WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:04.030 [slate] 2 00:00:04.050 --> 00:00:08.070 [slate] 3 00:00:08.090 --> 00:00:12.150 Well NASA's Earth observing 4 00:00:12.170 --> 00:00:16.210 fleet can look at everything from our atmospheres to our oceans - 5 00:00:16.230 --> 00:00:20.320 even on land in our backyard measuring snow. Now snow can vary from year to year 6 00:00:20.340 --> 00:00:24.530 and month to month. And an interesting thing that we've observed is for example 7 00:00:24.550 --> 00:00:28.600 west in the Sierra Nevadas we saw snowpack just two years ago that was only 8 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:32.680 a quarter of their normal totals. Now compared to this year we have 180 percent 9 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:36.800 of normal. And understanding the water stored there is very important for 10 00:00:36.820 --> 00:00:40.980 better managing our fresh water resources. [second sound bite] 11 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.030 Well it's interesting NASA's Earth observing fleet can look at everything from our atmosphere to 12 00:00:45.050 --> 00:00:49.120 our oceans, even on land in our backyard measuring snow. 13 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:53.200 Now snow can vary from year to year and month to month. So one of the interesting things we've 14 00:00:53.220 --> 00:00:57.300 observed from this year is out in the Sierra Nevadas. You know just 15 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:01.380 a couple of years ago we had snowpack that was only a quarter of normal. And now 16 00:01:01.400 --> 00:01:05.460 compared to this year, we see snowpack that's 180 percent of normal. 17 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:09.550 The most in almost 20 years. And understanding where that water is stored is very 18 00:01:09.570 --> 00:01:13.560 important for freshwater resources across the U.S. 19 00:01:13.580 --> 00:01:17.620 [slate] 20 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.680 You know we've been measuring, 21 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:25.800 NASA has been measuring snowcover from space for decades. But what we really want to 22 00:01:25.820 --> 00:01:29.990 understand is snow depth and how much water is stored. And that's very important for 23 00:01:30.010 --> 00:01:34.010 forecasting our river flows and better understanding where we can help with agriculture. 24 00:01:34.030 --> 00:01:38.080 A new campaign going on right now in Colorado called SnowEx is 25 00:01:38.100 --> 00:01:42.190 putting instruments on aircraft to look specifically 26 00:01:42.210 --> 00:01:46.330 at this process. Looking at snow depth. And the goal 27 00:01:46.350 --> 00:01:50.420 is to put these instruments someday in a satellite that can look at snow 28 00:01:50.440 --> 00:01:54.460 depth both around the world here but ultimately look at ice 29 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:58.570 on other planets. [second sound bites] You know we've been measuring snow from space 30 00:01:58.590 --> 00:02:02.700 snowcover for decades. But what we really want to understand is that 31 00:02:02.720 --> 00:02:06.890 snow depth, or that water storage which tells us a lot about forecasting our rivers 32 00:02:06.910 --> 00:02:10.980 flow or freshwater resources. So a new snow campaign going in Colorado 33 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.080 right now is using advanced airborne instruments to better understand 34 00:02:15.100 --> 00:02:19.220 that snow depth, ultimately with the goal of putting these instruments on 35 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:23.420 a future satellite to look at snow depth globally. And 36 00:02:23.440 --> 00:02:27.470 that will be critical for better understanding not just what's happening here, 37 00:02:27.490 --> 00:02:31.520 but around the world. 38 00:02:31.540 --> 00:02:35.680 [slate] 39 00:02:35.700 --> 00:02:39.730 Yes. Well snow is really tricky to measure but the Global Precipitation 40 00:02:39.750 --> 00:02:43.780 Measurement mission or GPM is specifically designed to measure falling snow. 41 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:47.870 GPM can see layer by layer through the storm. Now this is really important to improve our weather forecasting 42 00:02:47.890 --> 00:02:52.000 and understand extreme events. So with this vantage point of space 43 00:02:52.020 --> 00:02:56.180 we're able to see how storms are changing and moving. Even at the tops of hurricanes 44 00:02:56.200 --> 00:03:00.250 And we can do this over land, but also 45 00:03:00.270 --> 00:03:04.320 areas where we have very few observations such as over the mountains or over 46 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:08.430 our oceans. [second soundbite] Well snow is really tricky 47 00:03:08.450 --> 00:03:12.630 to measure. But the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM is actually 48 00:03:12.650 --> 00:03:16.800 specifically designed to measure falling snow layer by layer through the storm 49 00:03:16.820 --> 00:03:20.830 and even at the top of hurricanes. And so by being able to have this vantage point of 50 00:03:20.850 --> 00:03:24.890 space we're able to see how snow storm are improving or changing 51 00:03:24.910 --> 00:03:28.980 and also ultimately help inform weather forecasting. 52 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.050 What you see here is a storm that's a Nor'easter in 2015. And being 53 00:03:33.070 --> 00:03:37.240 able to see over our oceans tells us a lot about how these storms move and 54 00:03:37.260 --> 00:03:41.290 ultimately how we can better predict them in the future. 55 00:03:41.310 --> 00:03:45.320 [slate] 56 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:49.510 Well the huge atmospheric rivers that have been delivering 57 00:03:49.530 --> 00:03:53.560 tremendous amounts of rain and snow at high altitudes to California 58 00:03:53.580 --> 00:03:57.650 have gone a long way in alleviating some of the surface drought conditions. But the ground 59 00:03:57.670 --> 00:04:01.740 water takes a lot longer to replenish and we're going to need a couple more years of above 60 00:04:01.760 --> 00:04:05.900 average rainfall before we get back to normal conditions out there. 61 00:04:05.920 --> 00:04:09.970 [second soundbite] Well the atmospheric rivers that we're seeing right now coming off 62 00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:14.060 the Pacific and effecting the California area have gone a long 63 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:18.180 way in alleviating the drought out there, but that's just a surface drought. The groundwater 64 00:04:18.200 --> 00:04:22.340 is still going to take a little bit longer to replenish and we need a couple more years 65 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:26.370 of above average rainfall. But that's just actually only part of the story 66 00:04:26.390 --> 00:04:30.430 about a sixth of the world relies on what you see here glaciers and snowpack 67 00:04:30.450 --> 00:04:34.550 So what NASA is working to do is better understand water resources at the global scale 68 00:04:34.570 --> 00:04:38.580 [slate] 69 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.600 Well if you go to any 70 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.690 supermarket, you know much of the produce that comes from 71 00:04:46.710 --> 00:04:50.740 California, specifically the fruits and nuts. And the water 72 00:04:50.760 --> 00:04:54.860 used to irrigate those crops in California’s Central Valley actually originated in 73 00:04:54.880 --> 00:04:58.970 snowpack for the most part in the Sierra Nevadas. So understanding 74 00:04:58.990 --> 00:05:03.030 how much snowpack we have, how much water we have stored can actually have wide-ranging 75 00:05:03.050 --> 00:05:07.110 impacts on produce across the U.S. But that's only part of the story. 76 00:05:07.130 --> 00:05:11.230 Nearly a sixth of the world relies on season snowpack 77 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:15.380 and glaciers for their water. So at NASA our goal is to use 78 00:05:15.400 --> 00:05:19.450 Earth observing satellites to better understand and monitor our 79 00:05:19.470 --> 00:05:23.480 freshwater resources from space. [slate] 80 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.650 [slate] 81 00:05:27.670 --> 00:05:31.840 You can go to snow.nasa.gov where NASA 82 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:35.910 and partners are developing new technologies to better understand snow in our backyard 83 00:05:35.930 --> 00:05:37.617 as well as around the world.