Satellites Spotting Droughts
Satellite-based sensors orbiting Earth can measure precipitation, evaporation, surface water levels, soil moisture, snow depth, and groundwater, among others. By collecting this data, it means farmers have time to prepare for droughts.
Since 2002, NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experience (GRACE) satellites record the movement of water above and below the Earth’s surface. Working in partnership with two centres at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources, information from NASA’s GRACE satellites’ upgraded replacements (GRACE Follow-on) can map the topsoil, root zone soil, and groundwater moisture around the world, as well as provide 30-, 60-, and 90-day forecasts of wet and dry conditions across the continental United States. GRACE Follow-on satellites travel in tandem in orbit, about 137 miles apart, to produce these new high-resolution products.
Detecting drought
GRACE Follow-on satellites have recently detected that one-third of the United States is experiencing at least a moderate level of drought, with much of the West approaching severe drought and New England being unusually dry and hot. The effects of severe drought include stunted and browning crops, limited pasture yields, dust storms, reduced well water levels, and an increase in the number and severity of wildfires. In total, around 53 million people are living in drought-affected areas.
Acting on the forecasts
Forecasts from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, using GRACE Follow-on data, suggest that conditions in the West will not get better anytime soon, with hot and dry weather projected to last through late October. With these forecasts, it means decision-makers at the federal and state levels can better-prepare for these extremes, for instance, enacting federal disaster assistance programmes. For example, U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganisation of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts.
The take-out
Satellite data is vital in ensuring communities can prepare for extreme events.
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