WEBVTT

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- WE LEARN VERY EARLY IN LIFE

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HOW THE WEATHER AFFECTS
THE WAY WE DRESS

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AND EVEN WHEN SOME OF OUR
FAVORITE FOODS ARE IN SEASON.

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AS WE GET OLDER, WE CAREFULLY
WATCH THE WEATHER

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AND CLIMATE MODELS
OR FLOOD AND DROUGHT PREDICTIONS

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TO SEE THE POTENTIAL
IMPACT ON OUR WALLETS.

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WHETHER IT'S KNOWING WHEN
TO BRING AN UMBRELLA

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OR WHEN TO CONSERVE WATER,
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING

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FOR BETTER WAYS
TO IMPROVE THESE MODELS.

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BUT HOW DO SCIENTISTS COME UP
WITH THESE COMPLEX PREDICTIONS,

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AND HOW IS MATH INVOLVED
IN THE PROCESS?

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THE ANSWER COULD BE
BENEATH YOUR FEET.

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FIND OUT MORE NEXT
ON "REAL WORLD."

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[upbeat electronic music]

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THE LAYER OF SOIL
JUST BELOW YOUR FEET

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AND THE MOISTURE
THAT'S TRAPPED THERE

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HOLD THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING
THE CONNECTIONS

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BETWEEN WATER, ENERGY,
AND CARBON CYCLES HERE ON EARTH.

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AND NASA'S SOIL MOISTURE
ACTIVE PASSIVE MISSION,

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ALSO KNOWN AS SMAP,

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WILL HELP SCIENTISTS
TO FIND THAT KEY.

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SMAP WILL MEASURE SOIL MOISTURE
ACROSS THE ENTIRE GLOBE

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AND DETERMINE WHETHER THE
MOISTURE IS FROZEN OR THAWED,

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BUT WHAT IS SOIL MOISTURE, AND
HOW IS NASA GOING TO MEASURE IT?

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- SOIL MOISTURE IS THE AMOUNT
OF WATER THAT'S IN THE SOILS.

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SO THINK OF SOILS AS A SPONGE.

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SO SPONGES CAN HOLD WATER
UP TO A CERTAIN POINT,

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THEN THEY SATURATE.

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SO SOILS ARE SORT OF SIMILAR.

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THEY CAN HOLD
A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WATER.

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- NASA HAS A MISSION
THAT IS GOING TO BE LAUNCHING

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CALLED SMAP.

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SMAP IS THE SOIL MOISTURE ACTIVE
PASSIVE MISSION,

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AND IT WILL BE MEASURING
SOIL MOISTURE FROM SPACE,

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BECAUSE WHEN WE MEASURE
SOIL FROM SPACE,

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WE CAN COVER A LOT OF AREA
IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

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WE WILL HAVE A GLOBAL MAP
OF SOIL MOISTURE

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EVERY THREE DAYS
FROM SMAP.

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- SO THAT IN ITSELF WILL FEED
INTO A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS.

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IT'LL FEED INTO WEATHER MODELS,
CLIMATE MODELS.

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IT'LL FEED INTO FLOOD MODELING,
DROUGHT MONITORING MODELS.

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IT DOES HAVE A LOT
OF APPLICATIONS.

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- SO SOIL MOISTURE IS SIMPLY
THE QUANTITY OR AMOUNT OF WATER

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CONTAINED IN A GIVEN SAMPLE
OF SOIL.

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HOW WILL SMAP BE MAKING THESE
EARTH MEASUREMENTS FROM SPACE?

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- SMAP HAS TWO SENSORS.

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THEY'RE BOTH
IN THE MICROWAVE RANGE.

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IT ALLOWS US
TO SEE THROUGH CLOUDS,

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SO REGARDLESS OF DAY
OR NIGHT CONDITIONS

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OR ANY KIND
OF WEATHER CONDITIONS,

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WE CAN STILL SEE
THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.

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- SMAP IS
AN ACTIVE PASSIVE MISSION.

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THE ACTIVE, OR THE RADAR,

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IS GOING TO GIVE YOU
HIGH RESOLUTION.

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SO IT'S GOING TO GIVE YOU
A LOT OF DETAIL

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WITHIN A 3-KILOMETER RESOLUTION,

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AND THEN THE PASSIVE,
WHICH IS THE RADIOMETER,

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IS GOING TO GIVE YOU
HIGH ACCURACY,

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AND THAT IS GOING
TO GIVE IT TO YOU

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WITHIN
A 40-KILOMETER RESOLUTION.

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WHAT THE SMAP SCIENTISTS
ARE GOING TO DO IS,

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THEY'RE GOING
TO USE MATH--

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THEY'RE GOING
TO WRITE AN ALGORITHM--

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TO ESSENTIALLY COMBINE
THE 3-KILOMETER

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AND THE 40-KILOMETER TO GIVE YOU

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A 9-KILOMETER
HIGH-ACCURACY RESOLUTION.

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SO WITHIN THAT 9-KILOMETER
GRID SPACE,

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YOU WILL HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING

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OF HOW WET
OR HOW DRY THE SOIL IS.

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- TO HELP YOU THINK
LIKE SMAP SCIENTISTS,

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TRY MEASURING THE CHANGES

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IN SOIL MOISTURE
IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD.

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BECAUSE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOILS
HOLD DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF WATER,

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YOU MAY WISH TO TAKE
SEVERAL SOIL SAMPLES

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FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

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TAKE A SAMPLE OF SOIL
FROM A DEPTH OF 10 CENTIMETERS.

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MEASURE 100 GRAMS OF SOIL
USING A BALANCED SCALE.

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BE SURE TO REMOVE ANY ROCKS
AND PEBBLES

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AS WELL AS ANY WORMS
OR INSECTS FROM YOUR SAMPLE

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BEFORE YOUR MEASURE IT.

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PLACE THE SAMPLE
IN A LOCATION TO DRY.

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EACH DAY FOR TEN DAYS,
RECORD THE MASS OF THE SOIL

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TO THE NEAREST TENTH OF A GRAM.

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GRAPH YOUR RESULTS.

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HOW DID YOUR SAMPLE
CHANGE OVER TIME?

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DID YOU NOTICE ANY PATTERNS?

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TO CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE
OF SOIL WATER IN YOUR SAMPLE,

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USE THIS FORMULA:

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SIMILAR TO THE MEASUREMENTS
YOU MADE,

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SMAP WILL COLLECT
GLOBAL MEASUREMENTS

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OF SOIL MOISTURE
RESULTING IN A GLOBAL MAP

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WITH SOIL MOISTURE
EVERY THREE DAYS.

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HAVING THAT CONSTANT STREAM
OF DATA WILL ALLOW SCIENTISTS

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TO ACCURATELY TRACK
HOW SOIL MOISTURE CHANGES

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IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION.

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AND JUST WHAT WILL THESE
MEASUREMENTS HELP US UNDERSTAND?

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- THE SOIL MOISTURE,
KNOWING THAT,

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IT WILL ACTUALLY TELL US
A NUMBER OF THINGS, SO--

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DEPENDING ON
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.

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AND IF WE WERE TO LOOK
AT FLOOD MODELING,

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HOW FAR OUT THE FLOODING WATERS
COULD ESSENTIALLY GO

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DEPENDING ON HOW WET THE SOIL IS
BEFORE THE STORM,

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RIGHT BEFORE
THE FLOOD REALLY PICKS UP.

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- SMAP WILL ADVANCE
OUR ABILITY TO MONITOR DROUGHTS

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AND PREDICT FLOODS,

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AND THIS HELPS TO MITIGATE
THE IMPACTS

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THAT THIS MIGHT HAVE
ON HUMAN LIVES.

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- FOR CROP PRODUCTION,
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY,

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CROP PRODUCTIVITY,
EVEN CROP FORECASTING

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AND HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING
OF WHEN TO PLANT

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AND WHEN TO ESSENTIALLY
HARVEST YOUR CROP.

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- BEING ABLE TO HAVE
AN ASSESSMENT

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ON WHETHER THERE'S
A DROUGHT COMING ON

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WILL HELP BETTER MANAGE CROPS

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AND BETTER ESTIMATE
WHAT CROP YIELDS MIGHT BE LIKE.

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- IT'S CRITICAL FOR AGRICULTURE.

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IT'S CRITICAL FOR HEALTH,
SO IT DOES PLAY

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AN IMPORTANT ROLE
IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES.

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- WITH SMAP RETURNING GLOBAL
MEASUREMENTS OF SOIL MOISTURE

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EVERY THREE DAYS
FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS,

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SCIENTISTS WILL HAVE
A GINORMOUS AMOUNT OF DATA,

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DATA THAT HAS REAL APPLICATIONS

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FOR EACH ONE OF US
HERE ON PLANET EARTH.

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SEE YOU NEXT TIME
ON "REAL WORLD."