Within the framework of Ispra Courses, a course on "Applications of
Remote Sensing to Agrometeorology" was held from April 6th to 10th, 1987
at the Joint Research Centre of the European Communities, Ispra Italy.
The purpose of the course was to familiarize scientists, active in
Agrometeorology and related fields, with remote sensing techniques and
their potential applications in their respective disciplines.
Conventional ground investigations in various fields of natural sciences
such as hydrology, pedology and agrometeorology can be supple- mented by
a range of instruments carried by airborne or earth orbiting platforms.
The last few years, in particular, have seen many developments in this
respect and a growing amount of information can now be derived not only
from dedicated earth resources satellites such as the LANDSAT and SPOT,
but also from other platforms such as METEOSAT and the series of
NOAA-TIROS. Future platforms (ERS-l, Space Station, etc.) with their
advanced sensors will further broaden the range of applications open to
the investigators. The use of these data sources, together with field
investigations, can lead, at a reduced cost, to a better
characterization of the spatial and temporal properties of natural
systems.