Importance Of Remote Sensing

More than 150 years ago, the invention of the camera, a now every day item, was made and its later counterparts would be the technology to predict deadly catastrophes and save millions of people. This modern technology is known as remote sensing. The term “remote sensing” was used first by Evelyn Pruitt of the U.S. Office of Naval Research in the 1950s. It is “commonly used to describe science-and art-of identifying, observing, and measuring an object without coming into direct contact with it” (Graham 1999). Remote sensing is an advanced way to predict global precipitation. Without remote sensing, predicting dangerous levels precipitation would be near impossible. Global precipitation monitoring and remote sensing essentially go hand in hand. It takes a great deal of knowledge and accuracy to predict precipitation that can be anywhere from a couple days out to a couple weeks out. Remote sensing is an advanced satellite technique to help hydrologists forecast floods and …show more content…
A flood is a rising, overflowing body of water (lake, river, ocean, etc.) that rushes onto typically dry land. Flash floods are extremely common during heavy downpours for towns near a body of water. Most usually, these towns are warned about the potential dangers of a flash flood because meteorologists have the remote sensing, which can come in radars, rain gauges, and satellites, to predict the chances of floods. Meteorologists and hydrologists can keep track of precipitation using these common sensors and warn residents about the upcoming danger. This gives people, usually, a proper amount of time to figure out a plan to either best prepare for what could happen, or leave the dangerous area. Remote sensing allows for easier and more reliable global precipitation monitoring. (Hsu