Mold/or

Arab remote sensing network An expert meeting on the use of remote sensing in natural resources development in the Arab region was held in November 1986. The meeting was co-sponsored by the UN Depart- ment of Technical Cooperation for Development UN/DTCO and the gov- ermnent of Tunisia, and was attended by experts from 13 Arab states and a few experts from outside the region.

The outcome is a regional remote programme for the Arab region, the first two-year phase of which is to be implemented with United Nations assistance. Its main features are:

• standardization of hardware, soft- ware and computer languages to assure easy access to each of the national facilities and an efficient exchange of programmes, work- ing methods and data;

• standardization of education and training at all levels; and

• focus not only on post-graduate

education and training, but also o n a systematic training of sup- port personnel required for the main tenance and cont inuous adaptation of the various facilities needed now and in the future by the countries concerned (mainte- nance personnel, programmers and other categories of techni- cians at the craft/operational level).

Thus an Arab remote sensing network is being established. One of its objec- tives will be the strengthening of the regional and national education and training facilities. Another will be the support to national facilities provided by centres of excellence, each special- ized in a subject area for which it offers the best qualifications and most suitable environmental conditions.

Source: L'Action, Tunisia.

Satellite project to forecast malaria hazard NASA scientists have begun work on a pilot project which will use satellites and high-altitude aircraft to predict where malaria outbreaks may occur over large equatorial regions. Scien- tists hope that the work will lead to significant improvements in global malaria control by the early 1990s.

In the experimental project, satel- lite sensors will monitor the environ- mental conditions, such as rainfall and surface water, which trigger the breed- ing of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The use of remote sensing technology will enable frequent, steady coverage of wide areas. The project will allow malaria control measures, including water drainage and use of selective pesticides, to be focused at times and areas at highest risk. Scientists hope ultimately to be able to monitor thousands of square miles on a weekly basis, and deliver data within 24 to 48 hours.

Remote sensing techniques may be

effective for malaria control because many of the environmental conditions associated with malaria transmission can be identified from a distance. Key factors such as rainfall patterns, stand- ing water, irrigation, drainage, temperature, soil, and topography can all be measured by satellite. Accurate timing of control measures, which satellites can provide, is important because the short-lived, fast-breeding mosquito population responds quickly to the changing environment.

In the project's first phase, resear- chers are studying mosquito breeding in California rice fields. A remote sensing model will be completed by the end of 1987 and will be tested against field data to see if it reliably predicts peak densities of mosquitoes. In the second phase, the project will be taken to a malarial area in the tropics, to study disease transmission as well as mosquito populations. Prob- lems specific to remote sensing in the

tropics, such as cloud cover and water vapour in the atmosphere, will also be studied in this phase.

The expanded model should be finished by the end of 1988 and the investigators will then go to a second malarial area to learn how to apply the model in different terrain.

If effective in the war against malar- ia, the NASA technique could be applied to many kinds of insect-borne diseases. Malaria has been targeted for the initial NASA effort because it is among the most critical global health problems. It is the leading cause of disability in many tropical regions, afflicting more than 250 mil- lion people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It is transmitted by mosquitoes which carry the malaria parasite, a virus-like organism which breeds in human blood and liver cells. Over the past 1(1 years, the worldwide malaria problem has worsened as control measures have proven ineffective. Some strains of mosquito have become resistant to pesticides, while the malaria parasite has become resistant to traditional remedies such as quinine.

The remote sensing project will be a complicated undertaking. To develop the predictive model, the many factors affecting disease transmission must be integrated and quantified. The com- pleted model must be precise, but versatile enough to transfer, with minor modification, to regions with varied environmental conditions and mosquito types. (Malaria is carried by more than 85 species of mosquito, which have differing habits.) Epidemiologists and entomologists, as well as remote sensing specialists, will participate in the project.

Recent advances in remote sensing increase the programme's chances of success. In the past decade, high- resolution, multi-spectral sensors have been developed, and data delivery has improved with the development of direct downlinks to users (such as small 'backyard' satellite dishes). Satellite systems which provide con- tinual Earth-monitoring are now in operation.

For data collection, the NASA pro- ject may use the Landsat Earth- observing satellites, as well as high-

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flying surveillance aircraft such as C-130s, DC-8s, or U-2s. (It is possible the US space station, scheduled for launch in the mid-1990s, may also be used, since the space station will orbit tropical regions.) These aircraft are equipped with multi-spectral sensors, enabling study of a variety of environ- mental features. Greenness of vegeta- tion, for example, is analysed in visi- ble light between 500 and 600 nano- meters; air quality (haziness) is mea- sured in the near-infrared at 900 nano- meters. Radar can be effectively used to measure the accumulation of sur- face water. Researchers are not yet certain what degree of resolution, up to 1 kin, will be necessary to obtain

accurate data. If 1 km resolution is sufficient, greater areas can be sur- veyed.

When the project has been com- pleted and the technique has been successfully demonstrated, NASA will turn the project over to an interna- tional health organization or to in- terested national governments, to con- tinue operations. The malaria project is part of NASA's Biospherics prog- ramme, which applies remote sensing to studying current global environ- mental problems.

Source: Ames Research Center, Mof- fett Field, CA 94035, USA.

EUTELSAT board of signatories meeting The EUTELSAT board of signatories met in Paris in November 1986. The decisions taken included:

• Adoption of the EUTELSAT budget for 1987 which forecasts inter alia a total income of 70 million ECU.

• Adoption of a five-year financial plan.

• Adoption of an annual charge fixed at 3.8 million ECU for the lease of a EUTELSAT II trans- ponde r for te levis ion (non- preemptible and for a minimum period of three years) and 3.4 million ECU for five transpon- ders for five years. It will also consider at its next meeting prop- osals for significant reductions in charges for satellite multiservices (video conferencing, bulk data transfer, etc).

• Discontinuat ion of the space shuttle compatibility feature ori- ginally adopted for the EUTEL- SAT II satellites. As the space shuttle is no longer able to launch commercial satellites, EUTEL- SAT will seek an alternative laun- cher already available or shortly to become available on the mar- ket; this will be proposed as a launch vehicle for use as an alternative to Ariane.

• The board came to a favourable

conclusion concerning technical coordination with the Swedish and Norwegian space segment of the Tele-X system, and decided to submit the matter to the Assembly of Parties in February 1987 for its views on the opera- tion of this space segment without economic harm to EUTELSAT.

• On the other hand, consultation with the signatory of Luxembourg u n d e r Ar t i c l e XVI of the EUTELSAT Convention (coor- dination with the SES-Astra sys- tem) did not progress and the matter was not discussed at this meeting of the board. However, the Swedish signatory indicated that the Swedish administration had rejected an application for permission to t ransmit from Sweden to the Astra satellite, considering that use of this satel- lite requires prior consultation under the INTELSAT Agree- ments and the EUTELSAT Con- vention.

• Lastly, the Board approved the continuation and funding of the studies on the EUROPESAT direct broadcasting satellite pro- ject.

Source: EUTELSAT, Tour Maine- Montparnasse 33, avenue du Maine, 75755 Paris Cedex 15, France.

Monitor

New agreement A cooperative agreement between ESA and Eumetsat was signed on January 12, 1987. Under this agree- ment the European intergovernmental organization, Eumetsat, which repre- sents the national meteorological ser- vices of the 16 European states ~ and which has agreed to continue operat- ing European meteorological satel- lites, will assume responsibility of the Meteosat Operational Satellites prog- ramme. This programme had been developed by ESA and is due to operate until the end of 1995 with the launching of three new satellites over the next four years.

These satellites will relay the two preoperational Meteosat satellites which were launched in 1977 and 1981 respectively. The second one, with an expected lifetime of three years, is still functioning with exceptional reliability five and a half years after its launch.

Whilst the construction, launch, control in orbit and data processing of the satellites will continue to be car- ried out by ESA, Eumetsat will look after the funding of the programme and all external relations.

The Eumetsat Convention entered into force on 19 June 1986 and its headquarters are situated in Darm- stadt in FR Germany, where ESA's Operations Centre (ESOC) is also situated.

ESOC's main activities consist of monitoring and controlling European satellites in orbit. Furthermore, exten- sive ground-based activities are per- formed mainly related to image pre- processing and extraction of meteoro- logical data. These are disseminated to the users together with the images via the Meteosat satellite.

The Meteosat operational program- me represents a financial envelope of about 444 million Accounting Units (MAU) 2 at 1986 price level.

Source: ESA, 8-10, Rue Mario Nikis, 75738 Paris Cedex 15, France.

IBelgium, Denmark, FR Germany, Fin- land, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Nor- way, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzer- land, the Netherlands, Turkey and the UK. 21 AU = US$0.96161.

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