ABSTRACT
Remote sensing (RS) has played a key role to better understand and characterize hydrological cycle. A wide array of hydrological parameters can be consistently characterized and mapped using a set of RS sensors gathering data in various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum such as the radar, optical, or thermal wavelengths. Some of these parameters like evapotranspiration (ET) and basin characteristics (e.g., topography, river morphology, vegetation, and land use) can be mapped with great degree of accuracies. Some other hydrological parameters like groundwater and soil moisture have greater degree of uncertainties mainly as a result of insu¶cient number of sensors of adequate resolution (e.g., existing sensors mostly have anywhere between 5 and 25 km spatial resolution). Chapter 1 by Dr. Sadiq Khan et al. provides us a comprehensive assessment of the key hydrological parameters (precipitation, ET, soil moisture, and groundwater) monitored and mapped by various sensors and their strengths and limitations.
