Remote sensing may provide unprecedented hydrological data

Basic hydrological research and water resources management may reap tremendous benefits from remote sensing technology, studies are showing. Satellite coverage may allow unprecedented accuracy in the quantification of the global hydrological cycle, for example. Yet despite such benefits, few hydrologists currently use such data.This is partly because the needed tools and algorithms are not fully developed. Such development requires field experiments that combine remotely sensed data with detailed in situ observations.