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International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV , Part Bl. Istanbul 2004 
that can help in making critical decisions for the societal benefits. 
In reality, such observations and data can not be directly used for 
reaching decisions relative to, for example, agriculture 
fertilization, soil moisture and irrigation planning, red tide 
infestation in the coastal areas, or any other real life problems. 
The raw data acquired by the sensors must first be processed 
using extensive mathematical formulations and image processing 
techniques before some sensible products can be generated to feed 
the decision making power. There can be many applications that 
benefit from the remote sensing data. However, for a 
comprehensive system to provide timely information, a 
combination of in situ and space based sensors has to deployed 
and operated. Space based sensors can be very effective, but they 
can frequently incur a significant data delivery latency, have a 
poor signal to noise ratio, and possess a coarse resolution. 
Therefore, a combinatorial approach, one using both in situ and 
remote sensing observations, can offer the best configuration. We 
have described several applications below. 
In a simpler sense, the observations provide data and information; 
scientific models use these data and produce predictive results 
that help in reducing potential uncertainties. This may be 
weather, climate variability, or volcanic eruption. Once this level 
of information is generated then it can be utilized by civil or 
governmental entities in making useful decision that may help in 
improving crop growth or providing an early warning from a 
disastrous condition. 
3.1 Disaster Management 
Natural disasters are all too common on our home planet and they 
can inflict horrible miseries upon human life and property, and 
have deleterious consequences for local and national economies. 
Wild fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and volcanic 
eruptions are just some of these all-too-common events. 
Scientists have spent enormous efforts to understand these 
complex natural phenomena and to develop predictive measures 
that can be used as early warning signs or precursors. 
Unfortunately, little progress has been made due to the lack of 
adequate measurements and the depth with which we fully 
understand the physics of these phenomena. The tropical 
cyclones, , called hurricanes in Atlantic and Typhoons in the 
Pacific/Indian oceans, cause significant damage every year. 
Typhoons not only cause the property damage but also bring 
large-scale human catastrophe to southeast Asia. The full nature 
and cause of such cyclones is still not well understood. Property 
losses of $10-$25 billion or more can likely occur from each 
individual hurricane. The World Health Organization has 
estimated that during the last 30 years the tropical cyclones have 
done almost three times as much damage globally as did 
earthquakes, while influencing the lives of almost five times as 
many people. Similarly, there are a number of areas around the 
world, which are prone to tectonic movements of the earth's 
plates. These areas, which pose a much higher threat, are located 
in Turkey, Iran and the Los Angeles basin in the United States. 
Similarly, floods cause significant damage and uproot lives of 
thousands of inhabitants of this planet. For example, the recent 
floods in the Indus Valley led to a major destruction of both 
human life and agricultural land. Remote sensing multispectral 
imagery has given us the ability to clearly monitor the evolution 
and progress of these catastrophic events, such as the swelling 
and receding of the Indus River, as they happen. Now, one can 
see and predict what impact similar events may have during the 
next several years on crop production, disease proliferation and 
water quality. 
3.2 Water Management 
Nature constantly demonstrates that Earth's vitality is nurtured by 
water. Simply put, where water abounds-life in all forms 
flourishes. Earth is a unique, living planet due to the abundance of 
water and the vigorous cycling and replenishing of water 
throughout our global environment. The global water cycle 
describes the transport and transformation of water within the 
Earth system, and as such, distributes fresh water over the Earth's 
surface. Water is, indeed, abundant in our environment, but it is 
neither evenly distributed over the globe nor always in a form 
amenable for human use. As populations grow over areas with 
marginal fresh-water supplies, the risk of catastrophic water 
shortages will increase. Likewise, increased exposure and density 
of human settlements in flood plains and coastal regions amplify 
the potential loss of life, property and commodities that are at risk 
from intense precipitation events. Given these trends - now more 
than ever - improved monitoring and prediction of the global 
water cycle in conjunction with cogent application and operation 
strategies must be nurtured in order to hold any promise of 
proactively mitigating future adversities. Overall, key issues of 
societal concern include: (a) the frequency and intensity of 
floods, droughts, and extreme precipitation events; (b) the long- 
term availability of fresh water resources and the competition. for 
water supplies; (c) surface and ground water quantity and quality; 
(d) ecosystem vulnerability to water stress. Water is a critical 
resource for the world and resides in reservoirs within the Earth 
system and also cycles through the system. Only about 396 of the 
Earth's water resides as freshwater on the land. Two thirds of this 
fresh water exists in ice caps, glaciers, permafrost, swamps, and 
deep aquifers, where it is largely inaccessible. It is imperative 
that these vital resources be preserved and protected for future 
use. 
3.3 Agriculture Efficiency 
Food and fiber supplies are fundamental to all human societies. 
The availability of food is closely related with the availability of 
water and weather patterns in the changing climatic conditions on 
this planet. There have been severe cases of famine in Africa, in 
the arid regions of India, and Pakistan in the recent years. All of 
this was primarily attributed to the lack of a crucial natural 
resource i.e., water. There are 170 million children who suffer 
from malnutrition. High resolution satellite imagery can provide 
tremendous knowledge assessing the present conditions in the 
fields and provide necessary initial conditions to generate forecast 
for the out years. Food production, a vital commodity for 
sustainable development, impacts societal needs in multiple ways 
which if not effectively monitored and managed can severely 
hamper or nearly cripple the life and economic machinery of the 
affected regions on the planet. Therefore, it behooves the 
research community of the world to focus their attention in many 
different areas such as: precision farming, which usually refers to 
determining optimal fertilizer applications per crop type, soil 
type, and climate regime; crop yields determinations, estimates, 
and projections; tree plantations and crop health analysis. Remote 
sensing offers great promise in obtaining: synoptic, consistent, 
and repetitive views of farms and regions; including estimates of