The programme has the following objectives:
- to systematically develop application possibilities for remote sensing in the areas of agriculture and forestry, land-use management and cartography, and aspects proper to developing countries;
- to explore application possibilities for remote sensing in the area of geology and atmospheric sciences, and develop appropriate use methods for these;
- to constitute an interface between the research and current and potential users;
- to ensure a central, operational and optimal circulation of data to the scientific research centres.
The following research themes are addressed:
- Agriculture and forestry: agrohydrology; agrarian information system; production of agricultural crops and plant pathology of crops; forest classification, wood production and phytosanitary condition of forests.
- Land-use planning and cartography: development and application of cartographic methods; urban development; landscape typology.
- Aspects proper to developing countries: agro-pastoral systems in regions with environmental deterioration; cities and urban areas in developing countries; desertification process (soil dynamics and geomorphology, types of vegetation and their development).
- Geological prospecting: determination of rocks and ore formations.
- Development of scientific instruments: infrared spectrometer and software for image processing.
- Atmospheric research: monitoring of forecast and actual evaporation via satellite data.
- Pilot project ERS-1: hyperfrequency and soil moisture; agricultural crops and land use inventory; beach dynamics in correlation with marine meteorological data.
T3/A1: Modelling and design of agrarian and landscape-ecological primary structures
T3/A2: Landscape-ecological mapping
T3/A3: Modelling of data coming from satellite images for the purpose of regional land-use planning
T3/A4: Fundamental research with respect to GIS (Geographical Information Systems)
T3/B1: Monitoring and management of tropical forests with the aid of spatial information techniques
T3/B2: Study of the environmental impact of agricultural systems on the African tropical forest on the basis of space teledetection and geographical information systems
T3/C1: Land degradation in the dry tropics
T3/C2: Operational estimate of the real evapotranspiration based on data coming from the Meteosat satellite
T3/D1: Contribution of the SAR data from the ERS-1 satellite and from SPOT and LANDSAT images in the study of the bathymetry of the North Sea
T3/D2: Remote detection and sediment mobility in the Belgian coastal zone
T3/D3: Validation and improvement of the quality of the operational model to forecast the wave and swell field on the Belgian continental shelf, on the basis of satellite data (primarily ERS-1)
T3/E1: Demonstration and evaluation of radar interferometry, using ERS-1 satellite images
T3/ERS/16: Study of the possibilities of ERS-1 images for monitoring forest reserves (Costa Rica)
T3/ERS/17: Observation of the tropical forest on the basis of ERS-1 SAR images (Western Central Africa)
T3/ERS/18: Use of ERS-1 data for monitoring high water levels and shoals to forecast high water levels in the Walloon Region
T3/ERS/19: Study of the fault lines in the Pastza basin in Ecuador
T3/ERS/20: Integrated measurements and modelling of the Rhine/Maas silt plume
T3/PP/13: Monitoring of soil salinisation and water saturation of land in Egypt - province Ismalia
T3/PP/14: Integrated information system composed of digital cartography, processing of satellite images and modelling for the purpose of hydrological management in the Walloon Region
T3/PP/15: Remote detection in the integrated system for management and control by the Ministry of Agriculture
