Stanford researchers launch ambitious plan to map and track water: Here's how

STANFORD, Calif. (KGO) -- A major project being launched by Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability could change the way we manage a precious resource. It's an ambitious project to map water

And with the potential of severe shortages looming, researchers say it's critical to track every drop .

Following Stanford Researcher Rosemary Knight, PhD, of Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability, can make you feel a bit like a pirate who's just found a treasure map.

But in this case, the buried treasure isn't gold. It's water.

"Just revealing the complexity of this groundwater system. What's connected to what, where groundwater is connected to rivers, where there are large areas appropriate for storing recharged water. So this is a phenomenal data set that I will probably be working with for the next 30 years, Knight explains.

MORE: Lafayette Reservoir Tower being retrofitted for seismic safety: Here's what we know

Knight has spent years mapping the geology of California, using an airborne antenna that pings the ground with electromagnetic sensors. And the results are color-coded maps that show, not just where California's water is, but where it wants to go. It identifies porous soils that allow water to seep deep into the natural aquifer, where it can be stored and replenished in a system known as groundwater recharge.

"So, this gives us our architect picture, what it looks like down there, the big picture plumbing system of our groundwater systems," Knight said.

But now she's joining forces with research teams across Stanford and beyond to measure and track California's water in an even more ambitious way. It's part of a project called "Taking the Pulse of the Planet," and a main goal is to build a network of advanced sensors to monitor dozens of variables that affect our water supply.

"So that we can use sensors in satellites and airplanes, in drones, on the ground, on land to map, measure, monitor all components of the Earth system and human activity," she said.

To understand the power of these cutting-edge sensors, we took a whirlwind tour, starting with the lab of Olav Solgaard, Ph.D., and a technology known as "photonic sensing." In essence, it uses beams of laser light and specially designed chips to probe the water, measuring phenomena ranging from pollution levels to the speed of a flowing river.

MORE: Environmental groups sue to stop Trump's water diversions in California

"If you imagine shining a laser at some water, you end up with a little, little dancing bit of light, sort of actually kind of like this, where it's flickering and it's changing," said Solgaard Lab Researcher Annie Kroo, pointing to a monitor.

"And you can measure that. You can basically compare the laser that we're sending out to what's coming back, Iris, and see a tiny little change in frequency that tells us how fast the water is moving," Solgaard said.

A few minutes away, Researcher Felix Schwer and Assistant Professor Ettore Biondi, Ph.D., showed us how they're piggybacking on commercial fiberoptic communication lines to eavesdrop on large sections of the Central Valley. They're using a technique known as "Distributed Acoustic Sensing" to detect the noise print of flowing water or even moving traffic, for example.

"You can see this vertical with these horizontal vertical lines. You can see these are all vehicles moving along the highway. I can zoom in. You can clearly see they're moving along the fiber," Biondi said.

And with increasing pressure on California's water system, including an ongoing drought on the Colorado River, Knight envisions an evolution in how we manage the supplies we have -- essentially tracking where every drop goes.

"It's not 'can we?' It's 'how do we?' because we have to. And there is only a set amount of water, and a big part of what I'm advocating we do with sensors is not just explore for more water, explore for more recharge solutions -- but use sensors in a way that empowers us in terms of adaptive management," Knight said.

Better managing vast systems of water, both visible and invisible.