Water Resources
Water is one of Earth's most vital resources, but in many regions, water supplies are increasingly scarce. Learn how Earth data are improving monitoring and forecasting of water use, availability and water extremes.
INFO
Water is a vital resource to life on Earth. While the majority of Earth's surface is covered in water, only 1% of Earth's water is readily available for use. This includes water used in essential activities such as consumption or agricultural practices required to sustain life. As populations expand and demand for water grows, understanding how changing temperatures and precipitation patterns impact global water supply is important. The water cycle describes how water moves throughout the planet's atmosphere, oceans and land; highlighting connections among each phase of the cycle. Using a combination of Earth observing satellites and sensors, ground-based monitoring and scientific modeling, we can observe Earth's water resources at all stages of the water cycle. This information can be used to make informed management decision surrounding the most vital resource on planet Earth.
NASA: Helping Communities Protect Drinking Water
NASA is helping communities safeguard one of their most essential resources: clean water. When wildfires burn, soot and other contaminants often pollute streams, lakes, and rivers and overwhelm downstream treatment plants. Communities like the city of Eugene, Oregon now use critical NASA satellite data to map vulnerable areas for faster response. Combining satellite observations with local expertise, these NASA-supported tools empower natural resource managers and utilities to better protect drinking water, allocate resources, and reduce damage to infrastructure. Credit: NASA/EWEB
Related Data Visualizations
Variability of Water Storage in Global Hydrological Basins
Knowing the extent of human influence on the global hydrological cycle is essential for the sustainability of freshwater resources on Earth. However, a lack of water level observations for the world\u2019s ponds, lakes, and reservoirs has limited quantification of reservoir (human-managed) versus natural changes to surface water storage. In this study, scientists used data from NASA's ICESat-2 satellite laser altimeter to quantify global variability in water level over 227,386 water bodies from October 2018 to July 2020. \n\nBy combining this dataset with a global database of human-managed reservoirs, the study found that 57% of seasonal water storage variability occurs in human-managed reservoirs. Global maps of the results organized by hydrologic basin reveal that natural variability in surface water level is greatest in tropical basins like the Amazon and the Congo and lowest in northern and Arctic areas such as Northern Canada and Alaska. In contrast, human-management of surface water storage in arid and semi-arid regions like the Western US, Middle East, Southern Africa and Australia, where human influence drives nearly 100% of seasonal storage variability. Overall, the finding that humans are responsible for the majority of seasonal surface water storage variability shows that we are now a key regulator of the water cycle. \n\nAs economic development, population growth, and climate change continue to pressure global water resources in the future, measurements from satellites like ICESat-2 will continue to provide vital information about how humans are managing freshwater resources worldwide.\n\nThis animation uses data from the study to visualize two quantities: the variability of water level, and the variability of the percent of water storage from man-made reservoirs.\nVisualizations by: Trent L. Schindler, Scientific consulting by: Sarah Cooley, Produced by: Ryan Fitzgibbons\nFor more information or to download this public domain video, go to https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4889
