MODIS Observes Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor is located onboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. MODIS data are crucial tools for studying changes that have occurred on the surface of the Earth, including during times of drought. This video highlights Terra MODIS data over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and the changes in the amount of snowpack in the area from 2000 to 2017. Scientists use measurements of snowpack as a key measurement of drought, as the water from the melting snowpack is a source of drinking water for Californians. Learn more about MODIS at NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) (https://lpdaac.usgs.gov), located at the USGS Earth Resources Observation Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.