Earth  ID: 30730

High-Resolution Soil Moisture Maps

Released on December 16, 2015
There is a newer version of this story located here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31176
These maps combine data from the twin satellites of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) with other satellite and ground-based measurements to model the relative amount of water stored at two different levels: at plant root level and underground. The wetness, or water content, of each layer is compared to the average between 1948 and 2009. The darkest red regions represent dry conditions that should occur only 2 percent of the time (about once every 50 years). All of the maps are experimental products funded by NASA’s Applied Sciences Program and developed by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Drought Mitigation Center. The maps do not attempt to represent human consumption of water; but rather, they show changes in water storage related to weather, climate, and seasonal patterns.
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Soil moisture in the root zone compared to ground water storage.
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A ground water storage map showing groundwater in aquifers.
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A Root Zone Soil Moisture map showing moisture content in the “root zone,” or the top meter (39 inches) of soil.
 

Newer Version

Two Decades of Soil Moisture from Space

Older Version

Measuring Soil Moisture from Space

Credits

Matthew Rodell (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30730

Mission:
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators >> Drought Indices
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Hydrosphere >> Ground Water
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Land Surface >> Soils >> Soil Moisture/Water Content
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
SVS >> Presentation
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Climate Indicators >> Land Surface/agriculture Indicators >> Drought Indices
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Droughts
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Solid Earth >> Gravity/gravitational Field
NASA Earth Science Focus Areas >> Earth Surface and Interior

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0