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Satellite-Based Drought Reporting on the Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (NN) is the largest reservation in the US, and faces challenges related to water management during long-term and widespread drought episodes. The Navajo Nation is a federally recognized tribe, which has boundaries within Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The Navajo Nation has a land area of over 70,000 square kilometers. The Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources (NNDWR) reports on drought and climatic conditions through the use of regional Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) values and a network of in-situ rainfall, streamflow, and climate data. However, these data sources lack the spatial detail and consistent measurements needed to provide a coherent understanding of the drought regime within the Nation's regional boundaries. This project, as part of NASA's Western Water Applications Office (WWAO), improves upon the recently developed Drought Severity Assessment Tool (DSAT) to ingest satellite-based precipitation data to generate SPI values for specific administrative boundaries within the reservation. The tool aims to: (1) generate SPI values and summary statistics for regions of interest on various timescales, (2) to visualize SPI values within a web-map application, and (3) produce maps and comparative statistical outputs in the format required for annual drought reporting. The co-development of the DSAT with NN partners is integral to increasing the sustained use of Earth Observations for water management applications. This tool will provide data to support the NN in allocation of drought contingency dollars to the regions most adversely impacted by declines in water availability.
Document ID
20170012137
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
McCullum, Amber
(Bay Area Environmental Research Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Schmidt, Cynthia
(Bay Area Environmental Research Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Ly, Vickie
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Green, Rachel
(Bay Area Environmental Research Inst. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
McClellan, Carlee
(Dept. of Water Resouces. Navajo Nation, NM, United States)
Date Acquired
December 14, 2017
Publication Date
December 11, 2017
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN48752
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2017 Fall Meeting
Location: New Orleans, LA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 11, 2017
End Date: December 15, 2017
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AD05A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Navaj
Drought
Satellite-based
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