Communications of the ACM
Stanford Researchers Calculate Groundwater Levels From Satellite Data
Researchers from Stanford Universitys School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences have used satellite data and a new computer algorithm to gauge groundwater levels in Colorados San Luis Valley agricultural basin.
Credit: Flickr
Stanford University researchers are using satellite data to determine groundwater levels across larger areas than ever before.
The team has developed a new algorithm, which has enabled the researchers to work more efficiently. The algorithm used data acquired using satellite technology called Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to calculate changing groundwater levels in Colorado's San Luis Valley.
Developed by postdoctoral researcher Jingyi Chen, the algorithm automates the time-consuming process of manually identifying and analyzing high-quality pixels in InSAR satellite images not covered by crops or other surface features that could obscure elevation measurements. The algorithm also goes a step further by filling in, or interpolating, groundwater levels in the spaces between pixels where high-quality InSAR data is not available.
The team was able to calculate surface deformations and groundwater levels over an area that was about five times greater than a previous study.
"It could be especially useful in agricultural regions, where groundwater pumping is common and aquifer depletion is a concern," says Stanford professor Rosemary Knight.
From Stanford Report
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2016 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found