Fundamentals of satellite remote sensing (with CD-ROM)

Human beings have certainly demonstrated their capacity to make long-term impacts on how natural systems work, but these impacts don't have to be negative. However, to make better decisions, better information is required, and better understanding of the tools used to acquire and interpret that information is also crucial. An extensive review of remote sensing principles with emphasis on environmental applications, Fundamentals of Satellite Remote Sensing discusses a wide range of topics, from physical principles to data acquisition systems and on to visual and digital interpretation techniques. This textbook focuses on the interpretation and analysis of remote sensing images and how they improve our understanding of environmental processes and their interaction with human activities. The authors discuss new interpretation approaches, including hyperspectral analysis, high-spatial resolution data, and radiative transfer models. The presentation includes an analysis of accuracy assessment methods and demonstrates how to integrate remote sensing results with geographic information systems. It also covers recent missions, such as Terra-Aqua, Envisat, Ikonos-Quickbird-Geoeye and SPOT-5, as well as new sensors, such as lidar and interpherometric radar. The discussion of visual criteria to extract interpretation from satellite images emphasizes differences and similarities with conventional photo-interpretation techniques. A chapter on accuracy assessment and the connection between remote sensing and geographic information systems helps readers extend the interpretation of satellite images to a more operational, applications-oriented framework.