About five-km high in the Peruvian Andes, drones are
helping scientists map glaciers and wetlands with 10-cm precision and
gauge how climate change will affect the people who rely on those
glaciers for water supply.
The strategy provides a
ground for research teams that are investigating water security in other
areas of the world with much larger populations, including India and
China.
In the Cordillera Blanca mountain area,
glacier melt provides up to 50 percent of the water during the dry
season and people use it for farms, hydroelectricity and to drink.
One early finding is that the Cordillera Blanca has a healthy groundwater system.
“We
know the glaciers are disappearing, so there will be less water
available for the dry season in the future. But what my colleagues and I
have found is that the groundwater system is storing some of the
glacier melt as well as precipitation,” said Oliver Wigmore, doctoral
student in geography at the Ohio State University.
“There
will still be a significant drop in water supply eventually, but there
may be some potential for the groundwater to buffer it,” he added. With
the help from data gathered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Mr.
Wigmore also recorded measurements that suggest a key glacier in the
region’s Llaca Valley is changing rapidly.
“UAVs
offer some of the best technology available today for gathering data on a
scale to inform local water management decisions,” Mr. Wigmore said.
The drone technology overcomes clouds, rough terrain and thin air that
prevent easy access to ice on the Cordillera Blanca.
In
the Cordillera Blanca, clouds block satellite views for all but a few
weeks a year, and the terrain is too irregular to take reliable ice
surface measurements by hand.
10-cm resolution
The
Ohio State UAVs have a 10-cm resolution, work despite frequently cloudy
conditions in the mountains of Peru and cost a few thousand dollars
each.
In contrast, satellites provide a half-meter
resolution at best, work only during the two months a year when the
region is relatively cloud-free and cost millions of dollars.
Mr.
Wigmore equipped the large, lightweight drones with high-speed motors
and extra long propellers to carry them through the thin air.
Source :- The Hindu, 17-Dec-2015
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