Managing Earth's resources from space
Managing Earth’s resources from space Today’s Video of the Day from NASA Goddard describes how Landsat data can be used to help manage natural resources and answer questions about Earth’s changing landscapes.
The detectors used on Landsat satellites, which essentially turn light into data, were once limited to what could be seen on the visible light spectrum. Today, the addition of a thermal sensor has made Landsat satellite detection so advanced that scientists can calculate Earth’s temperature within a fraction of a degree.
The thermal capabilities can be used by scientists to monitor natural water cycles such as evotranspiration, which is the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere through evaporation or plant transpiration. These particular measurements have been used a lot for agriculture water management, according to Landsat 9 instrument scientist Phil Dabney. Managing Earth’s resources from space as shown above in the video explains and shows the temps and measurments.
Video Credit: NASA Goddard
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
