Users are encouraged to query and analyze CASA-DART data layers in any manner that proves valuable to them for drought assessment and response. Moreover, the following tips are provided to aid users in executing a rapid drought assessment using CASA-DART in five basic steps.
1. Define the region of interest (ROI) and zoom into that area. The ROI could be a small watershed or a single ranch, a specific county or district, or an entire state.
2. Identify and characterize areas within the ROI that are most severely impacted by recent drought. Users may activate the Plant Production Change layer and the Climate Moisture Index (CMI) layer together to visualize which vegetation management types have been most affected by drought and how severe the drought has become (in terms of moisture availability) on a month-by-month basis.
3. Query evapotranspiration rates and current soil moisture changes within the ROI to assess irrigation demands and water transfer requirements.
4. Overlay other water resource data sets within the ROI, such as stream gauge records and reservoir levels, to determine the extent to which nearby water sources can meet transfer and irrigation requirements.
5. Download all CASA-DART data layers for the ROI for further user analysis and comparisons with private information sources.