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we live it every day

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it's in our veins

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it's under our feet

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it's in our meals

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it drives our storms

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it changes the course of history itself

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it's that water cycle we remember from

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elementary school

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this is the cycle of water

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by which all life survives

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but the picture is so much more varied

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so much more vital than a few arrows can

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represent

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trying to measure that complexity from

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both earth and space is an infinite task

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but observations from nasa and many

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worldwide partners have led to quantum

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leaps in our understanding

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in the last 60 years we've seen a

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revolutionary change from relying

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principally on ground measurements

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to satellite observations of rainfall

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to worldwide measurements of rain and

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snowfall every half hour

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from space we can now monitor soil

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moisture every few days

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and detect changes in aquifers deep

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underground

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but we can't see every drop of water

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everywhere all the time

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and water issues are incredibly

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localized as unique as the landscapes

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the water flows over

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to fill in the gaps see the local

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picture and project into the future

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we use powerful computer models

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these models pull in an incredible

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amount of data like those daily scans of

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precipitation

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but also rely on our understanding of

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the planet from all those decades of

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ground-based hydrology and soil research

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in every corner of the earth these

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models help people understand critical

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issues like water availability for

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irrigation

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drought severity flood risk and the

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likelihood of crop failures and famine

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one of the trickiest parts is

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understanding how we impact the water

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cycle with the multitudes of water use

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decisions we make every day that lead to

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things like diverting surface water

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pumping from aquifers and changing our

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planet's climate in addition to

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collecting data and running

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sophisticated computer models

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nasa funds a robust set of projects to

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help water managers across the united

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states

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address their specific water issues from

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crop forecasts in the breadbasket to

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snowpack in the mountains to flood risk

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from nearby rivers

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nasa's water observing fleet will expand

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in 2021 with a satellite that will

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collect data on surface water height and

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slope which will enable estimation of

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river flows

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with these observations we will be able

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to observe all major parts of the water

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cycle from space precipitation

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evaporation runoff and water storage

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our view of earth's water cycle will

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never be perfect

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never be complete

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but each advancement we make

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holds the promise of helping us prepare

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for the future

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avoid conflicts and mitigate disaster