[music]
>> ZACH: In the dry sagebrush steppe of Idaho,
rainfall totals about 12 inches a year--
almost 30 less than the national average!
Water controls plant growth, wildfire probability,
and in turn, the survival of animals that
depend on rangeland grazing areas for forage.
Due to the limited inputs into these natural
systems, knowing where and how this water
is stored is incredibly important!
>> LEAH: Currently, land managers measure
water content at specific sites using hand-held
soil moisture probes or at limited ground
stations.
This gives an estimate of the water volume
in the top layer of the soil.
These sites are distributed across large areas,
and need to be visited regularly in order
to maintain an accurate record of the region’s
water storage over time.
>> IAN: These techniques are limited to a
sparse distribution of sampling locations,
which does not show the whole picture of water
storage across larger regions.
Images from NASA satellites are a promising
way to fill in these gaps, “connecting the
dots” of Idaho’s water story.
>> DANE: The Idaho Water Resources team at
the GIS Training and Research Center at Idaho
State University partnered with several land
management and research agencies to investigate
methods of estimating rangeland soil moisture
using NASA Earth observations.
>> ZACH: We used soil moisture products from
NASA’s SMAP mission and ESA’s Sentinel-1,
along with data from Terra MODIS and GPM.
>> LEAH: These data products were used to
create maps that show a more holistic view
of regional water retention and soil moisture
movements.
Additionally, these maps can be used as tools
for longer term analysis--providing snapshots
in time that can help with decision-making.
>> ZACH: Our team looked at seasonal patterns
in soil moisture, and how well they tracked
with other variables like green-up timing
and rainfall events.
>> IAN: Adding soil moisture information to
the larger water budget picture can give our
partners better estimates of fuel moisture,
which enhances wildfire predictions, habitat
modelling, and other applications.
>> DANE: This project is also slated for a
second term focusing on evapotranspiration
in order to give an even more robust picture
of water storage and ecosystem health in the
Intermountain West.
