ADVANCES IN WATER RESOURCE MONITORING FROM SPACE

摘要

Very substantial advances have been made since the launch of TIROS 1 in 1960 In monitoring by remote sensing from spacecraft the presence and quantity of water in the atmosphere and on the surface of the earth. Recent Nimbus-5 observations indicate that over the oceans the total precipitable water in a column of astrosphere can be estimated to within ±10%, the liquid water content of clouds can be estimated to within ±25%, areas of precipitation can be delineated, and broad estimates of the precipitation rate obtained. ERTS-1 observations permit the measurement of snow-covered area to within a few percent of drainage basin area and snowline altitudes can be estimated to within GO meters. Surface water areas as small as hectare can be inventoried over large regions such as playa lakes region of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico In addition, changes in land use on water sheds occurring as a result of forest fires, urban develop ment, clear-cutting, or strip mining can be rapidly ob tained. Given the recent and rapid progress that has been made in developing spacecraft observations for the motoring of hydrologic parameters and the plans for the future, it appears quite probable that these observational tools will be providing increasingly valuable information for the management of the water resources of the world.