20 Future Perspectives
Edwin T. Engman] and Gert A. Schultz 2
'Hydrological Science Branch, Code 974, Laboratory for Hydrospheric ProcessesNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 29771, USA
2Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
20.1 Introduction
Except for the ftrst four chapters each chapter of this book showed, how remote
sensing data may be used in the ftelds of hydrology and water management. Furthermore some perspectives were given on what can be expected in the foreseeable
future when new sensors and platforms and new types of hydrological models will
be available. It is the idea of this last chapter of the book to give a some more
general perspective of future developments in the fteld of remote sensing and the
expected use of remotely sensed data in the ftelds of hydrology and water management. It has to be kept in mind, however, that in various ftelds the level of
application ofRS data is rather different. For example, in snowmelt runoff estimation (Chap. 11) RS techniques have been used opemtionally already for several
years, and in flood forecasting and control (Chap. 16) techniques have been developed, which could be used operationally today. However, in other ftelds research
is still in full development, e.g. the determination of soil moisture proftles with the
aid of RS data (Chap. 9) and in others RS data can be used only as an auxiliary
measure in conjunction with the use of other types of information (e.g. in the fteld
of groundwater exploration (Chap. 14)). Many of the advances in using remote
sensing for hydrology have come from new areas of hydrologic analysis, areas
where existing methods were unsatisfactory or limiting and areas where sufficient
data. were sparse or nonexistent. These areas include measurements of soil moisture, estimating evapotranspiration, advances in snow hydrology, and land-surface
parameterizations in General Circulation Models. Equally impressive advances can
be expected in the fteld of water management, particularly if RS data can be made
available in real-time.
Remote Sensing, when it was introduced into hydrology in the seventies, held a
great deal of promise fOr hydrology. In spite of this promise, applied or engineering hydrology has been slow to embrace remote sensing as a useful source of data,
presumably because existing techniques and data have been satisfactory for limited
applications. Although we have seen a somewhat cool acceptance of remote sensing, its future impact on hy'drology and water resources is likely to be great for
several reasons:
G. A. Schultz et al. (eds.), Remote Sensing in Hydrology and Water Management
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000
Edwin T. Engman] and Gert A. Schultz 2
'Hydrological Science Branch, Code 974, Laboratory for Hydrospheric ProcessesNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 29771, USA
2Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
20.1 Introduction
Except for the ftrst four chapters each chapter of this book showed, how remote
sensing data may be used in the ftelds of hydrology and water management. Furthermore some perspectives were given on what can be expected in the foreseeable
future when new sensors and platforms and new types of hydrological models will
be available. It is the idea of this last chapter of the book to give a some more
general perspective of future developments in the fteld of remote sensing and the
expected use of remotely sensed data in the ftelds of hydrology and water management. It has to be kept in mind, however, that in various ftelds the level of
application ofRS data is rather different. For example, in snowmelt runoff estimation (Chap. 11) RS techniques have been used opemtionally already for several
years, and in flood forecasting and control (Chap. 16) techniques have been developed, which could be used operationally today. However, in other ftelds research
is still in full development, e.g. the determination of soil moisture proftles with the
aid of RS data (Chap. 9) and in others RS data can be used only as an auxiliary
measure in conjunction with the use of other types of information (e.g. in the fteld
of groundwater exploration (Chap. 14)). Many of the advances in using remote
sensing for hydrology have come from new areas of hydrologic analysis, areas
where existing methods were unsatisfactory or limiting and areas where sufficient
data. were sparse or nonexistent. These areas include measurements of soil moisture, estimating evapotranspiration, advances in snow hydrology, and land-surface
parameterizations in General Circulation Models. Equally impressive advances can
be expected in the fteld of water management, particularly if RS data can be made
available in real-time.
Remote Sensing, when it was introduced into hydrology in the seventies, held a
great deal of promise fOr hydrology. In spite of this promise, applied or engineering hydrology has been slow to embrace remote sensing as a useful source of data,
presumably because existing techniques and data have been satisfactory for limited
applications. Although we have seen a somewhat cool acceptance of remote sensing, its future impact on hy'drology and water resources is likely to be great for
several reasons:
G. A. Schultz et al. (eds.), Remote Sensing in Hydrology and Water Management
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000