STUDYING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF GROUNDWATER DEPLETION ON SURFACE VEGETATION IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA USING REMOTE SENSING

Abstract. The fertile soils of the Mississippi Delta physiographic province allow for the region to be a large producer of cotton, soy, rice, and other crops for commercial use. However, the extensive use of groundwater for irrigation raised concerns about the possible depletion of groundwater in this region. Therefore, it is important to understand the potential impact of groundwater depletion on surface vegetation in the Mississippi Delta region. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data provides the opportunity to monitor the changes in the groundwater surface through recording gravity fluctuations over the entire planet, with data released every month. Pairing information provided by GRACE with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data, it is possible to see if there is a correlation between the changes in the groundwater levels over a period from 2011 to 2020, and the overall vegetative health of the region. This paper presents the obtained preliminary results of this study.