Question

Explain the role of remote sensing in environmental monitoring. 

Answer 1

Role of remote sensing in environmental monitoring are:

1. Deforestation: Forests are being used at a very fast rate to satisfy the human needs but at the same time it is posing a threat to the economy and ecology. Remote Sensing Satellites are being used to study the forest cover in the past few decades. This has helped man to study the rate of deforestation and compare the vegetative cover in the past with the present.
2. Land degradation: Satellite images help in identifying degraded land. It is also possible to find out the causes of degradation from past images and bring them under vegetation.
3. Predict weather and natural calamities: The weather forecast on the television news channels showing the images of India are actually possible with the help of the Remote Sensing Satellites. It shows images of clouds which make prediction of rainfall or monsoon possible. It also helps in prediction of cyclones, hurricanes, etc, which could be helpful in sending forewarnings to the people residing in the danger zone.
4. Drought: Remote sensing is used for assessment of drought conditions, studying rainfall and surface water conditions for early drought warnings and monitoring agricultural droughts.
5. Predicting earthquakes: In 1976 Laser Geodynamic Satellite I launched by NASA provided the ability to track very precisely the movements of the Earth's surface, increasing our understanding of earthquakes and other geological activity.