PAOC Spotlights

Measuring Moisture

Wed November 3rd, 2010
Elizabeth Thomson - Spectrum Magazine, MIT

PAOC's Dara Entekhabi, leads an international NASA science team set to make the first-ever global observations of soil moisture from space...Soil moisture is of interest to scientists, weather forecasters, and the Department of Defense, among others.Yet currently it’s not practical to make direct measurements of the variable over all global land regions. Rather, users make “best estimates” based on the history of precipitation and other indirect indicators. “It’s the best they can do,” says Dara Entekhabi — a professor with joint appointments in civil and environmental engineering and in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences — who aims to change that.

Read more in this Spectrum article...