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Sustainable Water

Extending The Life Cycle Of Water

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University Launches Drones to Study California’s Water System

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation recently awarded a $2.2 million grant to the University of California to use remote sensors and drones to study how the region’s hydrology and vegetation is affected by climate change. The study area will be the U.C.’s Natural Reserve System, a diverse network of lands encompassing more than 750,000 acres, representing habitats that can be found throughout the state.[1]

Known as the California Heartbeat Initiative-Freshwater, the project will utilize remote sensors placed throughout the reserve to track weather, soil moisture, and transpiration. Drones will also be launched and fly programmed routes with cameras capable of tracking how the vegetation is affected by the climate.[2]

Speaking with News Deeply, Professor Todd Dawson of UC Berkeley, and study leader, commented on the importance of using these new technologies. “It’s taking those innovations and applying them in ways that they’ve never been applied before. The critical theme here is all about freshwater. But then it’s trying to say, how do we look at freshwater in an on the landscape, in the vegetation, in the wildlife – things like that – using this new set of tools we have.”[3]

Researches are hoping that the amount of data these tools provide will enable them to create a more accurate climate models to predict how landscapes change over time. If the project succeeds, the study area may expand throughout the state, helping officials plan for droughts and other environmental stressors on habitats, agriculture, and major urban centers.[4]

[1] Weiser, Matt. Drones and Wireless Sensors Take California Water Research to New Level. News Deeply, February 13, 2018. Web. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/02/13/drones-and-wireless-sensors-take-california-water-research-to-new-level

[2] Weiser. Drones and Wireless Sensors Take California Water Research to New Level. News Deeply, February 13, 2018. Web. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/02/13/drones-and-wireless-sensors-take-california-water-research-to-new-level

[3] Weiser. Drones and Wireless Sensors Take California Water Research to New Level. News Deeply, February 13, 2018. Web. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/02/13/drones-and-wireless-sensors-take-california-water-research-to-new-level

[4] Weiser. Drones and Wireless Sensors Take California Water Research to New Level. News Deeply, February 13, 2018. Web. https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/community/2018/02/13/drones-and-wireless-sensors-take-california-water-research-to-new-level

Picture Reference: Flickr, Håkan Dahlström

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