NASA uses satellite to improve global crop forecasting | Afghanistan Sun

NASA uses satellite to improve global crop forecasting

Afghanistan Sun (ANI) Wednesday 27th May, 2009

Washington, May 27 : NASA researchers are using satellite data to cultivate the most accurate estimates of soil moisture, which would improve global crop forecasting.

Soil moisture is essential for seeds to germinate and for crops to grow. But, record droughts and scorching temperatures in certain parts of the globe in recent years have caused soil to dry up, crippling crop production.

The falling food supply in some regions has forced prices upward, pushing staple foods out of reach for millions of poor people.

Now, NASA researchers are using satellite data to deliver a kind of space-based humanitarian assistance.

They are cultivating the most accurate estimates of soil moisture and improving global forecasts of how well food will grow at a time when the world is confronting shortages.

In this context, NASA scientist John Bolten described a new modeling product that uses data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite to improve the accuracy of West African soil moisture.

The group produced assessments of current soil moisture conditions, or "nowcasts," and improved estimates by 5 percent over previous methods.

"Though seemingly small and incremental, the increase can make a big difference in the precision of crop forecasts," Bolten said.

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