Decades of drought across the U.S. Southwest has led some scientists to classify the intense, prolonged dryness as a “megadrought.” But drought in North America took a different shape in 2021, affecting areas that do not face long-term or intense drought as often. The northern Great Plains has been coping with drought for months.

NASA scientists have studied 17 years of gravity observations of our planet to understand how the global water cycle is changing.

Focusing on the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, the award cites the “outstanding leadership of the international consortium in the planning and implementation of the successful Earth gravity missions.”

Scientists have gained new insights into the processes that have driven ocean level variations for over a century, helping us prepare for the rising seas of the future.

Continuous monitoring of glaciers and ice caps has provided unprecedented insights to global ice loss that could have serious socioeconomic impacts on some regions.

NASA researchers have developed new satellite-based, weekly global maps of soil moisture and groundwater wetness conditions and one- to three-month U.S. forecasts of each product.