Dark brown squares mark fields that would ordinarily support irrigated crops in California’s Central Valley in this vegetation image. In 2009, a lack of water meant that the crops were not growing well or the fields lay fallow.
Published Aug 16, 2009
Reservoirs, lakes, and mountainsides are brimming with water and snow, though scientists caution that underground aquifers are a long way from having the same bounty.
Published Apr 21, 2017
Dividing up water resources in southern California is always a controversial activity. Water allocations for the agriculture in the Imperial Valley, the Salton Sea, and the expanding urban and residential growth in San Diego County were in limbo until a recent agreement was drafted, allowing San Diego to buy conserved Colorado River water from the Imperial Valley. This astronaut photograph details an algal bloom in the Salton Sea, where such blooms continue to be a problem. They are caused by high concentrations of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorous, that drain into the basin from the agricultural run-off. As the algae dies and decomposes, oxygen levels in the sea drop, causing fish kills and hazardous conditions for other wildlife.
Published Nov 10, 2003
About one third of Earth’s large groundwater basins are being rapidly depleted by human consumption even though we have little accurate data about how much water remains in them.
Published Jul 24, 2015
Water shortages in the Middle East lead to sanitation issues in schools, resulting in periodic school closures. NASA is working to change that.
Published Jul 27, 2018
A new web tool designed by NASA applied scientists could help the tribe anticipate and respond to drought.
Published Apr 20, 2020
After four years of shrinking due to drought, the largest reservoir in California got a much-needed boost from El Niño-fueled winter precipitation.
Published Apr 7, 2016
These images show how terrestrial water storage in the four major sub-basins of the United States’ Mississippi River basin differed from average in January and July 2005.
Published Jan 26, 2007
New maps show the fluctuating river and lake levels in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Published Jul 16, 2016
Groundwater supplies are decreasing across much of the world.
Published Nov 1, 2013
alert message
