Earth  ID: 4042

Freshwater Losses In The Middle East

The visualization shows variations in total water storage from normal, in millimeters, in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, as measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, from January 2003 through December 2009. Reds represent drier conditions, while blues represent wetter conditions. The effects of the seasons are evident, as is the major drought that hit the region in 2007. The majority of the water lost was due to reductions in groundwater caused by human activities. By periodically measuring gravity regionally, GRACE tells scientists how much water storage changes over time.
 

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Visualization Credits

Trent L. Schindler (USRA): Lead Animator
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA): Producer
Katalyn Voss (University of California, Irvine): Scientist
Jay Famiglietti (University of California, Irvine): Scientist
Matthew Rodell (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4042

Mission:
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)

Data Used:
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
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
DLESE >> Hydrology
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Hydrosphere >> Ground Water
GCMD >> Location >> Middle East
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> GRACE
NASA Science >> Earth
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