NASA satellite data analyzed that California needs 11 trillion gallons of water to recover from the ongoing drought, according to Daily Mail.
NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites calculated the amount of water required to end the California drought. A group of scientists led by Jay Famiglietti of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California explained the calculation mechanics, NASA reported.
"Spaceborne and airborne measurements of Earth's changing shape, surface height and gravity field now allow us to measure and analyse key features of droughts better than ever before, including determining precisely when they begin and end and what their magnitude is at any moment in time. That's an incredible advance and something that would be impossible using only ground-based observations," Famiglietti said.
The California drought was deemed as the worst case for over 1200 years. The three-year drought was heightened by the high temperature and very few rainfalls. Recent storms somewhat eased the drought but NASA warned that this is not enough.
"It takes years to get into a drought of this severity, and it will likely take many more big storms, and years, to crawl out of it," Famiglietti added.
In addition, California officials confirmed that the storms cannot be an assurance that the drought has ended. Water Resources Control board chairwoman Felicia Marcus declared that the water conservation project is still ongoing, according to Huffington Post.
"A deluge like this makes us feel, 'Oh, my God, it must be over. We are in a really deep hole ... and we have to act like we are in the drought of our lives. Official will keep working on it even after the drought because there's going to be another one around the bend," Marcus said.
Meanwhile, NASA continues to monitor the California drought using the GRACE satellites. The agency is working with US institutions to provide in depth analysis and possible resolutions for the state's current condition.
For further information about GRACE, readers may check the site to get the latest updates.
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