How to use remote sensing to monitor lakes
A manual for monitoring European Lakes using remote sensing techniques is the subject of a book from the European Commission's (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC). It summarizes the present status for remote sensing of lakes, and the methods and algorithms that are available to researchers in this area. The information given in the publication draws from the experiences and lessons learned by researchers working on the EC's SALMON project (Satellite remote sensing for lake monitoring). SALMON's main objective was to evaluate the capabilities and potential of new technologies in space-borne remote sensing for monitoring the quality of water in European lakes. The JRC considers the project of major importance, as surface water becomes an increasingly valuable natural resource with major inputs and benefits for Europe's population and environment. The Commission believes there is a growing need to define appropriate monitoring programmes, although, currently, no government has adequate economic resources to monitor all their own inland waters using traditional methods. SALMON was established in response to an urgent need for reliable data on the quality of surface water. The project (1996-19999) was co-funded within the topic "Space techniques applied to environmental monitoring and research" under the EC's Fourth Framework Programme for Research, Technological development and Demonstration. It involves eight partners from three Member States (Finland, Italy and Sweden), and covers the following regions: - The Subalpine in Italy; - The Boreal in Sweden; - Southern Finland; - The Subarctic Finnish Lapland. One of the main thrusts of this project was cooperation between limnologists and remote sensing specialists. The publication includes a discussion of the pros and cons of limnology and remote sensing in lake management and attempts to determine the level of accuracy with which lake quality can be monitored from space.