associated with a 300 K well-watered field surrounded by an infinite 325 K dry area. In this context, we defined the benchmark problem as an easily modeled, highly common stressing case. By parametrically varying GSD (30-240 m) and edge slope, we determined the number of pixels and field area fraction that meet a given temperature accuracy estimate for 400-m, 600-m, and 800-m diameter field sizes. Results of this project will help assess the utility of proposed specifications for the LDCM and other future thermal remote sensing missions and for water resource management.

Ryan, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The utility of short wavelength (1mm) remote sensing techniques for the monitoring and assessment of hydrologic parameters

Remote sensing programs that respond to the requirements of the water resources management and hydrologic communities are reviewed. The major areas where the needs of water resources management are being met involve the mapping and monitoring of snowcovered areas, hydrologic landuse, and surface water area. In the case of snowcovered area mapping the transfer of technology process is now being accomplished in the Western United States in a cooperative effort involving 6 federal agencies and 3 state agencies along with NASA. A new collaborative effort of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NASA involves the mapping of landuse by Landsat and its use in hydrologic engineering watershed models employed in flood control/waterworks planning, design, and management. Improved systems planned for implementation in the 1978-1981 time frame can be expected to result in increased utilization of visible and near infrared remote sensing observations.

Rango, A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

NASA earth resources satellite research and development program.

The NASA Earth Resources Survey (ERS) Program is discussed as an effort to augment the presently used ground techniques and limited aerial photography for obtaining larger survey data. The topics include the scientific and technological aspects of remote earth resources sensing, the past and present activities in this field, the immediate plans for the implementation of the program, and a summary of current and future international participation in it. The effective target areas of space observations under the program are listed as synoptic surveys, agriculture and forestry, geography, geology and mineral resources, hydrology and water resources, and marine resources. Acquisition of near real-time information, reduced data acquisition time, repeated coverage, measurement uniformity, global surveys without large on-site support requirements are indicated as the advantages of space observations.

Jaffe, L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Post LANDSAT D advanced concept evaluation

Preliminary results of a past LANDSAT D advanced concept evaluation study to forecast and identify key technologies required for earth resources satellite systems in the 1985 to 2000 time period are presented. Mission categories discussed include agriculture, range management, forestry, geological resources, land use, water resources, environmental quality, and disaster assessment. Sensor and system concepts are described for a passive L-band radiometer (microsat), a texturometer to measure ground surface texture, and a ferris wheel radar configuration that relies on cable tension for support.

Flatow, F. S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Characterization of Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) Product Water

The Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) is designed to sterilize and process wastes produced during space missions. Benefits of the HMC include reduction of biohazards to the crew, reduction in volume of wastes that would otherwise require storage, production of radiation shielding tiles, and recovery of water and other resources. Water reuse is critical onboard spacecrafts; it reduces the need for resupply missions and saves valuable storage space. The main sources of water in HMC batches are food, beverages, shampoo, disinfecting wipes, toothpaste, and diapers. Water reclaimed by the HMC was analyzed for concentrations of Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-­‐, NO2-­‐, Br-­‐, NO3-­‐, PO43-­‐, SO42-­‐, total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), % total solids, and pH. The data are discussed in relation to the current water input characteristics established for the International Space Station Water Processor Assembly system. Batches with higher than average amounts of food produced HMC product water with higher sulfate content, and batches with higher proportions of disinfectant wipes and food yielded HMC product water with higher ammonium concentration. We also compared theoretical chemical composition of HMC product water based on food labels and literature values to experimental results.

Heat Melt Compactor↗
NASA NTRS2017

Transforming Science Data for GIS: How to Find and Use NASA Earth Observation Data Without Being a Rocket Scientist

NASAs Earth Observing System Data Information System (EOSDIS) manages Earth Observation satellites and the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), where the data is stored and processed. The challenge is that Earth Observation data is complicated. There is plenty of data available, however, the science teams have had a top-down approach: define what it is you are trying to study -select a set of satellite(s) and sensor(s), and drill down for the data.Our alternative is to take a bottom-up approach using eight environmental fields of interest as defined by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) called Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs): Disaster Resilience (DR) Public Health Surveillance (PHS) Energy and Mineral Resource Management (EMRM) Water Resources Management (WRM) Infrastructure and Transport Management (ITM) Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FSSA) Biodiversity and Ecosystems Sustainability (BES).

DAAC↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA's SnowEx Campaign and Measuring Global Snow from Space

Snow blankets 30% of Earth's land surface (60% of northern hemisphere land) in midwinter, dramatically changing our planet's land surface and affecting our weather for months. Seasonal snow is critically important to society for the management of water resources, natural hazards, water security, and in many economic sectors. The only practical way to estimate the quantity of snow on a global scale is through satellites. Despite 4 decades of satellite observations, the highly variable nature of snow still presents significant challenges toward achieving this goal. For example, current space-based techniques underestimate snow water equivalent (SWE) by as much as 50%, and model-based estimates can differ greatly versus estimates based on remotely-sensed observations. Snow community consensus is that a multi-sensor approach is needed to adequately address global snow, combined with modeling and data assimilation to fill the gaps in space and time. What remains, then, is how best to combine and use the various sensors under different types of snow conditions and confounding factors. NASA's multi-year SnowEx airborne campaign is designed to collect measurements needed to enable algorithm development and to guide those mission trade studies. Year 1 (2017) focused on the distribution of snow-water equivalent (SWE) and the snow energy balance in a forested environment. This paper will discuss the various remote sensing options for snow, the challenging factors, and describe the recently-completed first year of SnowEx in Colorado, USA. Ground-based remote sensing and in situ data collection involved nearly 100 participants over three weeks. The airborne campaign included nine sensors on five aircraft. We will conclude by discussing options for a future snow satellite mission.

campaign↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LIS-Hydro: A Comprehensive Framework for Flood Prediction, Analysis, and Management

A subset of agencies from across the U.S. Federal enterprise are collaborating on the development of a fully-integrated hydro-modeling and streamflow prediction system (i.e., LIS-Hydro). The hydrological products and services will, for the very first time, establish a routinely available authoritative source of global water intelligence information supporting war-fighters, planners, and decision makers at all echelons and services of the U.S. military, Federal government, and intelligence community. Completion of the project and sustainment of the operational capability by Air Force Weather will establish a national asset to assist federal agencies in implementing government-wide strategies around water resources (U.S. Global Water Strategy, 2017). A summary of the interagency scientific collaboration in addressing some of the key gaps and needs identified during a 2017 joint NASA, USACE/ERDC, and U.S. Air Force co-sponsored workshop will be presented.

Jerry W Wegiel↗
NASA NTRS2012

Making an Informed Decision on Freshwater Management by Integrating Remote Sensing Data with Traditional Data

The US National Research Council (NRC) recommended that: "The U.S. government, working in concert with the private sector, academe, the public, and its international partners, should renew its investment in Earth-observing systems and restore its leadership in Earth science and applications." in response to the NASA Earth Science Division's request to prioritize research areas, observations, and notional missions to make those objectives. In this presentation, we will discuss our approach to connect remote sensing science to decision support applications by establishing a framework to integrate direct measurements, earth system models, inventories, and other information to accurately estimate fresh water resources in global, regional, and local scales. We will discuss our demonstration projects and lessons learned from the experience. Deploying a monitoring system that offers sustained, accurate, transparent and relevant information represents a challenge and opportunity to a broad community spanning earth science, water resource accounting and public policy. An introduction to some of the scientific and technical infrastructure issues associated with monitoring systems is offered here to encourage future treatment of these topics by other contributors as a concluding remark.

climate↗