1. Essential Standard
8.E.1.4 Conclude that the good health of humans requires:
• Monitoring of the hydrosphere
• Water quality standards
• Methods of water treatment
• Maintaining safe water quality
• Stewardship

2. Where do you think Monitoring the Hydrosphere
most likely takes place?

3. Monitoring the Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is all of the water on Earth.
It is important to monitor the hydrosphere so we can predict droughts, hurricanes, floods, etc.
Three of the ways we monitor the hydrosphere are:
-Spectral Analysis
-Remote Sensing – works best over LARGE AREAS
-Ground Truthing – works best with SMALL areas

4. Spectral Analysis
Spectral analysis involves looking at the spectrum of electromagnetic energy reflected or absorbed from the Earth’s surface.

5. Solar Energy Energy from the sun travels as electromagnetic waves.
Each type of wave has a different wavelength and different amount of energy.

6. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy it has
Gamma rays damaging to cells (think Hulk); Ultraviolet causes skin damage; Visible is colors of rainbow; infrared is heat; 6

7. EM and Earth’s Surface
Some wavelengths of energy are absorbed by some surfaces and reflected by others.
Wet soil absorbs 80-90% visible light energy; snow reflects 80%
Depends on the type of energy

8. Reflectance Curve
A reflectance curve is a graph that shows how a surface reflects wavelengths of light from the sun.
An upward curve shows that more energy is reflected; a downward curve shows that energy is absorbed
EM Brainpop

10. Back to Spectral Analysis
Satellites use the reflectance of energy to create images of Earth’s surface to monitor different areas
Computers perform a spectral analysis read the reflectance curve

11. Remote Sensor Technology

12. Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is a way to collect information about something without being there
Remote Sensor Technology
Satellite image of algae bloom

13. Remote Sensor Technology
Satellite image of water temperature –
Warmer temps – increase in algae blooms

14. Computer generated image of algae bloom –
Viewing these in sequence shows
Area affected
Changes to size
When combined with other factors, temp, flow, could help show connections

16. Satellite Technology = more broadly

17. Monitoring the Hydrosphere
Remote
Sensing
Technology
Satellite and aerial images
Works best over large areas
Computer analyzed into color coded representations
Used to track current conditions and changes over time
Measures: photoplankton, temperature, pollution levels

18. Uses for Remote Sensing
Forests
Scientists use remote sensing to learn about the distribution and health of forests, deforestation, etc
Soil
Scientists can detect and monitor droughts because dry soil reflects more visible light that wet, making the reflectance curve look different
Water
Scientists can detect and monitor water pollution (evident from the growth of algae). Snow turns into glacial ice the reflectance changes so scientists can monitor changes in snow and ice and effects of temperature
Land use
Urban sprawl is the spreading out of a city. City planners can predict or manage growth of a city or protect natural areas.
Reflection of energy by plants changes according to leaf type and structure, amount of water, and chlorophyll 18

19. LandSat Land Remote-Sensing Satellite
Series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the USGS
Hawaii
The first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972; the most recent, Landsat 7, was launched on April 15, 1999
Landsat sensors have a moderate spatial-resolution. You cannot see individual houses on a Landsat image, but you can see large man-made objects such as highways. This is an important spatial resolution because it is coarse enough for global coverage, yet detailed enough to characterize human-scale processes such as urban growth.
This false-color composite (processed to simulate true color) image of the island of Hawaii was constructed from data gathered between 1999 and 2001 by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) instrument, flying aboard the Landsat 7 satellite. The Landsat data were processed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a landcover map. The black areas on the island (in this scene) that resemble a pair of sun-baked palm fronds are hardened lava flows formed by the active Mauna Loa Volcano. Just to the north of Mauna Loa is the dormant grayish Mauna Kea Volcano, which hasn’t erupted in an estimated 3,500 years. A thin greyish plume of smoke is visible near the island’s southeastern shore, rising from Kilauea—the most active volcano on Earth. Heavy rainfall and fertile volcanic soil have given rise to Hawaii’s lush tropical forests, which appear as solid dark green areas in the image. The light green, patchy areas near the coasts are likely sugar cane plantations, pineapple farms, and human settlements. 19

20. Since different kinds of surface features reflect energy picked up
by satellite sensors in different amounts in each band, the appearance of surface features may vary with different band combinations. Refer to the chart above for band descriptions as you examine the images to the right and read the descriptions at the top of the following page.
Example Bands 3,2,1 – Bands 3,2,1 show what our eyes would
see, that is, natural color. With this combination it is difficult to locate the fire or extent of the burn. Smoke obscures the fire area. The city of Reno is in the top right corner. Features to investigate: the fire area, hot spots along the edge of the fire, and areas of urban growth. Look for roads; they appear white/blue.
Example Bands 4,3,2 – Bands 4,3,2 indicate vegetation; forested
areas appear red. The actual fire area is still clouded in smoke. The streets of the city are barely visible in the upper right quadrant (look for white areas with straight shapes).
Example Bands 5,4,2 – Bands 5,4,2 reveal the fire (red) in the
center of the circle but smoke still covers the area. Other red areas indicate land; green indicates vegetation and purple shows
the extent of the fire. The city is peeking through the top right corner; roads are light purple.
Example Bands 6,5,5 – Bands 6,5,5 shows the fire burn area as
bright red. By using band 5 in both the green and blue wavelengths, it is possible to filter through the smoke layer entirely. 20

21. 1999, 2000, 2001, Black Hills, South Dakota--Fire can change a landscape tremendously in a very short time. In these satellite images
of the Black Hills of South Dakota, healthy evergreen forests appear in shades of green. Forest fires leave “scars”
on the landscape where trees and other vegetation have been burned away. Fire scars are clearly visible in shades of red in this series of satellite images, which spans four consecutive years. 21

22. Las Vegas—1972, 1986, In which direction would you predict the city of Las Vegas is least likely to expand in the future? (to the east; mountains are in the way)
Las Vegas provides a dramatic illustration of the spatial patterns and rates of change that result in urban sprawl. Population growth in the Las Vegas Valley was fairly slow during the first half of this century, but as the gaming and tourism industry blossomed, population began to increase rapidly. For example, the population of Las Vegas in 1950 was 24,624; in 1960 it increased to 64,405. By 1980 the city had a population of 164,674 and today, Las Vegas Valley’s population tops one million – and this doesn’t include the tourists! The 1972 satellite image shows the status of Las Vegas as just a stop along the railroad that passed through the town. By 2000, the town had grown and sprawled in almost all directions, but primarily to the northwest and southeast. 22

23. Saudi Arabia--1986, 1991, 2000
Saudi Arabia, although rich with oil, is lacking a more vital natural resource: water. The kingdom decided to diversify its economy and modernize its agricultural sector in order to become more self-supporting to meet the country’s growing demand for wheat. Since Saudi Arabia has severely limited water resources, the government decided to use the revenues from the oil industry to adopt the best technologies available for farming in arid and semi-arid environments. Center pivot irrigation was introduced in Wadi as Sirhan, an area that lies 300 meters below the surrounding plateau. Located in the extreme north along the border with Jordan, Wadi as Sirhan is a remnant of an ancient inland sea and is underlain by four
aquifers, two of which contain ancient water more than 20,000 years old. These three satellite images from 1986 to 2000 show the transformation
of desert to agriculture through center pivot irrigation. The 1986 image shows Wadi as Sirhan near the village of Al Isawiyah before the
introduction of center pivot irrigation. The 1991 image shows the region shortly after the introduction of center pivot irrigation (green circles are irrigated fields). The 2000 image shows the spread of center pivot irrigation throughout the region. 23

24. GPS =
Global Positioning System
Brain pop GPS

25. GPS – tracks position of objects in terms of latitude & longitude & elevation

26. Remote Sensing – takes a picture of this algae bloom
GPS pinpoints it’s exact position (lattitude:longitude)

27. Monitoring the Hydrosphere
GPS
Global
Positioning System
Continuous transmission of data in real time by radio waves
Calculating Earth position of objects using latitude, longitude & elevation
Tracks movement

28. Buoy System

29. Surface buoy systems measure water temperatures & current air temperatures & winds

31. Sonar – remote sensing for location of objects
-not monitoring water properties & qualities

32. Monitoring the Hydrosphere
Computerized
Buoy System
Surface buoy systems measure water temps & current, air temp & winds
Deep water buoy systems measure seismic activity (tsunamis prediction)

33. GIS =
Geographic Information Systems
National Geographic Maps

34. GIS – more broadly

35. Monitoring the Hydrosphere
GIS
Geographic Information System
A software program that captures, analizes & displays data that is received remotely
Creates different map layers for the same area – each layer
(water temp, nitrate levels, pH, DO)

36. GIS
The Neuse River Basin
All Trails

37. Ground Truthing This works best over small areas.
It is when a person visits a site and gathers data to draw a map of the site.
It is used to verify images captured with satellites.

38. Review… What is remote sensing?
Remote sensing is viewing images of (i.e.) earth from satellites orbiting the planet.
What types of technology can we use to monitor the Earth?
Satellites, ground truthing – using a GPS, etc.
How can we use remote sensing and technology to monitor (check) the hydrosphere?
We can use the satellite images to monitor the sizes of lakes, rivers, etc. to determine if the size has become smaller due to drought or other circumstances.

39. What is missing from the second image that is found in the first?
1. a city
2. water
3. vegetation
4. vegetation and water

40. Answers… blackish-blue areas indicate a presence of water
greenish areas indicate vegetation
light purplish/white areas contain large amounts of concrete (ie and city)
the image on the left shows large amounts of water and vegetation, whereas the image on the right shows the absence of these water based items.

41. What could have caused the water based objects from the left image to be absent from the right image?
1. the images are of different locations
2. the left image was taken in spring while the right image was taken during the summer
3. the left image is an image before a severe drought and the right image is an image taken after the drought
4. the left image is of the area flooded while the right image is the normal image of the area

42. Option 3 best explains what is seen in the two images.
As a matter of fact, the images are of Lake Oahe in the Dakotas, a reservoir of the Missouri River. It is the nation’s fourth largest reservoir. The left image was taken in May 2000 and the right image was taken in April The images were taken to study the effects of a severe 6-year drought.
3. the left image is an image before a severe drought and the right image is an image taken after the drought

43. Water saving home; http://www.h2ouse.org/
TeacherDomain – water conservation
WS: List 3 water savings devices
Water saving home;
Build your own aquifer