The global Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, as revealed in this illustration, is the first worldwide objective surveying Earths surface water. SWOTs high-resolution data assists scientists measure how Earths bodies of water modification with time. Credit: JPL/CNES
Googles “A Passage of Water” Brings NASAs Water Data to Life
This immersive experience leverages satellite data to highlight how environment change is impacting Earths water cycle.
As part of the long-standing collaboration in between NASA and Google, NASA worked with Google Arts & & Culture and artist Yiyun Kang to produce an interactive digital experience around global freshwater resources entitled “A Passage of Water.” This immersive experience leverages data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites and brand-new high-resolution information from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) objective to illustrate how climate modification is impacting Earths water cycle.
A digital variation of “A Passage of Water” was released online on Thursday, November 30, ahead of the beginning of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Google likewise will host a physical setup of the visualization job in heaven Zone at COP 28.
NASAs Mission to Inform the World
” NASA is the U.S. space firm that provides end-to-end research about our home planet, and it is our job to inform the world about what we discover,” stated Kate Calvin, NASAs chief researcher and senior environment consultant in Washington. “Highlighting our Earth science data in the setup of A Passage of Water is a distinct way to share information, in an absorbable method, around the essential connection between climate change and the Earths water cycle.”
6 Decades of Data Collection
For 6 decades, NASA has been gathering data in the worlds land, water, climate, and air. This information is used to inform decision-makers on methods to mitigate, react and adapt to climate modification. All of NASAs Earth science information is readily available for scientists and the public to access in a variety of ways.
Highlighting NASAs Earth Science Data
” NASA studies our home world and its interconnected systems more than any other planet in our universe,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASAs Earth Science Division. ” A Passage of Water supplies an opportunity to highlight the public availability of SWOT data and other NASA Earth science data to inform significant stories, improve awareness, and assist everyday individuals who need to materialize choices in their homes, companies, and communities.”
Developments From the SWOT Mission
A partnership between NASA and the French space agency CNES (Centre National dÉtudes Spatiales), SWOT is measuring the height of almost all water in the worlds surface area, supplying among the most comprehensive, thorough views yet of the planets freshwater bodies. SWOT supplies insights into how the ocean influences environment change and how a warming world impacts rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.
” The information that SWOT is supplying on the worlds oceans and fresh water is game-changing. Were only just starting with regard to data from this satellite, and Im anticipating seeing where the details takes us,” stated Ben Hamlington, a research scientist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Data Contributions From GRACE Missions
The previous is a joint effort between NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), while the latter is a partnership between NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). GRACE tracked localized modifications to Earths mass distribution, caused by phenomena including the motion of water across the planet from 2002 to 2017.
Just like GRACE before it, the GRACE-FO objective monitors changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and underground water storage, the quantity of water in large lakes and rivers, along with changes in water level and ocean currents, offering an incorporated view of how Earths water cycle and energy balance are progressing.
Expanding Public Access to Space Data
“A Passage of Water” is the most recent digital experience created under NASAs Space Act Agreement with Google, with resulting material to be made commonly available to the general public complimentary of charge on Googles web platforms. This collaboration becomes part of a six-project contract series that intends to share NASAs content with audiences in appealing and new ways.
The worldwide Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, as shown in this illustration, is the first international objective surveying Earths surface area water. SWOTs high-resolution information helps researchers determine how Earths bodies of water change over time. For six years, NASA has been gathering data on Earths land, water, air, and environment. All of NASAs Earth science information is readily available for scientists and the public to access in a range of ways.
GRACE tracked localized modifications to Earths mass circulation, caused by phenomena consisting of the movement of water throughout the planet from 2002 to 2017.