50 years of satellite data holds the power to protect Earth
Sun May 30
NASA made headlines in 2013 when their satellites showed how the world is depleting its groundwater with 21 of the 37 largest underground reservoirs being drawn from too quickly to be replenished, especially with climate change. Since then, more and more stories have emerged of communities around the globe suffering as their water sources dry up, often from human activity.
For example, almost 80% of the Amazon’s Xingu River water flow is gone following a dam that redirected it to a reservoir for hydropower generation. With an anemic river, local communities are losing their source of fish, transportation, and even their landscape as trees and plants dry out. Despite outcry from impacted Indigenous communities, the local government has sided primarily with the utilities and mining companies behind the dam who cite profit loss if they sacrifice any water use. The companies also claim that there’s no scientific evidence behind the communities’ arguments.
But there is proof — and it’s coming from above. For 50 years satellites have been monitoring changes to Earth’s landscapes, monitoring forest cover, drought, wildfire damage, desert expansion and more. With industry continuing to drive the biggest threat to our natural resources, accessible satellite data can offer:
- Information that can help us predict trends and events in our climate and geology so that we might prepare.
- Ways to monitor changes and provide hard evidence for fighting against damaging actions. For example, NASA’s GRACE-FO satellites use sensors to understand changes in gravitational pull to measure changes in bodies of water.
- And provide real-time information on major natural threats. It’s already used to detect icebergs that could damage moving ships.
So why aren’t we using this data? Researchers are pushing to make use of this highly valuable data and for greater accessibility to it (free access). And just last month, DataCosmos was unveiled. The platform intends to combine earth observation data from satellites, drones, and sensors and process the imagery within seconds to provide users with an easy way to access, download, and process.
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Sources
- The Conversation: The case for satellite data 1 month old | 9 minutes long
- Business Insider: NASA satellite findings 7 years old | 5Â minutes long
- GeoSpatial World: New space startup 5 days old | 5 minutes long
- NASA: Satellite observance 12 years old | 2 minutes long
ASCII-ing About The News
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If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?
Well, the satellite data says it probably does but more importantly, the data shows it’s falling because the soil is dried out without the river running near it!
Art Credit:Â ASCII Art Archive