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GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
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Credit: NASA
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A long exposure of the GRACE-FO launch from Vandenberg
GRACE-FO Launch, Long Exposure
This animation shows the annual water storage changes over the U.S. from GRACE from 2003 - 2013.
Annual Water Storage Changes over the U.S. from GRACE
Variations in water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins from 2003 to 2009, measured by GRACE. Reds represent drier conditions, while blues represent wetter conditions. The majority of ...
Tigris and Euphrates Water Storage, 2003 to 2009
NASA JPL-UC Irvine glaciologist Eric Rignot explains how glaciers in West Antarctica are changing.
West Antarctic Collapse
The twin satellites of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, will track the movement of water around Earth. This short video explains how and why it's important.
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
Gravity anomaly map using GRACE data.
Gravity Anomaly Map Using GRACE Data
GRACE Follow-On will test a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
3-2-1 liftoff of Falcon 9 with GRACE-FO! The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, a collaboration between NASA and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) launched f...
GRACE-FO Launches Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9
The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
GRACE-FO Launch, Sky and Sea
GRACE Flight Trajectory
GRACE Flight Trajectory
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space poster
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space Poster
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
The GRACE-FO satellites are nearly identical. The Microwave Interferometer (MWI) will measure the minute variations in distance between the spacecraft.
GRACE-FO Instruments
Changes in Australia's mass observed by GRACE in 2010 and 2011. Areas in greens and blues had the greatest increases in mass, caused by unusually high precipitation connected with a large La Niña e...
Changes in Australia's Mass Observed by GRACE in 2010 and 2011
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 5).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 5)
The twin GRACE-FO satellites will pick up where the GRACE mission (2002-2017) left off, studying our changing planet.
GRACE Follow-On Media Reel
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
The Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 4)
Illustration of GRACE-FO (View 4)
Flames from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching GRACE-FO into orbit.
Rocket Flames
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft onboard at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO in Falcon 9 on Launchpad
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 1).
GRACE-FO Satellites During Testing
Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.
Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites
This map from September 2015 shows deep drought in California, Nevada and Texas.
Groundwater Drought Indicator
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The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity mission will extend a decades-long record of following shifting water masses using gravity measurements.
US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth's Water Movement
This immersive experience leverages satellite data to illustrate how climate change is impacting Earth’s water cycle.
Google's ‘A Passage of Water' Brings NASA's Water Data to Life
Early data shows the greatest net gain of water over the winter in nearly 22 years, but the state’s groundwater levels still suffer from the effects of years of drought.
US-German Satellites Show California Water Gains After Record Winter
Scientists have predicted that droughts and floods will become more frequent and severe as our planet warms and climate changes, but detecting this on regional and continental scales has proven difficult. Now a new NASA-led study confirms that major droughts and pluvials – periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on land – have indeed been occurring more often.
Warming Makes Droughts, Extreme Wet Events More Frequent, Intense
In a recent study, scientists found that a previously unmeasured source – water percolating through soil and fractured rock below California’s Sierra Nevada mountains – delivers an average of 4 million acre feet (5 cubic kilometers) of water to the state’s Central Valley each year. This underground source accounts for about 10% of all the water that enters this highly productive farmland each year from every source (including river inflows and precipitation).
NASA Measures Underground Water Flowing From Sierra to Central Valley
Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation.
NASA Finds New Way to Monitor Underground Water Loss