It is common knowledge that California has been suffering from droughts for the past four years. According to a report from the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, the drought has brought upon significant loses to the state. In 2014, the agriculture industry in California lost $1.5 billion in revenue. The drought also cost 17,100 seasonal and part-time jobs for its residents.
Recently however El Niño has beset the state in full swing. Initially, the rains were a welcome change from the severe dryness of 2014. At present the thunderstorms pose as threats specifically to residents who live close to the ocean. The local government has since introduced efforts that can help the residents during the thick of the El Niño season. Moreover one particular non-profit organization has urged civilians to help out in observing the changes brought on by the El Niño.
Scientists from The Nature Conservancy are asking residents of California to put their drones and smartphones into good use and capture photos and videos of the flooding and coastal erosion brought on by the sudden climate change. According to these researchers, geotagging images of the storm and the resulting flood would give them an idea as to what coast would look like in the future considering global warming.
"When you get big winter storm surge like they want to document, you tend to lose a lot of beach. In a way, it's like doing a documentary on the future. It'll show you what your beaches will look like in 100 years" explained William Patzert, a climatologist from NASA.
The Nature Conservancy has since teamed up with startup DroneDeploy that would provide a free app that is equipped with flight patterns beneficial for drone owners.
"It's a really exciting application. It's not just something to take a selfie with" quipped Trent Lukaczyk an aerospace engineer who is excited about the upcoming application.
