#AGU13 - Record drought plagues farmers in the Coquimbo region of Chile. Research by Joshua Kelly of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and his colleagues show how satellite observations could help ease the strain on already limited water resources in the arid region. Two instruments on NASA's Terra satellite provide a better view of how much water farmers and resource managers can expect as snow melts off the surrounding Andes Mountains and flows down the region’s rivers. Kelly explained the potential in an informal talk this week at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. With improved forecasts of water availability, water managers could make decisions to lessen the effects of the drought, which otherwise could devastate the region’s agriculture and economy. The annual fall meeting of the AGU is a chance for more than 22,000 scientists, educators, and students to present their research, broaden their knowledge base and embrace the ex...