USGS

Don’t stare—take moving pictures, they will last longer. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing a workflow for estimating the speed of the water flowing in a river using imagery acquired from a moving aircraft. Previous studies have, in fact, stared, by mounting cameras on quasi-stationary platforms (drone, helicopter, satellite) that hover in place while acquiring image sequences over rivers. River speed is then estimated using a technique called particle image velocimetry (PIV).

Provisional actual evapotranspiration (ETa) products derived from Landsat and weather data are now available for public download at a global extent for all Landsat data from 1984 onward. Landsat ETa is crucial for measuring water use and critical hydrologic components of the water budget for agricultural and natural landscapes at a higher spatial resolution.

Irregularly flooded wetlands supply important ecosystem services, such as providing habitat for fish and wildlife, enhancing water quality, ameliorating flooding impacts, supporting coastal food webs, and protecting coastlines from erosion. Mapping irregularly flooded wetlands is a daunting challenge given their expansive coverage and dynamic nature.

Actual evapotranspiration (ET) estimation using remote sensing and weather data is an active research activity by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists interested in delivering consistent and useful nationwide ET information. This information is important when measuring critical hydrologic components of the water budget for agricultural and natural landscapes across space and time.

Water use estimates are valuable to the Navajo Nation in adjudicating water rights and informing other environmental policy decisions. Estimates of actual evapotranspiration (ETa), precipitation (PP), and consumptive use (CU) of riparian vegetation assist decision making by natural resource managers. The objectives of this project were to estimate the riparian land cover area for trees and shrubs, calculate their corresponding daily and annual water use, and derive riparian CU in acre-feet (AF).

The San Carlos Apache Tribe wants to learn more about the historical characteristics of their woodlands, savannas and grasslands so they have a target for restoration efforts.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working with the San Carlos Apache Tribe to map current and historical riparian areas on the San Carlos Apache Reservation to identify regions vulnerable to wildfire and to target restoration efforts.

The joint U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)--National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth observation Landsat mission began in July 1972 and surpassed its 50th anniversary in July 2022. The 50-year Landsat global data archive comprises eight independently developed NASA multispectral visible-to-shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) observatories that have been or are currently operated by the USGS.

The National Map Corps (TNMCorps), a crowdsourced mapping project, relies on volunteers to assist the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program by collecting and editing man-made structures data for The National Map.

Hyperspectral remote sensing can advance the study of agricultural crops and inform decision making on issues of food and water security.