JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

ECOSTRESS Drought Stress Comparison

Oct. 28, 2020
NASA's ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) imaged the Western United States drought on Oct. 16, 2020, and compared the same area to an image from ECOSTRESS taken a year earlier on Oct. 16, 2019.

The Western United States has been entrenched in an Extreme and Exceptional drought that has extended from the summer and into the fall of 2020. NASA's ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) imaged the drought on Oct. 16, 2020, and compared the same area to an image from ECOSTRESS taken a year earlier on Oct. 16, 2019. The bottom image shows the percentage change in plant water stress from 2019 to 2020.

The images at left zoom into the Arizona and New Mexico border and Navajo Nation Territory area, featuring the ECOSTRESS Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), which shows plant water stress. The inset images on the right zoom further into the region, showing circular agricultural fields that have been irrigated. Blue colors represent low stress and high water use, whereas red colors represent high stress and low water use. Irrigation is able to alleviate plant water stress in many of the fields while the surrounding landscape suffers from the drought, though numerous agricultural fields are shut down in the drought image.

The primary mission of ECOSTRESS, which launched to the International Space Station in June 2018, is to provide insight into plants' health, especially in a drought, by taking their temperature. Plants regulate their temperature by releasing water through tiny pores on their leaves. With sufficient water, they can maintain their temperature. When they lack water, their temperatures rise; ECOSTRESS can measure this change.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages the ECOSTRESS mission for the Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. ECOSTRESS is an Earth Venture Instrument mission; the program is managed by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Future studies could use ECOSTRESS data products in a similar fashion as ESI was used to assess the drought pictured above.

More information about ECOSTRESS is available here: https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/.

For information on Earth science activities aboard the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/issearthscience.

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
Target
  • Earth
Spacecraft
  • International Space Station (ISS)
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Keep Exploring

ECOSTRESS Detects Heat Islands in Indian Heat Wave

La Palma Volcano

Hurricane Ida, August 27, 2021

Glass Fire, September 27, 2020

ECOSTRESS Views 2021 Northern California Dixie Fire

ECOSTRESS Views 2021 Southern Oregon Bootleg Fire

July 2021 Heat Wave Ground Temperature

NASA's ECOSTRESS Images California Wildfires From Space

NASA's ECOSTRESS Takes Surface Temperature Around California Fires

NASA's ECOSTRESS Sees Fire-Induced Tornado From Space

Related Topic

News .

NASA’s ECOSTRESS Detects ‘Heat Islands’ in Extreme Indian Heat Wave

News .

International Satellite to Track Impacts of Small Ocean Currents

News .

From Weather Forecasting to Climate Change, NASA’s AIRS Builds a Legacy

News .

NASA’s EMIT Will Map Tiny Dust Particles to Study Big Climate Impacts

News .

Clusters of Weather Extremes Will Increase Risks to Corn Crops, Society

News .

California Field Campaign Helping Scientists Protect Diverse Ecosystems

News .

NASA Finds New Way to Monitor Underground Water Loss

Mission .

NISAR

Mission .

Surface Water and Ocean Topography

News .

International Sea Level Satellite Takes Over From Predecessor

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono