A research proposal of the University of Würzburg has been approved by the RapidEye Science Archive in March 2011. RapidEye will provide very high resolution satellite data (6.5 m) for three irrigated agricultural areas in Central Asia (Ferghana valley, Amudarya Delta, Kyzyl Orda) for the growing period in 2011 and 2012.

Specialists of the University of Würzburg will use the data for land use classification, phenological studies, and detection of water stress.

RapidEye false color imagery of irrigated areas in the Ferghana Valley (Uzbekistan). Red colors show photosynthetically active vegetation. (Copyright © 2006-2010 RapidEye AG. All rights reserved.)

The proposal for RapidEye was written in cooperation with the Khorezm project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).