Abstract :
The first satellite images were received in IMWM in Krakow in early sixties. Since 1967 the data from meteorological satellites have been in continuous operational use. The methods and equipment for reception and processing of satellite data were changed in this period, according to the changes in the meteorological satellites. The different applications of data received from NOAA and METEOSAT satellites were developed in IMWM during those years. The history of operational use and scientific research in the field of remote sensing were briefly described. In recent years rapid development of different weather satellites applications was done in IMWM. Among many different products from satellite data available in IMWM, the following are of high importance: Baltic Sea monitoring (SST, ice cover, suspended matter), land surface of Poland monitoring (vegetation indices, temperature, snow cover), atmosphere monitoring (cloud classification, precipitation estimation, retrieval of temperature, moisture, wind fields and ozone content). A dense network of ground measurements and observations in IMWM provides valuable material for satellite methods evaluation and calibration. A computer network was developed to distribute satellite products to all branches of IMWM.
