Manual for monitoring European lakes using remote sensing techniques

Surface freshwater is an increasingly valuable natural resource with major impacts and bene fits for Europe"s population and environment. Hence, there is a growing need to define appro priate monitoring programmes, although today no government has adequate economic resources for monitoring all its own inland waters by means of traditional methodologies. In order to better manage and improve the quality of the water resources more efforts are now required, including the use of Earth Observation systems and other integrated techniques that presently are giving their essential contribution. In this sense, the SALMON project (SAtellite Remote Sensing for Lake MONitoring) is of major importance and it represents a first effort to answer the necessity of defining integrated monitoring systems, the only strategy that actually could preserve our natural environment in the future. Based on the conviction that this project has given results of possible interest also to other ope rators involved in the fields of applications concerned, a special effort has been carried out to the realization of a manual, specifically finalized to introduce the basics of the different methods and disciplines applied in the project, for the integrated use of remote sensing techniques to water quality mapping of European lakes. This book derives from the experience carried out within this spirit. It is also a tangible sign that scientists from different backgrounds can fruitfully join their efforts to realize new methods of surveying, throughout the difficult, patient and essential process of comparing protocols and methods, instruments and achieved results. From the Salmon experience, supported by the ''Environment and Climate' Programme, in the topic "Space Techniques Applied to Environmental Monitoring and Research", the outcoming message is clear: an invitation to continue with further applications of these techniques in other lake districts and ecoregions, on the basis of the suggestions and guidelines included in this book, to the final task of an integrated monitoring system for European lakes.