NASA to help promote "green" project in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, July 20 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will help develop technology to reduce water usage and greenhouse gas emissions in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Monday.

"This partnership will harness Los Angeles' unparalleled creative capital and entrepreneurial spirit to develop clean and green technologies that will spur job growth across the board from research, development, construction and finance," Villaraigosa said after signing the memorandum of understanding to at JPL in Pasadena, Los Angeles.

JPL director Charles Elachi said: "We are proud that JPL technology and expertise will be part of this collaboration to help improve energy efficiency and protect our water supply 鈥?one of our most precious natural resources."

Under the terms of the three-year agreement, staff at JPL and its managing institution, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), will use their expertise in climate-change science, remote sensing and in other fields to help develop technologies to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy sources, conserve water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"We aim to develop real-world solutions based on unparalleled scientific expertise," said David Nahai, General Manager of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) which will take part in the "green" project.

The plan will also require JPL and Caltech to work with local universities such as University of Southern California (USC) and University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) to make technology assessments, develop models, and provide data on global change from Earth science satellites and ground-based instruments.

One project already being investigated could have immediate applications to Southern California's critical water shortage, DWP officials said.

Much of the DWP's water supply comes from the Owens Valley via the California Aqueduct. The department's vast land holdings include Owens Lake, an ancient dry lakebed whose blowing dust can impact air quality for Owens Valley residents.

To help reduce dust, the DWP and its team of contractors are installing a computer-controlled network of sprinklers currently covering more than 14 square miles of the lakebed. But the flooding system consumes significant amounts of water.

JPL and Caltech are working on developing a remote sensing instrument that would measure the lakebed's surface moisture in order to precisely ascertain when water needs to be applied. It would lead to more efficient use of the Owens Lake sprinkler system and conserve water resources.

JPL and Caltech are in the process of developing technology that would make more efficient use of that diminishing water supply.

Other projects aim to reduce agricultural energy and water consumption; predict the availability of solar, wind and wave energy resources; develop communications architectures for smart grid applications; and develop efficient technologies for pre-processing food waste used to produce biogases and renewable energy.