THE CURRENT AND POTENTIAL OPERATIONAL USES OF REMOTE-SENSING TO AID DECISIONS ON DROUGHT EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN AUSTRALIA - A REVIEW

This paper reviews how remote sensing is being used, and can be used, to assist in providing support for the decision-making process for the declaration of areas experiencing drought exceptional circumstances i n Australia. To assess how remotely sensed data can be used, a review of current international uses of remotely sensed data was made and sev eral topics requiring further research by remote sensing specialists i dentified. Consequently, the review focuses on current techniques used by Australian agencies, and also assesses current international metho ds, as well as proposing some possible new research directions that ma y use remote sensing for drought assessment and management. The primar y scientific information that remote sensing can provide is the estima tion of vegetation cover and condition, soil moisture, and the spatial limits to drought exceptional circumstances. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.