International Archives of Photograminetry and Remote Sensing. Vol XXXII Part 7C2, UNISPACE III, Vienna 1999 
42 
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I5PR5 
UNISPACE III - ISPRS Workshop on 
“Resource Mapping from Space” 
9:00 am -12:00 pm, 22 July 1999, VIC Room B 
Vienna, Austria 
I5PR5 
agencies. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 
(MODIS) will be one of the new sensors for providing data on 
the Earth’s biosperic dynamics. A MODLAND team is 
developing remote sensing algortihms for deriving time series 
data products on various terrestrial geophysical parameters 
including spectral albedo, land cover, vegetation indices, snow 
and ice cover and surface temperature using MODIS as a 
measurement device (Running et al., 1994). The bio-physical 
variables contain leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed 
photosynthetical active radiation (fPAR) meant for the 
calculation of APAR, evaporation and net primary' production. 
MODIS is developed by NASA in framework of the Mission to 
Planet Earth and is a radiometer covering the 0.405 to 4.08 pm 
wavelengths including two thermal infrared channels, with a 
spatial resolution from 250 m to 1 km at nadir. The revisit time 
is 1 to 2 days only. MODIS will fly onboard EOS-AM1, which 
is scheduled for launch on October 15, 1999. The AM-1 satellite 
will also contain the Advanced Spacebome Thermal Emission 
and Reflection radiometer (ASTER) for monitoring at moderate 
spatial resolutions. ASTER has four 15 m wide bands in the 
0.52 to 0.86 pm spectral region, six 30 in bands in the 1.6 to 
2.43 pm part and five 90 m bands in the 8.125 to 11.65 pm 
spectral range (Schmugge et al., 1999). ASTER’s ability to 
serve as a zoom lens for local scale resource management 
evaluations can be particularly relevant for evaluating local 
agricultural practices. The ASTER Science Team is composed 
of members from the United States and Japan, as well as from 
France and Australia. NASA’s EOS policy is to provide satellite 
data free of charge, and value added data will become 
worldwide accessible through the Earth Observing System Data 
Information System (EOSDIS). This must be regarded as a 
major breakthrough for evaluating land and water resources, 
especially in developing countries. 
The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the ENVISAT 
satellite having the 15 bands MEdimn Resolution Imaging 
Spectrometer (MERIS) and the 7 bands Advanced Along Track 
Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) sensors for studying land 
surface conditions. MERJS will have different resolution 
modes, varying between 250 to 1000 m (0.39 to 1.040 pm 
spectrally). AATSR will have a spatial resolution of 1000 m 
with bands in the visible, near- and thermal infrared. The second 
generation Meteosat (MSG) has, with a 15 minute time interval 
between two consecutive images, paramount potential for 
monitoring hydro-biospheric processes with rapidly changing 
cloud conditions. MSG will get 12 channels with a spatial 
resolution of 1 km. It may therefore be regarded as a 
geostationary AVHRR type of sensor. 
The newest opportunities to get access to I km resolution 
images for river basin scale analyses are outstanding and should 
not be missed. To increase the use of remote sensing in 
operational water resources management in developing 
countries, education needs to be fostered and demonstration 
projects established. There is a need for international monetaiy 
assistance to establish long-term remote sensing skills (Rango 
and Shalaby, 1998). A professional team consisting of water 
resources managers exploring space data should exchange the 
technical capabilities and limitations, and should be regarded as 
an important asset for extracting the maximum possible 
information at acceptable confidence intervals from space 
platforms. The framework and spirit of MODLAND (Running 
et al., 1994) can be considered as a good example, and should 
perhaps be expanded by a team emphasizing global water 
resources conditions. 
5. CONCLUSIONS 
Demand pressure on water resources from agriculture, industry 1 , 
the domestic sector and from environmental conservation, lias 
increased dramatically in the past decades. The world wakens to 
the reality that water is a resource that is finite and becoming 
increasingly scarce. Competition for limited water supplies 
between users, sectors and countries, poses a greater challenge 
to manage our natural resources better. There is hardly a 
scientific consensus on the large scale water balance and the 
water consumption of agro-ecosystems, and this makes water 
management evaluations in the context of river basins difficult 
to realize with conventional hydro-meteorological networks. 
Many developing countries do not have the financial resources 
or the organizational capabilities to benefit from the available 
remote sensing technologies. Most of the problems limiting the 
operational application of remote sensing in hydrology are 
either financial or organizational in nature. As the NOAA- 
AVHRR data are freely available on the internet one day after 
image acquisition for the entire globe, the results of the case 
study in Pakistan briefly presented has potential scope for 
application in other countries and irrigation schemes. The 
Satellite Active Archive has an address at the world wide web 
(/www.saa.noaa.gov/) from where the data can be downloaded. 
It is expected that this will be followed up by data from new 
space platforms. 
Remote sensing developments should become more demand 
driven, which is only feasible if the end-user is aware of the 
technical possibilities. Literature compilations together with 
demonstration projects and proper educational programs can 
improve the exploration of the added value of earth observation 
data in land and water resources management. Ultimately, 
remote sensing can help monitoring food security and alleviate 
unequal access to the resources of disadvantaged people, but it 
requires improvements in financial, educational and technical 
aspects. 
REFERENCES 
Bandara, K.P.M.S., 1998. Water needs and w'ater use of agro 
ecosystems in the Kirindi Oya watershed, Sri Lanka, a remote 
sensing approach, M.Sc. Thesis, ITC, Enschede, The 
Netherlands: 51 pp. and appendices. 
Bastiaanssen, W.G.M., 1998. Remote sensing in water 
resources management: the state of the art, International Water 
Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka: 118 pp.