Water Use Trends and Dynamics

Meet the EROS Mendenhall Fellow who is working on innovative ways to use algorithms and Landsat data to forecast drought.

Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn how the ECOSTRESS sensor can track water use efficiency.

Landsat Collection 2 Level-3 Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) contains six acquisition-based raster data products pertaining to the existence and condition of surface water.

Evapotranspiration (ET) rates – the combination of evaporation from soil and transpiration from plants – are powerful tools in the management of scarce water resources. Taken alone, however, those rates leave unanswered questions about water sources, questions that can offer guidance and insight on challenging decisions in areas reliant on irrigation. Researchers at EROS work to offer that insight...

A planet with a changing climate and growing population forces tough decisions about the use of limited resources. Making sustainable choices in the face of global change requires an accurate cataloging of those resources. Since 1991, EROS has been the North American node for the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Resource Information Database (UNEP-GRID), which tracks environmental...

Water bodies surrounded by land serve as sources of fresh drinking water, play host to millions of species of fish, underwater vegetation and wildlife and maintain the vibrancy of surrounding ecosystems. These water bodies can also be hubs for recreational activities such as boating, fishing, waterskiing, swimming that boost local economies.

A planet with limited water resources needs accurate, reliable and frequently-updated tools to measure water use and plan for future needs. Scientists at EROS harness the remote sensing capabilities of satellite data to offer powerful tools that resource managers across the United States can use to gain insight into the water use needs of agricultural land, forests, and public green spaces.

Wetlands purify and store our water, process carbon and nutrients and serve a crucial role in the life cycle of a wide range of flora and fauna. Wetland disturbance from urban development or agriculture can alter the natural flow of runoff and increase the risk for flooding.

USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center provide tools that allow user to view, search, query, download, and utilize online interfaces for available remote sensing and geospatial data.

Landsat Collection 1 Level-3 Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) contains six acquisition-based raster data products pertaining to the existence and condition of surface water, as well as all intermediate bands used to produce DSWE. NOTE: Landsat Collection 1 data and products are no longer available to download from the USGS as of December 30, 2022. Landsat Collection 2 remains available. Please...

The Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) provides a new level of detail in global topographic data. The GMTED2010 product suite contains seven new raster elevation products for each of the 30-, 15-, and 7.5-arc-second spatial resolutions and incorporates the current best available global elevation data.

Elevation Derivatives for National Applications (EDNA) is a seamless, nationwide, multi-layered three-dimensional (3D) hydrologic database derived from a version of the National Elevation Dataset.