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Timely and reliable information on natural resources, regarding their potential and limitations, is a prerequisite for sustainable development. Geospatial technologies offer immense potential in providing such information in a timely and cost-effective manner. Using orbital sensors data in conjunction with airborne and proximal sensors data to generate information on soils and agricultural resources, forests, mineral resources, fossil fuel, wetlands, water resources, and marine resources, this book focuses on the advancements in technologies applicable to managing these resources. It addresses global issues like climate change and land degradation neutrality and introduces spatial data infrastructure (SDI) as a mechanism for sharing geospatial data. This book also provides an in-depth discussion on drones, crowdsourcing, cloud computing, Internet of Things, machine learning, and their applications.FEATURES Contains a comprehensive resource on the latest developments in geospatial technologies and their use in monitoring natural resources, productivity mapping, and modeling Explains the geo-computation methods and online algorithm developments Includes clear guidance on how best to use geospatial data for various applications Discusses case studies from a variety of fields and current trends in the management of natural resources Provides future scenarios concerning platforms, sensors, data analysis, and interpretation techniques This book is written for remote sensing and GIS professionals in environmental institutions and government who are involved in natural resource management projects. Senior undergraduate and graduate-level students in Earth sciences, geography, or environmental management can also use this text for supplementary reading.

Earth Observation in Urban Monitoring: Techniques and Challenges presents the latest techniques of remote sensing in urban monitoring, along with methods for quantitative and qualitative assessment using state-of-the-art Earth observation technologies. The book details the advances of remote sensing technologies in urban environmental monitoring for a range of practical and research applications, Earth observation datasets, remote sensing of environmental considerations, geostatistical techniques and resilience perspectives. Chapters cover sensor applications, urban growth modelling, SAR applications, surveying techniques, satellite time series analysis and a variety of other remote sensing technologies for urban monitoring. Each chapter includes detailed case studies at a variety of scales and from a variety of geographies, offering up-to-date, global, urban monitoring methodologies for researchers, scientists and academics in remote sensing, geospatial research, environmental science and sustainability. - Focuses on a variety of interdisciplinary applications using Earth observation data, GIS and soft computing techniques to address various challenges in urban monitoring - Provides numerous case studies at a variety of scales, from local to global, to aid readers in implementing urban monitoring techniques at any level - Includes theoretical and applied research contributions along with background information on the use of concurrent technologies in the disciplines of urban studies

An investigation of aesthetics and visualizations of planetary surfaces from an experimental media theory perspective.What if every vista, every island—indeed, every geographical feature on Earth—could be viewed as an art object? In Living Surfaces, Abelardo Gil-Fournier and Jussi Parikka explore how the surface of the Earth has, over the last two centuries, become known and perceived as an environment of images. Living Surfaces features a range of case studies from eighteenth-century experiments with and observations of vegetal matter, photosynthesis, and plant physiology to twenty-first-century machine vision and AI techniques of calculating agricultural and other landscape surfaces. Mapping these different scales of vegetal images, Gil-Fournier and Parikka help us understand core questions that pertain to the artistic and architectural reference points for the Anthropocene.With 42 black-and-white and full-color illustrations, Living Surfaces is an engaging and unique take on environmental surfaces as they come to occupy a central place in our understanding of planetary change.

A comprehensive resource on airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems, Airborne Circularly Polarized SAR explains the theory, system design, hardware and software, and applications of airborne circularly polarized SAR in environmental monitoring and other uses. Readers learn how to build the hardware and software of circularly polarized SAR, the antenna system, and how to generate point target responses and images using the range doppler algorithm (RDA) from raw signal data. The book discusses applications and analyzing techniques using a circularly polarized SAR system and image processing. Images and MATLAB® codes are provided to help professionals and researchers with their applications and future studies. Features Provides the theory of circularly polarized wave and polarimetry related to system design, scattering analysis, polarimetric SAR, and applications in microwave remote sensing Explains the real radio frequency (RF) system and the original antenna, including circuit explanation and know-how of measurement technique to adjust to the required parameter in system design Discusses the technique of ground test and flight mission to calibrate and validate the performance of airborne circularly polarized SAR Highlights image signal processing with MATLAB codes and how to obtain a single look complex (SLC) image for further applications Includes several applications of airborne circularly polarized SAR from international leading experts This book is beneficial to professionals, researchers, academics, and graduate students from disciplines such as Electronic Engineering; Radar Systems; Aerospace Engineering; Signal Processing; Image Processing; Environmental Remote Sensing.

Discover The Geographic Approach to help restore, preserve, and protect the environment.As we continue to uncover and learn about ecological challenges facing our planet, the job of environmental and natural resource management organizations is becoming increasingly difficult. Finding a Sustainable Balance: GIS for Environmental Management explores a collection of real-life stories about how environmental and natural resource management organizations successfully use geographic information systems (GIS) to monitor environmental assets in real time and provide transparency for better outcomes for all, to track environmental assets, and to prevent environmental hazards from becoming disasters.Learn how GIS can help improve operations acrossland and wildlife management,outdoor recreation, andenvironmental regulation.The book also includes a section on next steps that provides helpful ideas, strategies, tools, and actions to help jump-start your use of GIS for environmental management. A collection of online resources, including additional stories, videos, new ideas and concepts, and downloadable tools and content, complements this book.

There are a lot of people who are taking up studies in the geographical domains as the interests of the students regarding the environment and earth keeps on rising. The book, Remote Sensing Techniques and GIS Applications in Earth and Environmental Studies, takes the readers through the various applications of the GIS tools and equipment and the techniques used in remote sensing, in the matters related to the study of earth and the environment. The readers get informed about various ways in which these tools work and the forms in which they exist for use and are also related with the future applications of the same.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are a rapidly evolving technology with an expanding array of diverse applications. In response to the continuing evolution of this technology, this book discusses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and similar systems, platforms and sensors, as well as exploring some of their environmental applications. It explains how they can be used for mapping, monitoring, and modeling a wide variety of different environmental aspects, and at the same time addresses some of the current constraints placed on realizing the potential use of the technology such as s flight duration and distance, safety, and the invasion of privacy etc. Features of the book: Provides necessary theoretical foundations for pertinent subject matter areas Introduces the role and value of UAVs for geographical data acquisition, and the ways to acquire and process the data Provides a synthesis of ongoing research and a focus on the use of technology for small-scale image and spatial data acquisition in an environmental context Written by experts of the technology who bring together UAS tools and resources for the environmental specialist Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing: UAS for Environmental Applications is an excellent resource for any practitioner utilizing remote sensing and other geospatial technologies for environmental applications, such as conservation, research, and planning. Students and academics in information science, environment and natural resources, geosciences, and geography, will likewise find this comprehensive book a useful and informative resource.

The wide range of challenges in studying Earth system dynamics due to uncertainties in climate change and complex interference from human activities is creating difficulties in managing land and water resources and ensuring their sustainable use. Mapping, Monitoring, and Modeling Land and Water Resources brings together real-world case studies accurately surveyed and assessed through spatial modeling. The book focuses on the effectiveness of combining remote sensing, geographic information systems, and R. The use of open source software for different spatial modeling cases in various fields, along with the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems, will aid researchers, students, and practitioners to understand better the phenomena and the predictions by future analyses for problem-solving and decision-making.

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are rapidly emerging as flexible platforms for capturing imagery and other data across the sciences. Many colleges and universities are developing courses on UAS-based data acquisition. Fundamentals of Capturing and Processing Drone Imagery and Data is a comprehensive, introductory text on how to use unmanned aircraft systems for data capture and analysis. It provides best practices for planning data capture missions and hands-on learning modules geared toward UAS data collection, processing, and applications.FEATURES Lays out a step-by-step approach to identify relevant tools and methods for UAS data/image acquisition and processing. Provides practical hands-on knowledge with visual interpretation, well-organized and designed for a typical 16-week UAS course offered on college and university campuses. Suitable for all levels of readers and does not require prior knowledge of UAS, remote sensing, digital image processing, or geospatial analytics. Includes real-world environmental applications along with data interpretations and software used; exercises in chapters 8 through 19 have support materials for free download. Combines the expertise of a wide range of UAS researchers and practitioners across the geospatial sciences. This book provides a general introduction to drones along with a series of hands-on exercises that students and researchers can engage with to learn to integrate drone data into real-world applications. No prior background in remote sensing, GIS, or drone knowledge is needed to use this book. Readers will learn to process different types of UAS imagery for applications (such as precision agriculture, forestry, urban landscapes) and apply this knowledge in environmental monitoring and land-use studies.

The success of natural disaster study depends on updated, accurate, and exact information. This information should be collected and arranged logically to enable appropriate authorities of all levels, such as state officials and urban planners, to address crises before, during, and after the event. Modern technologies, including remote sensing methods and geographic information systems, enable the collection of information that satisfies the requirements of natural disaster studies. Computer systems provide for the collecting, saving, retrieving, processing, and analyzing of data, and can produce visual outputs such as tables and graphs. Such systems also give authorities access to information like routes to damaged areas, health care stations, police, firefighters, auxiliary forces, possible landing spots for helicopters and airplanes, places for reserving food and rescue devices, and urban infrastructure as well as addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of residents or communication facilities. Remote sensing and geographic information system development can integrate all this information by organizing it into layers and creating maps in both digital and physical formats. Data represented by geographic information systems are linked to geographical coordinate systems, enabling ease of access. Such resources are critical for analyzing, comparing, and fully understanding crises. The archival of previously processed information opens opportunities for decision makers to solve problems more effectively. These are the main topics explored in this book.

Fundamentals of Satellite Remote Sensing: An Environmental Approach, Third Edition, is a definitive guide to remote sensing systems that focuses on satellite-based remote sensing tools and methods for space-based Earth observation (EO). It presents the advantages of using remote sensing data for studying and monitoring the planet, and emphasizes concepts that make the best use of satellite data. The book begins with an introduction to the basic processes that ensure the acquisition of space-borne imagery, and provides an overview of the main satellite observation systems. It then describes visual and digital image analysis, highlights various interpretation techniques, and outlines their applications to science and management. The latter part of the book covers the integration of remote sensing with Geographic Information System (GIS) for environmental analysis. This latest edition has been written to reflect a global audience and covers the most recent advances incorporated since the publication of the previous book, relating to the acquisition and interpretation of remotely sensed data.New in the Third Edition: Includes additional illustrations in full color. Uses sample images acquired from different ecosystems at different spatial resolutions to illustrate different interpretation techniques. Includes updated EO missions, such as the third generations of geostationary meteorological satellites, the new polar orbiting platforms (Suomi), the ESA Sentinels program, and high-resolution commercial systems. Includes extended coverage of radar and LIDAR processing methods. Includes all new information on near-ground missions, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Covers new ground sensors, as well as machine-learning approaches to classification. Adds more focus on land surface characterization, time series, change detection, and ecosystem processes. Extends the interactions of EO data and GIS that cover different environmental problems, with particular relevance to global observation. Fundamentals of Satellite Remote Sensing: An Environmental Approach, Third Edition, details the tools that provide global, recurrent, and comprehensive views of the processes affecting the Earth. As one of CRC's Essential titles, this book and stands out as one of the best in its field and is a must-have for researchers, academics, students, and professionals involved in the field of environmental science, as well as for libraries developing collections on the forefront of this industry.

Spatial Modeling in GIS and R for Earth and Environmental Sciences offers an integrated approach to spatial modelling using both GIS and R. Given the importance of Geographical Information Systems and geostatistics across a variety of applications in Earth and Environmental Science, a clear link between GIS and open source software is essential for the study of spatial objects or phenomena that occur in the real world and facilitate problem-solving. Organized into clear sections on applications and using case studies, the book helps researchers to more quickly understand GIS data and formulate more complex conclusions. The book is the first reference to provide methods and applications for combining the use of R and GIS in modeling spatial processes. It is an essential tool for students and researchers in earth and environmental science, especially those looking to better utilize GIS and spatial modeling. - Offers a clear, interdisciplinary guide to serve researchers in a variety of fields, including hazards, land surveying, remote sensing, cartography, geophysics, geology, natural resources, environment and geography - Provides an overview, methods and case studies for each application - Expresses concepts and methods at an appropriate level for both students and new users to learn by example

In the last few years the scientific community has realized that obtaining a better understanding of interactions between natural systems and the man-made environment across different scales demands more research efforts in remote sensing. An integrated Earth system observatory that merges surface-based, air-borne, space-borne, and even underground sensors with comprehensive and predictive capabilities indicates promise for revolutionizing the study of global water, energy, and carbon cycles as well as land use and land cover changes. The aim of this book is to present a suite of relevant concepts, tools, and methods of integrated multisensor data fusion and machine learning technologies to promote environmental sustainability. The process of machine learning for intelligent feature extraction consists of regular, deep, and fast learning algorithms. The niche for integrating data fusion and machine learning for remote sensing rests upon the creation of a new scientific architecture in remote sensing science that is designed to support numerical as well as symbolic feature extraction managed by several cognitively oriented machine learning tasks at finer scales. By grouping a suite of satellites with similar nature in platform design, data merging may come to help for cloudy pixel reconstruction over the space domain or concatenation of time series images over the time domain, or even both simultaneously. Organized in 5 parts, from Fundamental Principles of Remote Sensing; Feature Extraction for Remote Sensing; Image and Data Fusion for Remote Sensing; Integrated Data Merging, Data Reconstruction, Data Fusion, and Machine Learning; to Remote Sensing for Environmental Decision Analysis, the book will be a useful reference for graduate students, academic scholars, and working professionals who are involved in the study of Earth systems and the environment for a sustainable future. The new knowledge in this book can be applied successfully in many areas of environmental science and engineering.

Earth Observation Science (EOS) is the study of the global Earth land-ocean-atmosphere system through observations. The principal tools for such studies are measurements from space since these provide the coverage of the planet that is necessary to capture the behaviour of the entire coupled system. In addition, surface observations, and measurements from aircraft, balloons and sounding rockets provide valuable contributors to what are now termed'integrated, global observing systems.” Coupled with models, the EOS measurement suites provide powerful tools for research into the factors controlling and changing the Earth system in which we live. The objectives of this book are to describe new methods and applications of satellite technology in the fields of land and emergency monitoring. It draws on new research outcomes from the European FP7 project GIONET (European Centre of Excellence in Earth Observation Research Training). GIONET combines industrial partners with universities and research institutes, and this book provides a perspective on Earth Observation applications that is motivated by the cross-fertilisation of both sectors. Hence, this book will find readers in both industry and academia. This book highlights a broad range of innovative uses of Earth Observation technology to support environmental management, decision making, crisis management and climate policies. It uses advanced concepts of multi-sensor image integration, multi-temporal analysis and synergies between data and models. This is a truly interdisciplinary subject that encompasses a range of applications in various fields which are discussed in detail throughout the text. If you are interested in remote sensing applications and looking for inspiration, this is the book for you.

Emerging technologies have enhanced the various uses of geographic information systems. This allows for more effective analysis of available data to optimize resources and promote sustainability. Remote Sensing Techniques and GIS Applications in Earth and Environmental Studies is a critical reference source for the latest research on innovative methods for analyzing geographic data and utilizing sensor technologies for environmental monitoring. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives and topics, such as land use, geospatial analysis, image interpretation, and site-suitability analysis, this book is ideally designed for engineers, professionals, practitioners, upper-level students, and academics actively involved in the various areas of environmental sciences.

This book constitutes a notable contribution to investigate and present the capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their applicability and usefulness in environmental-related applications and sciences. The focus is on the design, creation, development and operation of integrated Web-based GIS applications for weather, marine and atmospheric environments, and the Earth's magnetic field. More specifically, the aim of this book is to present characteristic applications of GIS to environmental monitoring including GIS solutions for eco-mapping sea and port-related parameters, climate changes, and geomagnetic field. In the first part of the book, the description of every application includes the user requirements, the design and development stages performed and the presentation of the final outcome, its capabilities and services. The Web-based applications are developed through different innovative approaches, such as cloud GIS and Google Apps for GIS, justifying the merit of WebGIS in the world of the environmental applications. The second part of the book provides an overview of geomagnetic field parameters and reveals the potential of using GIS for modeling and analyzing of the Earth's magnetic (geomagnetic) field and its parameters. Here, the authors present the recently introduced phenomenon called “geomagnetic pseudostorm”, which is modeled and further analyzed here with GIS technology and tools. This book appeals to those interested in various areas where spatial information becomes of paramount relevance (e.g. social and economic research and mapping, environmental and climate research, decision support systems, public services, and especially for geomagnetic field variations and for the design of warning systems for natural disasters). It presents modern methods and approaches to visualize and analyze spatial information using innovative techniques, procedures, and tools of WebGIS technology. In this book, the readers find a valuable companion in their efforts to design and develop their own WebGIS applications, as it includes useful examples of developing (Web)GIS applications regarding the monitoring of marine and atmospheric environments, as well as applications that deal with meteorological issues and the Earth's magnetic field along with solar activity (space weather information).This book can also serve as a useful reference source for graduates, researchers and professionals related to the areas indicated above.

An examination of environmental satellite data sharing policies, offering a model of data-sharing policy development, case and practical recommendations for increasing global data sharing.Key to understanding and addressing climate change is continuous and precise monitoring of environmental conditions. Satellites play an important role in collecting climate data, offering comprehensive global coverage that can't be matched by in situ observation. And yet, as Mariel Borowitz shows in this book, much satellite data is not freely available but restricted; this remains true despite the data-sharing advocacy of international organizations and a global open data movement. Borowitz examines policies governing the sharing of environmental satellite data, offering a model of data-sharing policy development and applying it in case studies from the United States, Europe, and Japan—countries responsible for nearly half of the unclassified government Earth observation satellites. Borowitz develops a model that centers on the government agency as the primary actor while taking into account the roles of such outside actors as other government officials and non-governmental actors, as well as the economic, security, and normative attributes of the data itself. The case studies include the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS); the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT); and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). Finally, she considers the policy implications of her findings for the future and provides recommendations on how to increase global sharing of satellite data.

Sensors are everywhere. Small, flexible, economical, and computationally powerful, they operate ubiquitously in environments. They compile massive amounts of data, including information about air, water, and climate. Never before has such a volume of environmental data been so broadly collected or so widely available.Grappling with the consequences of wiring our world, Program Earth examines how sensor technologies are programming our environments. As Jennifer Gabrys points out, sensors do not merely record information about an environment. Rather, they generate new environments and environmental relations. At the same time, they give a voice to the entities they monitor: to animals, plants, people, and inanimate objects. This book looks at the ways in which sensors converge with environments to map ecological processes, to track the migration of animals, to check pollutants, to facilitate citizen participation, and to program infrastructure. Through discussing particular instances where sensors are deployed for environmental study and citizen engagement across three areas of environmental sensing, from wild sensing to pollution sensing and urban sensing, Program Earth asks how sensor technologies specifically contribute to new environmental conditions. What are the implications for wiring up environments? How do sensor applications not only program environments, but also program the sorts of citizens and collectives we might become?Program Earth suggests that the sensor-based monitoring of Earth offers the prospect of making new environments not simply as an extension of the human but rather as new “technogeographies” that connect technology, nature, and people.

Fundamentals of Satellite Remote Sensing: An Environmental Approach, Second Edition is a definitive guide to remote sensing systems that focuses on satellite-based remote sensing tools and methods for space-based Earth observation (EO). It presents the advantages of using remote sensing data for studying and monitoring the planet, and emphasizes co

Driven by the societal needs and improvement in sensor technology and image processing techniques, remote sensing has become an essential geospatial tool for understanding the Earth and managing Human-Earth interactions. Remote Sensing for Sustainability introduces the current state of the art remote sensing knowledge integral for monitoring the world's natural resources and environments, managing exposure to natural disasters and man-made risks, and helping understand the sustainability and productivity of natural ecosystems. Bridging the gap between remote sensing and sustainability science this book examines theories and methods as well as practical applications of sustainable development for cities using remote sensing; focuses on remote sensing methods and techniques for sustainable natural resources with emphasize on forests; answers questions on how and what the remote sensing methods and techniques can do for the sustainability of environmental systems; and examines the issues of energy use and sustainable energy sources using remote sensing technology in countries such as Germany, China, the U.S, drawing on case studies to demonstrate the applicability of remote sensing techniques.This comprehensive guide, which can serve to professors, researchers, and students alike, takes in consideration the United Nations set of sustainable development goals and intends to contribute to the GEO's Strategic Plan by addressing and exemplifying a number of societal benefit areas of remote sensing data sets, methods, and techniques for sustainable development.

This volume comprises an outstanding variety of chapters on Earth Observation based time series analyses, undertaken to reveal past and current land surface dynamics for large areas. What exactly are time series of Earth Observation data? Which sensors are available to generate real time series? How can they be processed to reveal their valuable hidden information? Which challenges are encountered on the way and which pre-processing is needed? And last but not least: which processes can be observed? How are large regions of our planet changing over time and which dynamics and trends are visible? These and many other questions are answered within this book “Remote Sensing Time Series Analyses – Revealing Land Surface Dynamics”. Internationally renowned experts from Europe, the USA and China present their exciting findings based on the exploitation of satellite data archives from well-known sensors such as AVHRR, MODIS, Landsat, ENVISAT, ERS and METOP amongst others. Selected review and methods chapters provide a good overview over time series processing and the recent advances in the optical and radar domain. A fine selection of application chapters addresses multi-class land cover and land use change at national to continental scale, the derivation of patterns of vegetation phenology, biomass assessments, investigations on snow cover duration and recent dynamics, as well as urban sprawl observed over time.

This book presents the state of the art technologies and solutions to tackle the critical challenges faced by the building and development of the WSN and ecological monitoring system but also potential impact on society at social, medical and technological level.This book is dedicated to Sensing systems for Sensors, Wireless Sensor Networks and Ecological Monitoring. The book aims at Master and PhD degree students, researchers, practitioners, especially WSN engineers involved with ecological monitoring. The book will provide an opportunity of a dedicated and a deep approach in order to improve their knowledge in this specific field.

The book focuses on the different aspects of sensing technology, i.e. high reliability, adaptability, recalibration, information processing, data fusion, validation and integration of novel and high performance sensors specifically aims to monitor agricultural and environmental parameters. This book is dedicated to Sensing systems for Agricultural and Environmental Monitoring offers to variety of users, namely, Master and PhD degree students, researchers, practitioners, especially Agriculture and Environmental engineers. The book will provide an opportunity of a dedicated and a deep approach in order to improve their knowledge in this specific field.

Using a systems analysis approach and extensive case studies, Environmental Remote Sensing and Systems Analysis shows how remote sensing can be used to support environmental decision making. It presents a multidisciplinary framework and the latest remote sensing tools to understand environmental impacts, management complexity, and policy implicatio

The key novelty of this book is first of all in the successful attempt to conduct jointly modeling of environment in terms of physical environment related parameters and measuring similar parameters by means of multispectral remote sensing, primarily by means of passive microwave remote sensing technology. Another new step is in the development and utilization of a multilevel approach which includes remote sensing of the land and water parameters like soil moisture, depth to water table, biomass of vegetation, temperature and salinity of water, in situ measurements of similar parameters and incorporation of GIS and data sets into the models of typical environments. The part of book, which contains remote sensing is focused on multipurpose observations from aircraft obtained in many soil-climatic zones in different countries and is reach of the examples of practical application. Applied mathematicians, geophysics, hydrologists, socio-economists, statesmans and other researchers of environmental changes will find a wealth of information and ideas in this book.

Unmanned systems and robotics technologies have become very popular recently owing to their ability to replace human beings in dangerous, tedious, or repetitious jobs. This book fill the gap in the field between research and real-world applications, providing scientists and engineers with essential information on how to design and employ networked unmanned vehicles for remote sensing and distributed control purposes. Target scenarios include environmental or agricultural applications such as river/reservoir surveillance, wind profiling measurement, and monitoring/control of chemical leaks.

Understanding the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment and their implications requires a foundation of integrated observations of land, sea, air and space, on which to build credible information products, forecast models, and other tools for making informed decisions. The 2007 National Research Council report on decadal survey called for a renewal of the national commitment to a program of Earth observations in which attention to securing practical benefits for humankind plays an equal role with the quest to acquire new knowledge about the Earth system. NASA responded favorably and aggressively to this survey, embracing its overall recommendations for Earth observations, missions, technology investments, and priorities for the underlying science. As a result, the science and applications communities have made significant progress over the past 5 years. However, the Committee on Assessment of NASA's Earth Science Program found that the survey vision is being realized at a far slower pace than was recommended, principally because the required budget was not achieved. Exacerbating the budget shortfalls, NASA Earth science programs experienced launch failures and delays and the cost of implementing missions increased substantially as a result of changes in mission scope, increases in launch vehicle costs and/or the lack of availability of a medium-class launch vehicle, under-estimation of costs by the decadal survey, and unfunded programmatic changes that were required by Congress and the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has made significant reductions in scope to its future Earth environmental observing satellites as it contends with budget shortfalls. Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA's Implementation of the Decadal Survey recommends a number of steps to better manage existing programs and to implement future programs that will be recommended by the next decadal survey. The report also highlights the urgent need for the Executive Branch to develop and implement an overarching multiagency national strategy for Earth observations from space, a key recommendation of the 2007 decadal survey that remains unfulfilled.

The interaction of the solar and heat radiation with the atmosphere and surface is the subject of the book. It is useful also for wide circle scientists involved in environmental studies. The book contains the description of 17 computer studying programs supporting different topics of courses. It includes only the base ground for comprehension of key topics and provides the accomplishment of practical works with using specially elaborated computer programs. Themes of practical works reflect main sections of mentioned courses of lectures. The packet of computer programs is added for solution of direct and inverse problems. It promotes deep and reliable comprehension of corresponding topics by students. All described approaches and computer programs are valuable resources for solving radiative transfer problems and they could be used by students for courses and diploma studies concerned atmospheric optics.

'Geospatial Information'is spatial data concerning a place or, in space, collected in real time. Geospatial techniques together with remote sensing, geographic information science, Global Positioning System (GPS), cartography, geovisualization, and spatial statistics are being used to capture, store, manipulate and analyze to understand complex situations to solve mysteries of the universe. These techniques have been applied in various fields such as meteorology, forestry, environmental management, agriculture, health, homeland security etc. around the globe. This volume presents case studies and examples from various parts of the world and provides a broad overview of various approaches; data sets; data acquiring, monitoring and dissemination methods; satellites and sensors; tools and techniques used; integrating tools, techniques and application to various fields for the sustainable management of environmental resources in the context of global environmental change and natural hazards. The objective of this book is to provide state-of-the-art information to academics, researchers and industry practitioners who are involved or interested in the study, use, design and development of advanced and emerging geospatial technologies around the world with ultimate aim to empower individuals and organizations in building competencies for exploiting the opportunities of the knowledge society. All the chapters are peer-reviewes and evaluated and are an inter- and multi-disciplinary source of information, making an effort to link various geospatial techniques to make the earth an habitable place. The contributors have tried to focus their respective views on the current problems that need urgent attention. Consequently, we see this book as a comprehensive information base, which includes work of expertise in their specific fields of research.

Remote sensing has witnessed a renaissance as new sensor systems, data collection capabilities and image processing methodologies have expanded the technological capabilities of this science into new and important applications areas. Perhaps nowhere has this trend been more evident than in the study of earth environments. Within this broad application area remote sensing has proven to be an invaluable asset supporting timely data gathering at a range of synoptic scales, facilitating the mapping of complex landscapes and promoting the analysis of environmental process. Yet remote sensing's contribution to the study of human/environmental interaction is scattered throughout a rich and diverse literature spanning the social and physical sciences, which frustrates access to, and the sharing of the knowledge gained through, these recent advances, and inhibits the operational use of these methods and techniques in day to day environmental practice, a recognized gap that reduces the effectiveness of environmental management programs. The objective of this book is to address this gap and provide the synthesis of method and application that is currently missing in the environmental science, re-introducing remote sensing as an important decision-support technology.

Remote Sensing plays a key role in monitoring the various manifestations of global climate change. It is used routinely in the assessment and mapping of biodiversity over large areas, in the monitoring of changes to the physical environment, in assessing threats to various components of natural systems, and in the identification of priority areas for conservation. This book presents the fundamentals of remote sensing technology, but rather than containing lengthy explanations of sensor specifications and operation, it concentrates instead on the application of the technology to key environmental systems. Each system forms the basis of a separate chapter, and each is illustrated by real world case studies and examples. Readership The book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in earth science, environmental science, or physical geography taking a course in environmental remote sensing. It will also be an invaluable reference for environmental scientists and managers who require an overview of the use of remote sensing in monitoring and mapping environmental change at regional and global scales. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/purkis/remote.

As coastal environments around the world face unprecedented natural and anthropogenic threats, advancements in the technologies that support geospatial data acquisition, imaging, and computing have profoundly enhanced monitoring capabilities in coastal studies. Providing systematic treatment of the key developments, Remote Sensing of Coastal Enviro

Inclusive education addresses the diverse learning needs of all kinds of learners. It reaches out to excluded groups and goes beyond providing physical access to learning institutions to encompass academic and instructional access to learning concepts. This report clearly presents the development of inclusive education and provides a rationale for strengthening it. The report identifies the various forms of exclusion from education and stresses the patterns of exclusion by subsector and by subregion in Asia and the Pacific. It serves two main purposes: as a strategic and operational guide for the Asian Development Bank and its education sector staff in strengthening inclusive education projects in developing member countries; and as an informative resource for education ministries, institutions, and other stakeholders of education in the region.

3D surface representation has long been a source of information describing surface character and facilitating an understanding of system dynamics from micro-scale (e.g. sand transport) to macro-scale (e.g. drainage channel network evolution). Data collection has been achieved through field mapping techniques and the use of remotely sensed data. Advances in this latter field have been considerable in recent years with new rapid-acquisition methods being developed centered around laser based technology. The advent of airborne and field based laser scanning instruments has allowed researchers to collect high density accurate data sets and these are revealing a wealth of new information and generating important new ideas concerning terrain characterisation and landform dynamics. The proposed book collates a series of invited peer revieved papers presented at the a conference on geoinformatics and LIDAR to be held at the National Centre for Geocomputation based in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Current constraints in field survey and DEM construction are reviewed together with technical and applied issues around the new technology. The utility of the data in process modelling is also covered. The book will be of great value to researchers in the field of geomorphology, geostatistics, remote sensing and GIS and will prove extremely useful to students and practitioners concerned with terrain analysis. The proposed work will: Highlight major technological breakthrough in 3D data collection. Feature examples of application across a wide range of environmental areas. Critically evaluate the role of laser based techniques in the environment. Detail theory and application of laser techniques in the natural environment.

Global Change is increasingly considered a critical topic in environmental research. Remote sensing methods provide a relevant tool to monitor global variables, since they offer a systematic coverage of the Earth Surface, at different spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions. The data provided by Earth Observation Satellites are being operationally used for monitoring atmospheric conditions, ice sheets and glaciar movements, crop dynamism and land use changes, deforestation and desertification processes, as well as water conditions. The book includes an analysis of the leading missions in global Earth observation, and then reviews the main fields in which remote sensing methods are providing vital data for global change studies.Audience: Academic libraries, practitioners, professionals, scientists, researchers, lecturers, tutors, graduates, undergraduates

Lessons learned in the last several years have given clear indications that the prediction and efficient monitoring of disasters is one of the critical factors in decision-making process. In this respect space-based technologies have the great potential of supplying information in near real time. Earth observation satellites have already demonstrated their flexibility in providing data to a wide range of applications: weather forecasting, person and vehicle tracking, alerting to disaster, forest fire and flood monitoring, oil spills, spread of desertification, monitoring of crop and forestry damages. This book focuses on a wider utilisation of remote sensing in disaster management. The discussed aspects comprise data access/delivery to the users, information extraction and analysis, management of data and its integration with other data sources (airborne and terrestrial imagery, GIS data, etc.), data standardization, organisational and legal aspects of sharing remote sensing information.

Natural and human-induced changes in Earth's interior, land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans affect all aspects of life. Understanding these changes requires a range of observations acquired from land-, sea-, air-, and space-based platforms. To assist NASA, NOAA, and USGS in developing these tools, the NRC was asked to carry out a'decadal strategy'survey of Earth science and applications from space that would develop the key scientific questions on which to focus Earth and environmental observations in the period 2005-2015 and beyond, and present a prioritized list of space programs, missions, and supporting activities to address these questions. This report presents a vision for the Earth science program; an analysis of the existing Earth Observing System and recommendations to help restore its capabilities; an assessment of and recommendations for new observations and missions for the next decade; an examination of and recommendations for effective application of those observations; and an analysis of how best to sustain that observation and applications system.

This book presents knowledge gained by the authors along with methods they developed, over more than 30 years of experience measuring, mod- ing, and mapping environmental space–time?elds. That experience embraces both large (continentwide) spatial domains and small. In part it comes from their research, working with students as well as coinvestigators. But much was gained from all sorts of interactions with many individuals who have had to contend with the challenges these?elds present. They include statistical as well as subject area scientists, in areas as diverse as analytical chemistry, airsampling,atmosphericscience,environmentalepidemiology,environmental risk management, and occupational health among others. We have colla- rated and consulted with government scientists as well as policy-makers, in all,alargegroupofindividualsfromwhomwehavelearnedalotandtowhom we are indebted. We hope all in these diverse groups will?nd something of value in this book. We believe it will also bene?t graduate students, both in statistics and subject areas who must deal with the analysis of environmental?elds. In fact we have given a successful statistics graduate course based on it. The book (and course) re?ect our conviction about the need for statistical scientiststolearnaboutthephenomenatheypurporttoexplain. Totheextent feasible, we have covered important nonstatistical issues involved in dealing with environmental processes. Thus in writing the book we have tried to strike a balance between important qualitative and quantitative aspects of the subject. Much of the most technical statistical-mathematical material has been placed in the starred sections, chapters, and appendices.