Keeping a Global Eye on Groundwater

Keeping a Global Eye on Groundwater

Every life form is made up of more than 60% water, meaning access to this resource is essential to survival. While only 3% of all water on earth is drinkable, a vast majority of it is tied up in glaciers. This makes groundwater one of the most viable sources for potable water, which is extracted through the use of water wells and pumps.

Climate change over the years has contributed to severe weather patterns, which includes droughts. Over time, lack of surface water starts to affect the water stored underground. Due to this fact, droughts are being studied more and more by scientists since lack of accessible potable water directly impacts the population and environment in that area – in more ways than one.

NASA recently teamed up with University of Nebraska-Lincoln to create the first global groundwater map that, in hand, also helps reveal droughts in even the most remote areas. This was made possible by drawing on data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow On (GRACE-FO) satellites. While launched in 2019, these spacecrafts circle Earth to map its gravitational field. By detecting variations in their findings, the shifting of mass, such as the global flow of water and ice, can be discovered. These observations are then mixed with computer models that simulate water energy cycles to spit out time-varying maps of water distribution at different depths. Groundwater maps are like a slowed down, smoothed version of what’s seen on the surface.

Although maps of current dry/wet conditions for the U.S. have been available since 2012, this is the first time this data is being collected globally. With so few worldwide drought maps out there, this new map will help us distinguish droughts in even the most under-developed nations so actions can be made sooner rather than later. With a drought comes a change in soil moisture, crop health, groundwater, streamflow, and more. These satellite-based images are collected weekly and are even essential for managing agricultural crops and predicting their yields.

Groundwater supplies water for entire communities, helps grow our food for crop irrigation purposes, and is a source of recharge for lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The absence of groundwater is also seen as a useful indicator of extended drought. Regularly obtaining the data received through GRACE-FO allows for a national scope of groundwater, which also shows and predicts the environment and underlying conditions in a certain area. The ability to learn even more about the planet we inhabit will only help us in the long run. After all, without water, there is no life!