PRESENT AND FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF LAND SURFACE REMOTE-SENSING BY MICROWAVE RADIOMETRY

Microwave radiometry utilizes the electromagnetic radiation of environmental objects in the wavelength range from 3-5 to 20-30 cm measured from aircraft and satellites. The radiation is sensitive to soil moisture variations, vegetation biomass, object temperature and the salinity of open water or soil. It has applications in: monitoring soil moisture in agriculture; displaying shallow water tables; detecting areas with destroyed and inefficient drainage, and marshes; biomass determinations of certain crops; differentiating grazing, sugar cane and shrubbery; and for the control of inland and coastal waters for water salinity and pollution. This paper will present the results of current research by the author and his colleagues in the USSR, Bulgaria, Cuba, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Viet Nam, with examples of cost-effective applications in environmental control using aircraft.