Everybody needs to eat.
Food is a basic necessity, and it is at the heart of
every human culture and our sense of home. It also represents one of our most
important connections to Earth. Crops and animal products, whether gathered
from the ocean or the land, raised on farms big and small, across vast fields
or in our backyards and urban communities, draw on sunlight, water and soil to
grow and thrive.
Producing food has always been challenging, and in the
21st century, human-caused
climate change is already affecting food security through increasing
temperatures, the frequency of extreme events and changing precipitation
patterns. This is increasing the risk of food supply disruptions
by shifting growing and pastoral zones, reducing water access and
food yield—all of which contribute to the changing landscape of our food and
water supply.
In addition, more than 800 million people suffer from
chronic hunger worldwide. By 2050, the global population is estimated to grow
to 10 billion people. As the population—and the demand for food—continues to
expand, we need innovative ways to feed the world.
That’s where NASA Earth science data comes in.
In the satellite era, Earth observing data has
increasingly become part of the food farming process. With observations from
space and aircraft, combined with high-end computer modeling, NASA scientists
work with partner agencies, organizations, farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and
decision makers to share our understanding of the relationship between the
Earth system and the environments that provide us food.
Working with local communities and decision makers to
determine their needs and how they can best use Earth observation data, NASA
supports those who address issues like water management for irrigation,
crop-type identification and land use, coastal and lake water
quality monitoring, drought preparedness, and famine early
warnings.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll be sharing the
stories of people in the United States and abroad on how they use NASA data
such as
· How they apply NASA
science to help plan for and make it through growing seasons in the face of
drought and water shortages.
· How Earth science data
helps them develop more sustainable farming and aquaculture practices.
· How partner
organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, use NASA data to
achieve their goals in maintaining and monitoring crops and commodities
worldwide.
In addition, we will dive into the science that makes
all this possible, showcase current and future satellite missions that collect
this essential data and look forward to the launch of the ninth Landsat
mission, a joint mission with the U.S. Geological Survey. The Landsat program
has an unparalleled record of nearly 50 years of continuous Earth observations
and is one of the essential satellites delivering data for agriculture.
Landsat 9 together with other NASA Earth science
missions, partner agencies, and the next-generation missions of NASA’s Earth
System Observatory, will provide a backbone of crucial Earth science
information over the next decade. These missions will gather information on
Earth’s systems from above our heads, to under our feet; the atmosphere, water,
land surface, soil moisture, and groundwater beneath Earth's surface. This data
and the research that will improve our understanding of how these different
parts of the environment interact and work as a system, will help communities
and decision makers at all levels strengthen climate resilience and adaptation
of the farming systems across all dimensions of food security - availability,
access, stability, and utilization.
Farmers, ranchers,
fishers, water resource managers, partner government agencies and other
decision-makers around the world use NASA Earth observation data to provide
better food security, develop irrigation plans, identify crops and monitor
droughts.
Credits: NASA/Jesse
Kirsch
By Ellen Gray
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
No comments:
Post a Comment