Images of the Earth

The author, writing from experience as a consultant and teacher, here provides an accessible guide that sets out the scientific principles of remote sensing. Many case studies are included which show how remote sensing can be applied to environmental and other problems. It is designed as supplementary reading for undergraduates, and also for college and sixth-form students and the general reader.Table of ContentIntroduction. Chapter 1 The Problems. 1.1: Water. 1.2: Food. 1.3: Natural disasters. 1.4: Physical communications. 1.5: Physical resources. 1.6: Natural environments. 1.7: Security. Chapter 2 Getting the Information. 2.1: Human perception. 2.2: Radiation and matter. 2.2.1: Reflection and absorption. 2.2.2: Thermal emission. 2.2.3: Artificial radiation. 2.3: Detecting radiation. 2.3.1: Photographs. 2.3.2: Electromechanical methods. 2.3.3: Passive Microwave imaging. 2.3.4: Active microwave or radar imaging. 2.4: Sources of remotely sensed data. 2.4.1: A short history of remote sensing. 2.4.2: Airborne data. 2.4.3: Data from satellites. 2.5: Displaying information. 2.5.1: Other kinds of data. Chapter 3 Interpreting the Information. 3.1: The Weather and Climate. 3.2: The Sea. 3.3: The Land. 3.4: Natural vegetation. 3.5: Use of the Land. 3.6: Beneath the Surface. Chapter 4 Using the Information. 4.1: Water resources. 4.2: Food and fibre. 4.3: Physical resources. 4.4: Communications. 4.5: Disasters. 4.6: Environmental change. 4.7: Military uses. Chapter 6 Operational Issues. 5.1: Benefits. 5.2: Costs. 5.3: Training. 5.4: Data distribution. 5.5: Future prospects. Appendix. A.1 Training opportunities. A.2 Sources of images. Further reading. Glossary. Index