Geological application of remote sensing (GARS), an IUGS/UNESCO joint program in the new millennium

Abstract

IUGS and UNESCO founded the Geological Application of Remote Sensing Program (GARS-Program) during 1984 with the aim to assess the value of remotely sensed data for geological research and to enable institutes of developing countries to participate in the use of modern technology for their own research. Until now, the GARS-Program dealt in three phases with geologic and lithologic mapping in tropical environments of Africa, with landslide hazard mapping in the Andes mountain belt of South-America, and with volcanic hazard mitigation in The Philippines. Now, the GARS-Program embarks on a wider scope to contribute to the application of new remote sensing techniques as hyperspectral scanning, radar data interpretation and digital terrain modelling besides the more traditionals applications. New fields will be structural geology and hydrogeological investigations, geo-hazard mitigation, and geo-environmental studies. The overall goal will be the dissemination of the different experiences gained during the GARS-Program to those institutes that are interested to apply more effectively remote sensing methods.