The activities of the Institute for Remote Sensing Applications, Joint Research Centre, Ispra

THE INSTITUTE OBJECTIVES: The global environment is constantly in a state of flux; indeed there is considerable concern that, as a result of either man’s intervention or natural occurrences, changes to the earth’s environment will have a long term effect on the global climate. In addition, regional, national and international governments continue to seek to maximise the use and benefit of their renewable and non-renewable resources. In order to fully address these needs there is a requirement for timely, accurate information, often from regional to continental scales; data from earth observing satellites can provide an important source of such information.