Earth
ID: 30862
NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, launched in 2002, maps changes in Earth's gravity field resulting from the movement of water over the planet. This animation shows how the total amount of water (snow, surface water, soil moisture, and groundwater) varies in space and time, with the passage of dry seasons and wet seasons as well as with flooding, drought, and transport due to water management. Blue colors represent wetter than average conditions (relative to 2002-2017), while red colors represent drier than average conditions. The yellow line in the graph at left shows the interannual variation for area outlined in ywllow on the map, while the fainter gray line in the graph shows variations with the seasonal cycle included.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins are outlined in yellow and rivers and tributaries are shown as blue lines. The basins include California's Central Valley, the most productive agricultural region in the U.S. Drought in California had drained the state of nearly 15 cubic kilometers (12 million acre feet; 4 trillion gallons) of water in 2010-2013, but a more normal 2016 and an even wetter 2017 hvae allowed some recovery along with extensive flooding.
GRACE measures California water
There is a newer version of this story located here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31177
The Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins are outlined in yellow and rivers and tributaries are shown as blue lines. The basins include California's Central Valley, the most productive agricultural region in the U.S. Drought in California had drained the state of nearly 15 cubic kilometers (12 million acre feet; 4 trillion gallons) of water in 2010-2013, but a more normal 2016 and an even wetter 2017 hvae allowed some recovery along with extensive flooding.
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Credits
Felix W. Landerer (NASA/JPL CalTech): Scientist
Felix W. Landerer (NASA/JPL CalTech): Producer
Marit Jentoft-Nilsen: Animator
Felix W. Landerer (NASA/JPL CalTech): Producer
Marit Jentoft-Nilsen: Animator
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30862
Mission:
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Data Used:
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Location >> California
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Droughts
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Terrestrial Hydrosphere >> Ground Water
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Terrestrial Hydrosphere >> Ground Water >> Aquifers
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Terrestrial Hydrosphere >> Surface Water >> Floods
NASA Earth Science Focus Areas >> Water and Energy Cycle
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30862
Mission:
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Data Used:
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)/Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly also referred to as: TWS Anomaly
AnalysisKeywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Location >> California
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Earth
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Human Dimensions >> Natural Hazards >> Droughts
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Terrestrial Hydrosphere >> Ground Water
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Terrestrial Hydrosphere >> Ground Water >> Aquifers
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Terrestrial Hydrosphere >> Surface Water >> Floods
NASA Earth Science Focus Areas >> Water and Energy Cycle
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0
