Satellite Remote Sensing of Natural Resources offers an introduction to digital remote sensing. This comprehensive text emphasizes the basics, with simple concepts presented in clear, easy-to-understand language. For those who are interested in practical remote sensing but do not have an extensive background in math and statistics, this primer is invaluable. The main topics covered include satellite images, image processing systems, spectral regions, radiometric and geometric corrections, supervised and unsupervised classification, and accuracy assessment. Each chapter concludes with a section of sample problems and list of additional readings.

The ability to anticipate the impacts of global environmental changes on natural resources is fundamental to designing appropriate and optimised adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, this requires the scientific community to have access to reliable, large-scale information on spatio-temporal changes in the distribution of abiotic conditions and on the distribution, structure, composition, and functioning of ecosystems. Satellite remote sensing can provide access to some of this fundamental data by offering repeatable, standardised, and verifiable information that is directly relevant to the monitoring and management of our natural capital. This book demonstrates how ecological knowledge and satellite-based information can be effectively combined to address a wide array of current natural resource management needs. By focusing on concrete applied examples in both the marine and terrestrial realms, it will help pave the way for developing enhanced levels of collaboration between the ecological and remote sensing communities, as well as shaping their future research directions. Satellite Remote Sensing and the Management of Natural Resources is primarily aimed at ecologists and remote sensing specialists, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, biodiversity monitoring, and natural resource management.

Highlighting new technologies, Remote Sensing of Natural Resources explores advanced remote sensing systems and algorithms for image processing, enhancement, feature extraction, data fusion, image classification, image-based modeling, image-based sampling design, map accuracy assessment and quality control. It also discusses their applications for evaluation of natural resources, including sampling design, land use and land cover classification, natural landscape and ecosystem assessment, forestry, agriculture, biomass and carbon-cycle modeling, wetland classification and dynamics monitoring, and soils and minerals mapping. The book combines review articles with case studies that demonstrate recent advances and developments of methods, techniques, and applications of remote sensing, with each chapter on a specific area of natural resources. Through a comprehensive examination of the wide range of applications of remote sensing technologies to natural resources, the book provides insight into advanced remote sensing systems, technologies, and algorithms for researchers, scientists, engineers, and decision makers.

Satellite Remote Sensing of Natural Resources offers an introduction to digital remote sensing. This comprehensive text emphasizes the basics, with simple concepts presented in clear, easy-to-understand language. For those who are interested in practical remote sensing but do not have an extensive background in math and statistics, this primer is invaluable. The main topics covered include satellite images, image processing systems, spectral regions, radiometric and geometric corrections, supervised and unsupervised classification, and accuracy assessment. Each chapter concludes with a section of sample problems and list of additional readings.

An Interregional Expert Meeting on the Use of Satellite Imaging RADAR and Thematic Mapping in Natural Resources Development, organized by the Economic and Social Develop ment Center of the German Foundation for International Development - DSE - in co-operation with the United Nations Department of Technical Co-operation for Develop ment - DTCD - was held in Berlin (West) from 21 November to 4 December 1984. As a result of this meeting, the participants made the following recommendations: A. REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS AND AVAILABILITY OF DATA 1. Acquisition Platforms and their Continuity The participants expressed concern over the insecurity which clouds the future of orbital remote sensing platforms - the U. S. Landsat series should be continued, if at all possible. The planned initial ten-year operational lifetime of SPOT is en couraging and received support. ESA/ERS 1, Japanl J-ERS 1 and Canada's RADARSAT programmes should be given full imple mentation commitment, as soon as possible, and plans should be developed for system continuity. The participants noted that development of national and regional remote sensing programmes in developing nations, and establishment and upgrading of appropriate ground receiving stations for these systems depends critically on the prospect of platform continuity. vii SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING FOR RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT 2. Future Developments (a) Future developments in microwave remote sensing from space should be encouraged so as to circumvent, among others, the problem of cloud cover and to facilitate extension of application areas.

Lists citations with abstracts for aerospace related reports obtained from world wide sources and announces documents that have recently been entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Database.