GRACE / GRACE-FO (NASA JPL / GFZ)
The only direct global measurement of aquifer depletion. Coarse in space, unmatched in what it reveals.
What this is
GRACE and GRACE-FO detect terrestrial water storage changes from variations in Earth's gravity field. Monthly global coverage at ~150,000 km² footprint, 2002–present (gap 2017–2018). Available via NASA PO.DAAC and the GRACE Tellus portal. No restrictions (NASA open data).
Why we surface it
There is no other way to observe groundwater depletion from space. Resolution is coarse — individual fields are invisible — but regional aquifer trends are legible. In heavily irrigated basins (Ogallala, Indus, Central Valley), this is the only open signal of long-run water risk.
What you can do with it
Shown for commercial use. Personal, research, and nonprofit use is often more permissive — switch the verdict lens on the catalog.
- Internal / individual use
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
- Redistribute the data
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
- Republish a derivative
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
- Build into a private product
- Public domain. Use it for anything — internal, resale, AI training, closed products. No attribution legally required (crediting the source is still the decent thing to do).
This decoder is a starting point, not legal advice. For commercial deployment, run the actual license terms past someone who reads them for a living.
○ Planned
Not in the map yet — this source is on the V1 backlog. Schema, sample, and citation slots fill in once the layer ships.
Related — same domain
- LANID — Landsat-based Irrigation Dataset for the United StatesCC-BY 4.0 for the 1997–2017 core (credit Xie & Lark, UW—Madison); the 2018–2020 extension is a US Geological Survey release in the public domain
- Center-pivot polygons from GMIE (UFFDA calls this set GCPIS)CC0 1.0 — no restriction on reuse
- OpenET monthly evapotranspiration (CONUS)OpenET Terms of Use — noncommercial/personal use only; commercial use prohibited without prior written permission
- FAO WaPOR v3 (FAO)CC-BY-SA 4.0 (v3; attribution + share-alike on redistribution; commercial use permitted)