Dear Colleagues,

A proper and efficient management of the various components of the hydrological cycle is at the basis of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where water is the main fundamental element. Different water systems are threatened by numerous processes driven by the compounding effect of natural and anthropogenic factors. This makes the task of understanding these complex interactions and dynamics challenging. It is essential to make use of a rich inventory of observations to comprehend the occurring hydrological process across the local, regional, and global scales.

Remote sensing technologies and data can provide useful measurements of key hydrological variables, such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, soil moisture, groundwater, and water quality. The progress of the used sensors, the development of new technologies, and the abundance of spaceborne platforms in polar and geostationary orbits have generated a wealth of observations that we can rely on to establish data-driven approaches in emulation of the physics-based models that are commonly used in hydrology. Satellite data are nowadays used in machine learning methods and physics-based methods, and often a combination of both, to study complex and interacting processes such as flood, desertification, drought, land degradation, freshwater scarcity, and loss of biodiversity.

This Special Issue welcomes short letter-style manuscripts (10 pages or less) describing new observations, methods, and models for the investigation of the different components of the terrestrial water cycle. Papers focusing on one single parameter or process, as well as those addressing multidisciplinary and integrated approaches to understand the dynamics of the water cycle, are encouraged. Before submitting any contribution, authors are asked to check that their work is in line with the “Aim and Scope” of the Remote Sensing Letter Section (https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/remotesensing/sections/remote_sensing_letter).

Topics of interest for this Special Issue, in relation to remote sensing, include:

• Liquid and solid precipitation;
• Water storage in the atmosphere, clouds and water vapor;
• Evaporation, sublimation, condensation and evapotranspiration;
• Soil moisture;
• Infiltration, discharge, runoff and storage of water;
• Water storage in ice and snow, glaciers, ice fields and snow fields;
• Snow melt runoff;
• Cryosphere including lake and river ice;
• Satellite missions for the water cycle;
• Water cycle, climate, and ecosystems.

Dr. Teodosio Lacava
Dr. Luca Brocca
Dr. Marouane Temimi
Dr. Emanuele Ciancia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.