(2014) Remote Sensing Applications Workshop

Remote Sensing Applications Workshop

The Council and NASA organized a workshop that was held on August 25-27, 2014 at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, to exchange information about opportunities and challenges associated with use of remote sensing applications to support water management.  The workshop began at 1:00 on Monday the 25th and concluded at noon on Wednesday the 27th.  The event included a tour of JPL’s Earth Science Center, Space Flight Operations Facility, and Mars Yard.  The Mars Yard is a simulated Martian landscape used by researchers to test different robotic prototypes, such as the Mars rovers.  (See this website (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/interactives/photosynth/) for images of the Mars Yard.)  Cameras are permitted on the facility.

The workshop provided an opportunity for NASA to brief Council members on current and emerging observations and research activities that may have applicability to Western water, and for Council members to discuss needs for research and continuity of observations with NASA.  Topics covered included: status of Landsat program continuity, observing snowpack, mapping land subsidence with radar imagery, mapping fallowed agricultural lands, and observing extreme precipitation/atmospheric river storms.

The Council advocated vigorously (and successfully) for inclusion of a thermal infrared sensor on Landsat 8, launched in 2013, so member states such as Idaho could continue using remotely sensed data for water rights administration.  Language in the 2014 Senate Appropriations Committee budget bill for NASA directs NASA to immediately start working on Landsat 9, at a cost not to exceed $650 million.

AGENDA:   JPL Meeting Agenda

PRESENTATIONS:  (Permission has been received to share the following presentations.)

NASA Earth and Applied Science – Brad Doorn, Program Manager, Water Resources Program, NASA

Landsat 8 Mission Status – Jeff Masek, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Mapping Snow from the Air – Tom Painter, Scientist, NASA JPL

Mapping Fallowed Areas – Forrest Melton, Senior Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center

Monitoring Water Infrastructure – Cathleen Jones, NASA JPL

Mapping Land Subsidence using Satellites – Tom Farr, NASA JPL

Monitoring Subsidence in Arizona – Brian Conway, Arizona Department of Water Resources

Atmospheric Rivers and Sub-seasonal Forecasting – Duane Waliser, Chief Scientist, Earth Sciences & Technology, NASA JPL

GPS Inference of Soil Moisture – Kristine Larson, Professor, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado

Overview of Water Resource Applications – John Bolten, Physical Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Exploring Remote Sensing Options for Water Management in Montana – Tim Davis, Administrator, Water Resources Division, MT Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

Using Remote Sensing for Irrigation Water Use – Mindy Conyers, Program Specialist, Texas Water Development Board

Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission – Dara Entekhabi, Director, Earth System Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Evapotranspiration (ET) Advances in Airborne and Satellite Technology – Josh Fisher, NASA JPL

NASA/Indian Space Research Organization Synthetic Aperture Radar (NI-SAR) Mission – Paul Rosen, NASA JPL


Date

Aug 25 - 27 2014

Time

8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location

CA

Other Locations

Pasadena

The event is finished.