Soil moisture

"Water contained in the upper regions near the earth's surface." (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019)

Sources

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Glossary of Hyfrologic Terms. Accessed February 28, 2019. Available at: https://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hod/SHManual/SHMan014_glossary.htm

Global groundwater supplies

Groundwater accounts for 30% of Earth’s freshwater resources (Shiklomanov 1993) (Figure 1) and is estimated to globally provide 36% of potable water, 42% of irrigation water, and 24% of industrial water – indicating its significant value (Global Environment Facility 2021). Groundwater affords a host of benefits, from providing better protection against drought and microbiological contamination than surface waters, to being generally low cost and accessible to many users.

Towards new applications of spaceborne technology on flood protection

Recently, in July 2021, destructive and deadly floods occurred in Western Europe. The estimated insured losses only in Germany could approach 5 billion Euros (AIR Worldwide, 2021). However, the total amount of the damage is currently not foreseeable due to the variety and complexity of the damage patterns and the unbelievable extent of the disaster. It seems the socio-economic losses will dramatically increase and break a new record in the insurance industry after evaluating the complete record of damages’ reports (see Figure 1).

Global Precipitation Mission: Improved, accurate and timely global precipitation information

Continuous and reliable global precipitation information is crucial for myriad of weather, climate and hydrological applications. The importance of precipitation in the form of rain, hail, sleet, snow etc. is known to science and clear to a layman. However, it’s quite tricky to measure past precipitation trends or predicting accurate future forecasts. There are three main categories of precipitation data sets available: ground based, satellite-based and blended products of ground and space data (Climate Data Guide, 2014).

Interview with Melody Lepine, Director at the Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations

Suncor upgrader, tailing ponds, Athabasca River and Tar/oil sands in Northern Alberta. Photograph taken by Garth Lenz, 2019

Photo by Garth Lenz.

Short description of the Mikisew Cree First Nation community

Nestled on the northwest shore of Lake Athabasca, Fort Chipewyan is one of the most northern communities in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Isolated by nature, Fort Chipewyan can only be accessed by plane or boat in the summer and by a winter road in the winter.

Interview with Nokubonga Mazibuko, Commissioner at the Commission on Khoi-San Matters, South Africa

Disclaimer!

I should note that this interview does not aim to compare the San women of Platfontein with the Zulu women from Folweni as these are totally different communities. Also, as much as I am a Commissioner, this interview is not done on behalf of the Commission on Khoi-San Matters (CKSM) but on my personal capacity as a researcher and academic who has an interest on issues pertaining to women.

Interview with Tania Eulalia Martinez Cruz, Research Associate at Free University of Brussels

Tääk ë´mëj (grandmother) cleansing her wooden cane. In Tamazulápam women guide the spiritual life of people in the community and teach younger generations the rituals and forms to interact with nature. Photo credits: Joselí Martínez-Vidal, Young Ëyuujk man from Tamazulápam del Espíritu Santo, Mixe, Oaxaca.

Photo: Tääk ë´mëj (grandmother) cleansing her wooden cane. In Tamazulápam women guide the spiritual life of people in the community and teach younger generations the rituals and forms to interact with nature. Credits: Joselí Martínez-Vidal, Young Ëyuujk man from Tamazulápam del Espíritu Santo, Mixe, Oaxaca.

Interview with Prof. Wolfgang Wagner

Photo of Prof. Wolfgang Wagner lecturing a seminar

Interview with Sarhan Zerouali

Sarhan Zerouali became fascinated with water at a young age through learning about water scarcity around the world and about traditional methods for locating groundwater. In a space applications course Sahran then learnt about space-based technologies. He is currently working on a research project on how remote sensing and other technologies can help alleviate global challenges arising from land degradation. As an aerospace engineer, Sahran has worked with various modern technologies in his work including nanosatellites, artificial intelligence, and feature extraction algorithms.

Interview with Sarhan Zerouali

Interview with Nokubonga Mazibuko, Commissioner at the Commission on Khoi-San Matters, South Africa

Disclaimer!

Interview with Tania Eulalia Martinez Cruz, Research Associate at Free University of Brussels

Interview with Melody Lepine, Director at the Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations

Photo by Garth Lenz.

Short description of the Mikisew Cree First Nation community

ARSET - Water Resource Management Using NASA Earth Science Data

Overview:

This online course covers precipitation (rainfall and snow fraction), soil moisture, evapotranspiration, runoff and streamflow, groundwater, and lake level heights. Participants are introduced to a number of NASA data products.

Objective:

Participants will be able to use NASA remote sensing observations and land-atmosphere models to:

ARSET - Applications of Remote Sensing to Soil Moisture and Evapotranspiration

Overview:

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Satellite Mission is providing new soil moisture data, and modelling frameworks are providing new evapotranspiration data. This webinar series is intended to help participants learn about NASA soil moisture and evapotranspiration products and how to access and apply them for water resource management. Throughout the sessions, participants will learn how to monitor and manage water resources with techniques learned in training. The series begins with an introduction to satellite missions and useful data sets.

Digital Earth Africa: Agriculture and Food Security

Digital Earth Africa learning platform

This learning platform helps users understand the significance of Earth observations, explore Digital Earth Africa datasets through an interactive map, and get started on the basics of python coding for spatial analysis.

Digital Earth Africa makes Earth observation (EO) data readily available, delivering decision-ready products to the African continent. Data generated by Digital Earth Africa will provide valuable insights for better decision-making across many areas, including resource management, food security and urbanisation.

Water-ForCE Webinar: Water and Agriculture

During this webinar, we will be discussing water quality (run-off from agriculture, pollution of surface water for irrigation) and quantity of water (drought, extreme rainfall, groundwater level, soil moisture) to tackle the water and agriculture domains for the Copernicus Roadmap.

Speakers:

Webinar: Global flood monitoring and Surface Soil Moisture anomalies

The EO AFRICA R&D Facility Space Academy has a series of webinars covering topics related to the use of EO to assess and monitor the state of water and food security-related spatial components.

The 9th webinar will describe ways to monitor flood events and surface soil moisture on a global scale, using microwave Earth Observation data. Current research topics will be described that are relevant for use cases in Africa (e.g. subsurface scattering in arid regions). The validation of flood monitoring and of soil moisture products will be discussed.

Local Perspectives Case Studies

Soil conditions in Platfontein, South Africa

There is a problem with soil conditions especially in Platfontein in the Northern Cape Province because it is an arid place. The area does not receive much rains therefore the soil conditions are not good for most crops as they lack necessary nutrients. The community lacks understanding about the soil conditions in the area, and what crops are suitable to be planted there.

Soil and Water Conservation Department, Government of Meghalaya

SWCD is a State Government Department focusing on conservation of three most vital natural resources - soil, water and vegetation by implementing various conservation measures.

Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency

The Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) is a wholly owned Government of Zimbabwe entity, established under the Research act [Chapter 10:20]. It is responsible for designing, promoting, coordinating and conducting research and development initiatives that promote advances in Geospatial Sciences and Earth Observations, Space Engineering, Space Science, Aeronautical Engineering, Mechatronics, Satellite Communication Systems, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Land Positioning Systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Launch of Satellites.

Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation of the TU Wien

Geodesy and Geoinformation take on key roles in our modern society as provider of information about geographical locations, environmental processes, physical fundamentals and are pivotal in enabling access to social relevant spatial data. Since its early days in the 19th century, the TU Wien hosts scientists and engineers undertaking geospatial data research. Today, a multitude of research fields in the evolving domain of geodesy and geoinformation is in the scope of our academic institution.

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

About IICA

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is the specialized agency for agriculture of the Inter-American System that supports the efforts of Member States to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being.

Wagner

Wolfgang Wagner

Univ.-Prof. for remote sensing, Dean of Faculty of Mathematics and Geoinformation, Co-Founder of EODC

Wolfgang Wagner received the Dipl.-Ing. degree in physics and the Dr.techn. degree in remote sensing from TU Wien. In support of his master and PhD studies he received fellowships to carry out research at the University of Bern (1993), Atmospheric Environment Service Canada (1994), NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre (1995), European Space Agency (1996), and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (1996-1998).

El-Askary

Hesham El-Askary

Prof. of Remote Sensing and Earth Systems Science and Director Computational & Data Sciences Graduate Programs at the Center of Excellence in Earth Systems Modeling & Observations Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, USA

Prof. El-Askary received his Ph.D. in Computational Sciences and Informatics from George Mason University in 2004 along with his two MS degrees in Computational sciences and Earth Systems Sciences. He is also a Professor of Environmental Physics on leave with the Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Egypt. Prof. El-Askary was also affiliated with the National Authority of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo.

Mazibuko-Ngidi

Nokubonga Nokwanda Mazibuko-Ngidi

Commissioner for the Commission on Khoi-San Matters at the South African Department of Traditional Affairs

Nokubonga Mazibuko is an Anthropologist from Folweni, a Durban-south township. She holds a Master’s Degree in Anthropology, and Honours degree in Gender Studies (both obtained Cum Laude) and Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences with majors in Media and Cultural Studies and Political Sciences from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Additionally, a certificate in Afrikan Feminist and Gender Studies (obtained with distinction) from the University of South Africa’s Thabo Mbheki Leadership Institute (TMALI). She is currently reading towards a PhD focusing on Anthropology and Gender Studies.

Related Content

Article

Interview with Prof. Wolfgang Wagner

Space technologies in the detection, monitoring and management of groundwater

Global groundwater supplies

Towards new applications of spaceborne technology on flood protection

Global Precipitation Mission: Improved, accurate and timely global precipitation information

Interview with Melody Lepine, Director at the Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations

Short description of the Mikisew Cree First Nation community

Interview with Nokubonga Mazibuko, Commissioner at the Commission on Khoi-San Matters, South Africa

Disclaimer!

Interview with Tania Eulalia Martinez Cruz, Research Associate at Free University of Brussels

Interview with Prof. Wolfgang Wagner

Interview with Sarhan Zerouali

Interview with Sarhan Zerouali

Interview with Nokubonga Mazibuko, Commissioner at the Commission on Khoi-San Matters, South Africa

Disclaimer!

Interview with Tania Eulalia Martinez Cruz, Research Associate at Free University of Brussels

Interview with Melody Lepine, Director at the Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations

Short description of the Mikisew Cree First Nation community

Capacity Building and Training Material

ARSET - Water Resource Management Using NASA Earth Science Data

Overview:

Objective:

ARSET - Applications of Remote Sensing to Soil Moisture and Evapotranspiration

Overview:

Digital Earth Africa: Agriculture and Food Security

Digital Earth Africa learning platform

Water-ForCE Webinar: Water and Agriculture

Water-ForCE Webinar: Water and Agriculture

Event

Webinar: Global flood monitoring and Surface Soil Moisture anomalies

Local Perspectives Case Studies

Soil conditions in Platfontein, South Africa

Stakeholder

Soil and Water Conservation Department, Government of Meghalaya

Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency

Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation of the TU Wien

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

About IICA

Person

Wolfgang Wagner

Hesham El-Askary

Nokubonga Nokwanda Mazibuko-Ngidi