Water Cycle Extremes: Droughts and Pluvials

This visualization shows extremes of the water cycle over a twenty-year period (2002-2021) based on observations from the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellites. Dry events are shown as red spheres and wet events as blue spheres, with earlier years being shown as lighter shades and later years as darker shades. The volume of the sphere is proportional to the intensity of the event, a quantity measured in cubic kilometer months. The plots at the bottom of the figure show that the total intensity of extreme events increased as global temperatures increased. This video can be freely shared and downloaded at While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit Mark SubbaRao (NASA/GSFC): Lead Visualizer Laurence Schuler (ADNET): Technical Support Ian Jones (ADNET): Technical Support Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Visualizer Matthew Rodell (NASA/GSFC): Lead Scientist Kathryn Cawdrey (ASRC FEDERAL SYSTEM SOLUTIONS): Writer Mike Carlowicz (SSAI): Writer Bailing Li (University of Maryland College Park): Lead Scientist If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel: Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Instagram · Twitter · Twitter · Facebook: · Flickr