205 
REMOTE SENSING AND INTEGRATED RESOURCE SURVEY 
OF WESTERN SAUDI ARABIA 
H. Younes, J. Grainger, M. Zahran 
and J. Downey 
Department of Arid Land Studies, 
Faculty of Meteorology and 
Environmental Studies, 
King Abdul Aziz University, 
P.0. Box 903^, Jeddah, S.A. 
ABSTRACT 
This contribution presents the preliminary results of an investigation 
into techniques for large scale resource survey in Saudi Arabia. A 
5000 kni pilot study area has been used to evaluate the potential of 
Landsat data for resource survey in xeric conditions. In the initial 
study the performances of manually interpreted standard and enhanced 
Landsat imagery are compared against standard interpretations of large 
scale aerial photographs. Thematic resource maps at 1:100,000 and 
1:250,000 scale were generated in combination with extensive ground 
survey. These will be used as controls to evaluate machine classified 
products in a later phase of the project. 
INTRODUCTION 
Saudi Arabia is a vast country, constituting four-fifths of the 
Arabian Peninsular said with considerable oil resources. The recent 
development of the country has been largely directed at industrial and 
urban projects. However the attention to agriculture and natural 
resource development evident in the current development plan reflects 
the Kingdom's concern to broaden it's resource base and guarantee it's 
food security for an expanding population. A large proportion of the 
Kingdom is severely affected by climatic and edaphic limitations so a 
substantial effort is required to evaluate the limited agricultural 
potential and define priorities in land utilisation. However, these 
efforts are seriously hampered by lack of basic information on the 
country's resources. At present the only generally available maps in 
Saudi Arabia are topographic and geological survey maps at 1:500,000 
scale, though these are being superceded by Landsat image-based maps 
at 1:250,000 (DGMR, 1980). A number of natural resource surveys, 
usually on a regional basis have been conducted by various agencies, 
but with their different terms of reference, concepts and design, these 
have failed to realise consistent maps useable for national planning 
and administration. The problems are exacerbated by the fact that the 
only publicly available aerial photographic cover for the Kingdom is 
monochromatic imagery at 1:60,000 obtained between 1953 and 1957. The 
rapid development and considerable changes in the Kingdom since that 
time make this cover virtually obsolete for planning purposes. 
The present contribution represents an investigation into methods for 
large-scale resource inventory applicable to Saudi Arabia.