A transparent breakdown of the science, data pipelines, and computational methods behind AquaWatch Pakistan's groundwater intelligence platform.
Powered by NASA GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) mascon solutions provided by NASA JPL, combined with localized regional boundary layers. These satellite-derived gravity measurements form the backbone of AquaWatch's hydrological intelligence pipeline.
Tracks changes in terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) over time - capturing variations in groundwater, soil moisture, surface water, and snow mass rather than direct underground well depth. This composite signal reflects the total hydrological budget of each monitored region.
Spatial resolution is based on mascon grids (roughly 150km to 300km equivalent scaling, localized to district-level mapping), meaning outputs highlight broader regional hydrological trends rather than individual fields or specific plots.
Spatial interpolation and baseline anomaly extraction normalize raw satellite mass variations against long-term regional climatology to compute relative groundwater availability indexes. Each district receives a synthesized score derived from the overlap of mascon footprints with administrative boundary polygons.
Updated monthly as new NASA GRACE-FO telemetry datasets are processed and published. Each data release undergoes quality control filtering and temporal dealiasing before being ingested into the AquaWatch pipeline.
Cannot measure localized micro-aquifers, private tube-well extraction rates, or shallow local contamination. Designed strictly for macro-scale hydrological monitoring and regional trend analysis. Results should be interpreted as broad indicators, not point-source measurements.
Integrating crowdsourced community report telemetry and localized ground-truth well sensor feeds to enhance spatial accuracy. Planned expansions include real-time anomaly alerts, predictive drought modeling, and integration with provincial irrigation authority databases.
Data sourced from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory GRACE-FO mascon solutions. AquaWatch is an independent research platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA or JPL.