Gravity Meets Groundwater Monitoring

Published on November 21, 2013 06:18 by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology

Water reserves deep below the Earth's surface can be seen from outer space, thanks to satellites, the law of gravity, and some smart people who connected the dots.

The diminishing supply of available freshwater is a reality that can be plainly seen all around us. Quite literally (depending on your location), you can go outside and see lakes and reservoirs drying up. Meanwhile, up in space, satellites help identify the scope of the problem by giving us a wider, more dramatic, viewpoint. But what about the status of our groundwater reserves? Here again, satellites are providing the answer.

While not necessarily new, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) is continually providing new information. Launched 11 years ago as a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center, GRACE utilizes the laws of gravity and the slightest of movements of two orbiting satellites to measure changing groundwater levels. Because water is so heavy, the mass loss it creates when depleted from an aquifer lessens the gravitational pull on the satellites, causing them to drift further into space. Orbit by orbit, the movements are tracked to create a picture of the changing groundwater environment.

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Geotechnology & Geoinformatics
Groundwater Recharge