Supporting commission(s) / organisations: ICRS, ICSW

The availability of recent polar orbiting satellite systems such as MODIS and VIIRS along with existing geostationary satellites and the Landsat Continuity Mission provide a suite of shortwave and thermal infrared imagery at different spatial and temporal scales. These data allow for the estimation of daily evapotranspiration at continental scales through energy balance techniques, a product that can be used for estimating water balance in watersheds when coupled with recently available global precipitation datasets. In addition, these products can be down-scaled to higher spatial resolutions using Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery and other available sensors, and used for the estimation of crop biomass and yield as well as crop water productivity.

Considering the scarcity of available hydrological data in many countries, especially in Africa, remote sensing products and inputs can provide valuable information for the modelling of hydrological water balances in agricultural watersheds and irrigated/rain fed agricultural systems, providing important information for water management within these watersheds and allowing for more detailed, field level estimates of crop related parameters.

This workshop/symposium invites contributions relevant to quantifying water balance as well as estimating these important crop related parameters through remote sensing approaches and modelling.