Improving Water Resources Management with Satellite Data

Sustainable water resource management is a central challenge for governments the world over. Extremes in the water cycle, namely, floods and droughts, strain even the wealthiest nations and devastate vulnerable populations. Furthermore, many of the most water vulnerable places on Earth are also the most hydrologically data poor.

To make up for a shortage of water data, a consequence of limited in situ monitoring networks, many scientists and water managers in low-income countries rely on remotely sensed data acquired from satellites. After decades of maturation, satellite-based sensors orbiting Earth can now measure precipitation, evaporation, surface water levels, soil moisture, snow depth, groundwater, and more...read more.