Thermal

The Central Valley of California is one of the most productive agricultural regions of the United States and irrigated agriculture is one of the heaviest consumers of water resources, so understanding how different crops use water over time is essential for planning and managing water allocation, water rights, and agricultural production.

The rich archive of Landsat imagery combined with the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model can be used to estimate and map actual evapotranspiration (ET) across large basins to quantify long-term crop consumptive use.

Carbonate precipitation can occur where groundwater enters lakes and supplies chemicals missing from the lake, creating carbonate mounds called tufa mounds or microbialites. These precipitates can often be associated with microbes that either create micro-environments that encourage precipitation or act as templates for precipitation.

The USGS is developing innovative technologies and approaches for measuring river discharge using remotely sensed data. Given the expense associated with remote sensing from conventional aerial platforms (e.g., helicopter, airplane), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) offer hydrographers a lower cost alternative for data acquisition.

Obtaining timely, accurate information on streamflow in Alaska’s rivers is difficult because gaging stations are sparse, with many located in remote inaccessible areas. Even for established gages, the maintenance and periodic measurements required to operate a gage are logistically challenging and can place personnel at risk, particularly during high flows.

Landsat satellites have been operating since 1972, providing the longest continuous observation record of the Earth’s land surface. Over the past half century, the Landsat user community has grown exponentially, encompassing more diverse and evolving scientific research and operational uses. Understanding current and future user needs is crucial to informing the design of Landsat missions beyond Landsat 9.

Innovative cloud computing resources for remote sensing science have enabled advanced capabilities and analysis for solving complex large-scale data gap challenges within the USGS Water Availability and Use Science Program. With a vision for water budget estimation for the entire Nation, this research program integrates big data research and development into model applications, evaluation, and results.

Meeting demand for agricultural water use and ecosystems has become a challenge for the Upper Klamath Basin, which stretches across southern Oregon and northern California. This basin is home to several threatened and endangered species and to more than 200,000 acres of irrigation land on the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) Klamath Project.

Water resources are one of the Nation’s most important natural resources, especially for America’s farmland. However, changes in water management, land use, population, and climate are placing unprecedented demands on water supplies in the United States.

The USGS presently operates 102 streamgaging stations distributed throughout Alaska. As many of these stations are quite remote, considerable effort is needed to collect periodic measurements and maintain gages. Thus, developing remote sensing methods for measuring streamflow in this vast, largely inaccessible State is valuable for many reasons.