Developing Solutions Through Space Data

Participants in the Pale Blue Dot: Visualization Challenge used publicly accessible space data to create visualizations to support Sustainable Development Goals like climate action, clean water and zero hunger. (Triff/Shutterstock.com/Elements of this image furnished by NASA)

The world is facing urgent challenges like climate change, water scarcity and food shortages. Earth observation data, collected from outer space, is a vital tool to tackle these issues. This data, which includes satellite imagery, offers accurate and publicly accessible information on the atmosphere, oceans, ecosystems, land cover and urban areas.

In November 2023, an international competition was launched to help a more diverse audience learn how to tackle real-world problems with space-generated data. The Pale Blue Dot: Visualization Challenge was developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna (UNVIE) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

The virtual challenge, which ended in January 2024, drew nearly 1,600 participants from 100 countries, with 70 percent having no prior experience with Earth observation data. They created visualizations to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like zero hunger, clean water and climate action. Each entry included a visualization image and an explanation of its real-world and ethical implications. Expert judges selected winners based on impact, integrity, technical rigor, usability and interpretability.

Two teams from India received honorable mentions for their compelling visuals. The Ravenshaw University team with assistant professor Jajnaseni Rout and Ph.D. research scholar Dibya Jyoti Mohanty studied hydro-climatic variability hotspots in the Brahmani-Baitarani river basin in eastern India. Starmap Navigator, with Naushin Fatima Khan, Manhvi Yadav and Abhijeet Kumar, produced a 3D visualization of Earth that shows the rise in temperature, rainfall and carbon dioxide emissions in the last 40 years. They also created a 2D graph illustrating the same data for each year between 1981 and 2022 for approximately 75 countries. Khan, Yadav and Kumar are pursuing undergraduate degrees in computer science at IILM University in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Ravenshaw University

Hydro-climatic variability refers to the changes in water-related climate patterns over time. This includes variations in rainfall, river flows and other aspects of the water cycle influenced by climate factors. Understanding these variations is crucial for managing environmental resources and addressing the impacts of climate change.

“Our project determines the month-wise hydro-climatic variability hotspot regions from 2000 to 2022 in the Brahmani-Baitarani river basin, highlighting areas with the most significant climatic deviations from mean values. We used long-term monthly data of parameters like temperature, vapor pressure and precipitation,” say Rout and Mohanty.

The team’s research is crucial for understanding hydro-climatic variations in the Brahmani-Baitarani river basin, especially SDG 13 on climate action and SDG 2 on zero hunger.

Rout and Mohanty’s pilot literature review suggests that the Brahmani-Baitarani river basin has witnessed strong changes in its environment due to human activities, mainly mining, industrialization and agriculture. “This has led to over-extraction of water resources, causing depletion of groundwater levels and reduced river flows,” they say. “These environmental challenges are compounded by climate variability, which results in irregular rainfall patterns and extreme weather events, affecting the livelihoods of communities dependent on the river basin.”

The team says it was thrilled to participate in the Pale Blue Dot: Visualization Challenge, which helped enhance their spatial data analysis skills. “We gained insights into how NASA operates as an organization, understanding its priorities and methodologies. The competition encouraged us to use innovative thinking for problem-solving and pushed us to develop creative solutions to global challenges,” they say. “Overall, it cultivated a deeper appreciation for international cooperation and the importance of addressing sustainability issues.”

Rout and Mohanty say that space data offers numerous benefits, including environmental monitoring, disaster management, climate change research, agricultural optimization and urban planning. They cite the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission as an example.

“NISAR’s high-resolution imagery will aid in precise monitoring of Earth’s surface changes, facilitating disaster prediction and response, climate research and agricultural planning,” they say. “It will enable tracking of tectonic movements for earthquake prediction, forest mapping for carbon accounting, and monitoring polar ice sheets for sea-level rise research. Overall, space-based data enhances our understanding of Earth’s systems, supporting sustainable development and resilience to environmental challenges.”

The Ravenshaw University team with Jajnaseni Rout (top left) and Dibya Jyoti Mohanty (above left) studied hydro-climatic variability hotspots in the Brahmani-Baitarani river basin in eastern India (above right). (Photographs courtesy Dibya Jyoti Mohanty)

Starmap Navigator

“During our research on the SDGs,” say Khan, Yadav and Kumar, “we discovered a significant finding by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which stated that global action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants could prevent 0.6 degrees Celsius of warming by 2050. This highlighted that cutting carbon dioxide emissions and climate pollutants is essential to slowing global warming and achieving the 2 degrees Celsius target set by the Paris Agreement.”

The team’s goal was to gain insight into the carbon dioxide emissions produced by almost 75 countries on a yearly basis between 1981 and 2022, analyze how these emissions have affected temperature and precipitation changes so that necessary steps can be taken to reduce the emissions, and ultimately, maintain the temperature and precipitation levels.

Through the Pale Blue Dot challenge, the team learned about significant global issues and the initiatives people are undertaking to achieve the SDGs.

“Exploring NASA’s datasets is particularly enlightening, revealing the vast array of opportunities available for students worldwide,” they say. “Witnessing the selfless efforts of people working to mitigate climate impact left a profound impression on us and inspired a strong determination to contribute to this cause ourselves.”

The team believes data collected from space can have a huge impact on improving the outcomes for future generations on Earth. “Space-based observations are crucial for understanding and predicting climate change, aiding in the development of strategies to protect future generations from extreme weather and global warming,” they say.

Satellites monitor natural disasters, enabling early warnings and effective emergency responses, while also tracking deforestation, desertification and pollution to help protect ecosystems. They observe water bodies and ice caps, essential for managing water resources and addressing water scarcity. Additionally, satellites monitor air quality, radiation and disease vectors, supporting public health initiatives. “These efforts often involve international cooperation,” says team Starmap Navigator, “fostering global partnerships to address global issues for the benefit of future generations.”

The Starmap Navigator team, with Manhvi Yadav (from above left), Naushin Fatima Khan and Abhijeet Kumar, produced a 3D visualization of Earth (top) that shows the rise in temperature, rainfall and carbon dioxide emissions in the last 40 years. (Photographs courtesy Naushin Fatima Khan)

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