Accurate maps of vegetation inundation are critical in identifying breeding grounds for disease vectors and in predicting and monitoring outbreaks of a variety of diseases. SAR data hold great promise for malaria risk assessment efforts in Africa by providing spatial and temporal information on the distribution and flooding status of anopheline breeding sites. Satellite remote sensing has become increasingly important to hydrologists and climatologists because the data provide information on the spatial and temporal distributions of parameters of climatic and hydrologic importance. For soil moisture, recent advances in remote sensing technology have demonstrated that soil moisture can be measured by a variety of techniques. However, only SAR technology has the ability to quantitatively measure soil moisture under a variety of topographic and vegetation cover conditions.
Oceanographers study how waves move through the ocean and how the air and sea interact.
The ocean is a reservoir for heat and energy, and the air-sea interaction moves this heat and energy around the globe regulating the Earth's climate. SAR data are used to enhance studies of upper-ocean, lower atmosphere, and surface currents. SAR data are additionally seen as an important tool for regulatory functions, environmental quality, and commercial operations. The primary applications include search and rescue, fisheries management, coastline monitoring, and ship detection and routing. Geologists study the present surface of the Earth.