Remote sensing and mapping of Earth resources

Detailed knowledge of the natural resources of any nation is a pre-requisite for its economic development. In most developing countries, this knowledge is scarce or lacking. Acquiring the needed information by conventional means may require a large investment in time, personnel, and therefore, in cost. In the meantime, space-age technology provides the necessary tools to conduct surveys of natural resources in a timely manner. Such are the means to obtain the required data by digital sensors, radar imaging systems, and stereo cameras. These data can be utilized in mapping structures that may contain oil and gas deposits, recognizing high concentrations of economic minerals, discovering regions with fertile soils and good potential for groundwater, and monitoring cyclical climatic changes, particularly in arid lands. Such applications warrant greater use of remote sensing methods and techniques by the international scientific community, particularly for the development of natural resources in the Third World. This paper represents a general review of the available, and easily interpretable space-borne data that are useful in the mapping of such resources.