Amazon water comprehensively mapped from space
Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - 13:00
in Earth & Climate
Groundwater represents more than 96% of the fresh water on Earth. But these reservoirs under our feet remain very difficult to study. For humid regions such as the Amazon, researchers have refined a new method for measuring phreatic levels by satellite. Thus, they have created the first maps of ground water in the Amazon, which lies under the largest rivers in the world. The maps show the height of the aquifer during low water periods. They show the response of the ground water in particular to droughts, and help better characterize its role in the climate and the Amazon.