Airborne laser remote sensing technology : providing essential hydrologic information in the 21st century
Hadley, Warwick
Water is a cornerstone of development. With the apparent changes in climate, interest in water is growing. Hydrology is the science of the properties of the earthhs water, especially its movement in relation to land. Understanding the hydrological cycle has long been a topic of interest for a number of reasons, including the need to understand water availability for human and livestock consumption, hydro-electric generation, irrigation, and industrial use. A key element of this understanding is the modeling of the hydrology of an area to better predict the availability of water at various locations in a river basin or catchment area, and water-related disasters such as floods and landslides. The building block or reporting base of a hydrological model is the river drainage basin or catchment area. Hydrologic models are derived from information on land use or land cover (including wetlands), soil moisture, soil type (including permeability of the surface to predict water retention and run-off), stream flow, rainfall amount/intensity, local climate (including evaporation rates), digital elevation model (DEM) data, snow fall, snow density, etc. As in many other areas of scientific activity, there is an increased interest in and a capability to obtain more accurate inputs for models. The complexity of topography and land use in many areas requires high spatial resolution data over very large areas. It is clear that much of this information can only be provided by remote sensing systems. However, until recently remote sensing was not widely accepted and adopted. Part of this is a function of awareness, especially of newer systems. This paper is aimed at creating more awareness.
Event: 5th FIG Regional Conference for Africa : Promoting Land Administration and Good Governance
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