1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:04,030 [slate] 2 00:00:04,050 --> 00:00:08,070 [slate] 3 00:00:08,090 --> 00:00:12,150 Well NASA's Earth observing 4 00:00:12,170 --> 00:00:16,210 fleet can look at everything from our atmospheres to our oceans - 5 00:00:16,230 --> 00:00:20,320 even on land in our backyard measuring snow. Now snow can vary from year to year 6 00:00:20,340 --> 00:00:24,530 and month to month. And an interesting thing that we've observed is for example 7 00:00:24,550 --> 00:00:28,600 west in the Sierra Nevadas we saw snowpack just two years ago that was only 8 00:00:28,620 --> 00:00:32,680 a quarter of their normal totals. Now compared to this year we have 180 percent 9 00:00:32,700 --> 00:00:36,800 of normal. And understanding the water stored there is very important for 10 00:00:36,820 --> 00:00:40,980 better managing our fresh water resources. [second sound bite] 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,030 Well it's interesting NASA's Earth observing fleet can look at everything from our atmosphere to 12 00:00:45,050 --> 00:00:49,120 our oceans, even on land in our backyard measuring snow. 13 00:00:49,140 --> 00:00:53,200 Now snow can vary from year to year and month to month. So one of the interesting things we've 14 00:00:53,220 --> 00:00:57,300 observed from this year is out in the Sierra Nevadas. You know just 15 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,380 a couple of years ago we had snowpack that was only a quarter of normal. And now 16 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,460 compared to this year, we see snowpack that's 180 percent of normal. 17 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,550 The most in almost 20 years. And understanding where that water is stored is very 18 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:13,560 important for freshwater resources across the U.S. 19 00:01:13,580 --> 00:01:17,620 [slate] 20 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,680 You know we've been measuring, 21 00:01:21,700 --> 00:01:25,800 NASA has been measuring snowcover from space for decades. But what we really want to 22 00:01:25,820 --> 00:01:29,990 understand is snow depth and how much water is stored. And that's very important for 23 00:01:30,010 --> 00:01:34,010 forecasting our river flows and better understanding where we can help with agriculture. 24 00:01:34,030 --> 00:01:38,080 A new campaign going on right now in Colorado called SnowEx is 25 00:01:38,100 --> 00:01:42,190 putting instruments on aircraft to look specifically 26 00:01:42,210 --> 00:01:46,330 at this process. Looking at snow depth. And the goal 27 00:01:46,350 --> 00:01:50,420 is to put these instruments someday in a satellite that can look at snow 28 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,460 depth both around the world here but ultimately look at ice 29 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,570 on other planets. [second sound bites] You know we've been measuring snow from space 30 00:01:58,590 --> 00:02:02,700 snowcover for decades. But what we really want to understand is that 31 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,890 snow depth, or that water storage which tells us a lot about forecasting our rivers 32 00:02:06,910 --> 00:02:10,980 flow or freshwater resources. So a new snow campaign going in Colorado 33 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,080 right now is using advanced airborne instruments to better understand 34 00:02:15,100 --> 00:02:19,220 that snow depth, ultimately with the goal of putting these instruments on 35 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,420 a future satellite to look at snow depth globally. And 36 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,470 that will be critical for better understanding not just what's happening here, 37 00:02:27,490 --> 00:02:31,520 but around the world. 38 00:02:31,540 --> 00:02:35,680 [slate] 39 00:02:35,700 --> 00:02:39,730 Yes. Well snow is really tricky to measure but the Global Precipitation 40 00:02:39,750 --> 00:02:43,780 Measurement mission or GPM is specifically designed to measure falling snow. 41 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,870 GPM can see layer by layer through the storm. Now this is really important to improve our weather forecasting 42 00:02:47,890 --> 00:02:52,000 and understand extreme events. So with this vantage point of space 43 00:02:52,020 --> 00:02:56,180 we're able to see how storms are changing and moving. Even at the tops of hurricanes 44 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,250 And we can do this over land, but also 45 00:03:00,270 --> 00:03:04,320 areas where we have very few observations such as over the mountains or over 46 00:03:04,340 --> 00:03:08,430 our oceans. [second soundbite] Well snow is really tricky 47 00:03:08,450 --> 00:03:12,630 to measure. But the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM is actually 48 00:03:12,650 --> 00:03:16,800 specifically designed to measure falling snow layer by layer through the storm 49 00:03:16,820 --> 00:03:20,830 and even at the top of hurricanes. And so by being able to have this vantage point of 50 00:03:20,850 --> 00:03:24,890 space we're able to see how snow storm are improving or changing 51 00:03:24,910 --> 00:03:28,980 and also ultimately help inform weather forecasting. 52 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,050 What you see here is a storm that's a Nor'easter in 2015. And being 53 00:03:33,070 --> 00:03:37,240 able to see over our oceans tells us a lot about how these storms move and 54 00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:41,290 ultimately how we can better predict them in the future. 55 00:03:41,310 --> 00:03:45,320 [slate] 56 00:03:45,340 --> 00:03:49,510 Well the huge atmospheric rivers that have been delivering 57 00:03:49,530 --> 00:03:53,560 tremendous amounts of rain and snow at high altitudes to California 58 00:03:53,580 --> 00:03:57,650 have gone a long way in alleviating some of the surface drought conditions. But the ground 59 00:03:57,670 --> 00:04:01,740 water takes a lot longer to replenish and we're going to need a couple more years of above 60 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,900 average rainfall before we get back to normal conditions out there. 61 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,970 [second soundbite] Well the atmospheric rivers that we're seeing right now coming off 62 00:04:09,990 --> 00:04:14,060 the Pacific and effecting the California area have gone a long 63 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,180 way in alleviating the drought out there, but that's just a surface drought. The groundwater 64 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,340 is still going to take a little bit longer to replenish and we need a couple more years 65 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,370 of above average rainfall. But that's just actually only part of the story 66 00:04:26,390 --> 00:04:30,430 about a sixth of the world relies on what you see here glaciers and snowpack 67 00:04:30,450 --> 00:04:34,550 So what NASA is working to do is better understand water resources at the global scale 68 00:04:34,570 --> 00:04:38,580 [slate] 69 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,600 Well if you go to any 70 00:04:42,620 --> 00:04:46,690 supermarket, you know much of the produce that comes from 71 00:04:46,710 --> 00:04:50,740 California, specifically the fruits and nuts. And the water 72 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,860 used to irrigate those crops in California’s Central Valley actually originated in 73 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,970 snowpack for the most part in the Sierra Nevadas. So understanding 74 00:04:58,990 --> 00:05:03,030 how much snowpack we have, how much water we have stored can actually have wide-ranging 75 00:05:03,050 --> 00:05:07,110 impacts on produce across the U.S. But that's only part of the story. 76 00:05:07,130 --> 00:05:11,230 Nearly a sixth of the world relies on season snowpack 77 00:05:11,250 --> 00:05:15,380 and glaciers for their water. So at NASA our goal is to use 78 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,450 Earth observing satellites to better understand and monitor our 79 00:05:19,470 --> 00:05:23,480 freshwater resources from space. [slate] 80 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:27,650 [slate] 81 00:05:27,670 --> 00:05:31,840 You can go to snow.nasa.gov where NASA 82 00:05:31,860 --> 00:05:35,910 and partners are developing new technologies to better understand snow in our backyard 83 00:05:35,930 --> 00:05:37,617 as well as around the world.