NASA to use space images to monitor drought
By Laila Kearney, Reuters
NASA scientists plan to use images shot from space and within the Earth’s atmosphere to help California monitor one of the worst droughts in its recorded history, officials said on Tuesday.
Scientists said they would deploy imaging tools to measure snowpack and groundwater levels and use a host of other technologies to help better map and assess the water resources in a state that produces half the nation’s fruits and vegetables.
The California Department of Water Resources has contracted with NASA to use data that will be collected next month with airplane mapping tools to measure water stored in the California snowpack, according to Jeanine Jones, the department’s interstate water resources manager.