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| | | | | | | | | Deforestation in Rondonia, Brazil | |
The busy land
Farms and wildlife, cities and industries, roads and rivers - all co-exist uneasily in crowded landscapes. On ESA’s Earth Watch satellites (ERS since 1991 and Envisat from 2002) an imaging radar SAR penetrates the clouds and reveals land use. Comparisons of SAR images from different dates detect changes in the land surface. A visible-infrared scanning radiometer gauges vegetation growth and also measures surface temperatures, often a symptom of land use, and reveals fires used to clear fields. A satellite now under study by ESA, called SMOS, would improve measurements of soil moisture, which is the key to the land’s fertility.
Last update: 12 March 2002 | |
| | Related links Land use: forestry and agricultureNatural resourcesMegacitiesEnvisat–ASARAlong-track scanning radiometerERS instrumentsSMOSSMOS research paper abstract
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