Abstract for presentation at The 13th Australasian Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Conference

Many of the benefits of remote sensing lie in operational applications that make a difference to our knowledge and understanding of the Earth and its systems, and empower us to act. A recent survey commissioned by the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing (ACRES) in Geoscience Australia indicated that there is an increasing demand for truly operational remote sensing systems. This finding is consistent with statements of large industry players. An operational focus is also regarded as a success factor of remote sensing in south-east Asian countries.
In Australia, large-scale mapping and monitoring programs, able to feed into carbon accounting and other processes, have emerged as some of the most successful applications of land imaging. These applications have become pre-eminent in response to pressures such as drought, climate change and land clearing. They have also highlighted the importance of data continuity through time, and frequency of observation, for an effective Earth observation (EO) capability.
Several initiatives of the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing are relevant to Australia's on-going EO capabilities. ACRES: (i) maintains a national archive of Landsat imagery dating from 1979, underpinning national Carbon Accounting and other regional and continental-scale mapping activities; (ii) is taking steps to ensure national continuity of Landsat-type imaging data; (iii) is implementing atmospheric correction algorithms to produce surface reflectance images from which daily continental MODIS mosaics will be derived; and (iv) is exploring near-real time applications of imagery which involve more frequent imaging.