Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Agricultural Meteorology Proceedings of the Training Workshop 7-11 July, 2003, Dehra Dun, India Editors M.V.K. Sivakumar P.S. Roy K. Harmsen S.K. Saha Sponsors World Meteorological Organization (WMO) India Meteorological Department (IMD) Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP) Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and Space Application Centre (SAC) AGM-8 WMO/TD No. 1182 World Meteorological Organisation 7bis, Avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland 2004 Published by World Meteorological Organisation 7bis, Avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland ' World Meteorological Organisation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. Typesetting and Printing : M/s Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 23-A New Connaught Place, P.O. Box 137, Dehra Dun -248001 (Uttaranchal), INDIA Ph.: 91-135-2715748 Fax- 91-135-2715107 E.mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.bishensinghbooks.com FOREWORD CONTENTS Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Agricultural.... 1 Meteorology and WMO Satellite Activities – M.V.K. Sivakumar and Donald E. Hinsman Principles of Remote Sensing ......... 23 (cid:150) Shefali Aggarwal Earth Resource Satellites ......... 39 – Shefali Aggarwal Meteorological Satellites ......... 67 – C.M. Kishtawal Digital Image Processing ......... 81 – Minakshi Kumar Fundamentals of Geographical Information System ......... 103 – P.L.N. Raju Fundamentals of GPS ......... 121 – P.L.N. Raju Spatial Data Analysis ......... 151 – P.L.N. Raju Retrieval of Agrometeorological Parameters using Satellite ......... 175 Remote Sensing data – S. K. Saha Retrieval of Agrometeorological Parameters from Satellites ......... 195 – C.M. Kishtawal Remote Sensing and GIS Application in Agro-ecological ......... 213 zoning – N.R. Patel Crop Growth Modeling and its Applications in ......... 235 Agricultural Meteorology – V. Radha Krishna Murthy Crop Growth and Productivity Monitoring and Simulation ......... 263 using Remote Sensing and GIS – V.K. Dadhwal Droughts & Floods Assessment and Monitoring using ......... 291 Remote Sensing and GIS – A.T. Jeyaseelan Water and Wind induced Soil Erosion Assessment and ......... 315 Monitoring using Remote Sensing and GIS – S.K. Saha Satellite-based Weather Forecasting ......... 331 – S.R. Kalsi Satellite-based Agro-advisory Service ......... 347 – H. P. Das Forest Fire and Degradation Assessment using Satellite Remote........ 361 Sensing and Geographic Information System – P.S. Roy Desert Locust Monitoring System–Remote Sensing and GIS ......... 401 based approach – D. Dutta, S. Bhatawdekar, B. Chandrasekharan, J.R. Sharma, S. Adiga, Duncan Wood and Adrian McCardle Workshop Evaluation ......... 425 – M.V.K. Sivakumar SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING AND GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGRICULTURAL METEO- ROLOGY AND WMO SATELLITE ACTIVITIES M.V.K. Sivakumar and Donald E. Hinsman Agricultural Meteorology Division and Satellite Activities Office World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 7bis Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Abstract : Agricultural planning and use of agricultural technologies need applications of agricultural meteorology. Satellite remote sensing technology is increasingly gaining recognition as an important source of agrometeorological data as it can complement well the traditional methods agrometeorological data collection. Agrometeorologists all over the world are now able to take advantage of a wealth of observational data, product and services flowing from specially equipped and highly sophisticated environmental observation satellites. In addition, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is becoming an essential tool for combining various map and satellite information sources in models that simulate the interactions of complex natural systems. The Commission for Agricultural Meteorology of WMO has been active in the area of remote sensing and GIS applications in agrometeorology. The paper provides a brief overview of the satellite remote sensing and GIS Applications in agricultural meteorology along with a description of the WMO Satellite Activities Programme. The promotion of new specialised software should make the applications of the various devices easier, bearing in mind the possible combination of several types of inputs such as data coming from standard networks, radar and satellites, meteorological and climatological models, digital cartography and crop models based on the scientific acquisition of the last twenty years. INTRODUCTION Agricultural planning and use of agricultural technologies need application of agricultural meteorology. Agricultural weather and climate data systems are necessary to expedite generation of products, analyses and forecasts that affect Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Agricultural Meteorology pp. 1-21 2 Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Agricultural Meteorology agricultural cropping and management decisions, irrigation scheduling, commodity trading and markets, fire weather management and other preparedness for calamities, and ecosystem conservation and management. Agrometeorological station networks are designed to observe the data of meteorological and biological phenomena together with supplementary data as disasters and crop damages occur. The method of observation can be categorized into two major classes, manually observed and automatic weather stations (AWS). A third source for agrometeorological data that is gaining recognition for its complementary nature to the traditional methods is satellite remote sensing technology. Remotely sensed data and AWS systems provide in many ways an enhanced and very feasible alternative to manual observation with a very short time delay between data collection and transmission. In certain countries where only few stations are in operation as in Northern Turkmenistan (Seitnazarov, 1999), remotely sensed data can improve information on crop conditions for an early warning system. Due to the availability of new tools, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), management of an incredible quantity of data such as traditional digital maps, database, models etc., is now possible. The advantages are manifold and highly important, especially for the fast cross- sector interactions and the production of synthetic and lucid information for decision-makers. Remote sensing provides the most important informative contribution to GIS, which furnishes basic informative layers in optimal time and space resolutions. In this paper, a brief overview of the satellite remote sensing and GIS applications in agricultural meteorology is presented along with a description of the WMO Satellite Activities Programme. Details of the various applications alluded to briefly in this paper, can be found in the informative papers prepared by various experts who will be presenting them in the course of this workshop. The Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) of WMO, Remote Sensing and GIS Agricultural meteorology had always been an important component of the National Meteorological Services since their inception. A formal Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) which was appointed in 1913 by the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), became the foundation of the CAgM under WMO in 1951. M.V.K. Sivakumar and Donald E. Hinsman 3 The WMO Agricultural Meteorology Programme is coordinated by CAgM. The Commission is responsible for matters relating to applications of meteorology to agricultural cropping systems, forestry, and agricultural land use and livestock management, taking into account meteorological and agricultural developments both in the scientific and practical fields and the development of agricultural meteorological services of Members by transfer of knowledge and methodology and by providing advice. CAgM recognized the potential of remote sensing applications in agricultural meteorology early in the 70s and at its sixth session in Washington in 1974 the Commission agreed that its programme should include studies on the application of remote sensing techniques to agrometeorological problems and decided to appoint a rapporteur to study the existing state of the knowledge of remote sensing techniques and to review its application to agrometeorological research and services. At its seventh session in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1979, the Commission reviewed the report submitted by Dr A.D. Kleschenko (USSR) and Dr J.C. Harlan Jr (USA) and noted that there was a promising future for the use in agrometeorology of data from spacecraft and aircraft and that rapid progress in this field required exchange of information on achievements in methodology and data collection and interpretation. The Commission at that time noted that there was a demand in almost all countries for a capability to use satellite imagery in practical problems of agrometeorology. The Commission continued to pay much attention to both remote sensing and GIS applications in agrometeorology in all its subsequent sessions up to the 13th session held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2002. Several useful publications including Technical Notes and CAgM Reports were published covering the use of remote sensing for obtaining agrometeorological information (Kleschenko, 1983), operational remote sensing systems in agriculture (Kanemasu and Filcroft, 1992), satellite applications to agrometeorology and technological developments for the period 1985-89 (Seguin, 1992), statements of guidance regarding how well satellite capabilities meet WMO user requirements in agrometeorology (WMO, 1998, 2000) etc. At the session in Slovenia in 2002, the Commission convened an Expert Team on Techniques (including Technologies such as GIS and Remote Sensing) for Agroclimatic Characterization and Sustainable Land Management. The Commission also recognized that training of technical personnel to acquire, process and interpret the satellite imagery was a major task. It was felt that acquisition of satellite data was usually much easier than the interpretation of data for specific applications that were critical for the 4 Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Agricultural Meteorology assessment and management of natural resources. In this regard, the Commission pointed out that long-term planning and training of technical personnel was a key ingredient in ensuring full success in the use of current and future remote sensing technologies that could increase and sustain agricultural production, especially in the developing countries. In this connection, WMO already organized a Training Seminar on GIS and Agroecological Zoning in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in May 2000 in which six participants from Malaysia and 12 from other Asian and the South-West Pacific countries participated. The programme for the seminar dealt with meteorological and geographical databases, statistical analyses, spatialization, agro-ecological classification, overlapping of agroecological zoning with boundary layers, data extraction, monitoring system organization and bulletins. The training workshop currently being organized in Dehradun is in response to the recommendations of the Commission session in Slovenia in 2002 and it should help the participants from the Asian countries in learning new skills and updating their current skills in satellite remote sensing and GIS applications in agricultural meteorology. GIS APPLICATIONS IN AGROMETEOROLOGY A GIS generally refers to a description of the characteristics and tools used in the organization and management of geographical data. The term GIS is currently applied to computerised storage, processing and retrieval systems that have hardware and software specially designed to cope with geographically referenced spatial data and corresponding informative attribute. Spatial data are commonly in the form of layers that may depict topography or environmental elements. Nowadays, GIS technology is becoming an essential tool for combining various map and satellite information sources in models that simulate the interactions of complex natural systems. A GIS can be used to produce images, not just maps, but drawings, animations, and other cartographic products. The increasing world population, coupled with the growing pressure on the land resources, necessitates the application of technologies such as GIS to help maintain a sustainable water and food supply according to the environmental potential. The “sustainable rural development” concept envisages an integrated management of landscape, where the exploitation of natural resources, including climate, plays a central role. In this context, agrometeorology can help reduce inputs, while in the framework of global