Operational activities for the MARS crop yield forecasting system
The MARS project (monitoring of agriculture with remote sensing) of the Joint Research Centre's ARIS Unit needs support for operational activities linked to its crop-yield forecasting system. The services are divided into four separate lots: Lot 1: Real time daily provision of meteorological data covering EU15, Central and Eastern European countries (including Western Russia), Maghreb and Turkey; quality checking of the data; update of the related MARS databases; - Lot 2: Operating crop-growth monitoring systems (CGMS) - meteorological data interpolation and agro-meteorological indicator calculation, provision of maps and results, update of the related MARS database; - Lot 3: management of a processing chain for low resolution satellite data: NOAA-AVHRR and SPOT 4 vegetation; production of vegetation indicator, provision of maps and results; update of the related MARS database; - Lot 4: Provision of agro-meteorological products for four additional areas not covered or only partly covered by Lot 1. The four areas are the following: Mediterranean basin, Russia and CIS countries, Eastern Africa (IGAD region) and South America (Mercosur area). Exact coordinates are specified in the technical specification. Data to be provided are global circulation model output, low resolution satellite data and derived products; provision of maps and results, and update of the related MARS databases. For further information, please contact: European Commission Joint Research Centre Space Applications Institute Mr A. Jerabek Agriculture and regional Information Systems (ARIS) Unit TP 262 I-21020 Ispra (VA) Fax +39-0332-785988