Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change
By: Samuel J. Purkis, Victor V. Klemas
Published: March 22, 2011
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 1405182253
ISBN-13: 978-1405182256
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
"Remote sensing is primarily concerned with collecting and interpreting information about an object or landscape from a remote vantage point", write Associate Professor at the National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Florida, Samuel J. Purkis; and Professor Emeritus Oceanography, University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, Victor V. Klemas; in their practical and technology application oriented book Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change. The authors provide an overview of the applications of remote sensing for in depth study, mapping, and monitoring of global environmental change.
Samuel J. Purkis (photo left) and Victor V. Klemas recognize the importance of remote sensing for monitoring the impact of worldwide climate change. The authors present a practical, technology based approach to the subject matter, as they emphasize the uses and applications of remote sensing for environmental study. The authors describe the methodology for applying remote sensing to assess and map global biodiversity, record and monitor changes to the physical environment, and assess the level of potential threats to the various facets of the Earth's natural systems. The authors demonstrate how remote sensing data can be utilized to identify area,s that may require conservation efforts, and other priority monitoring of potential problems.
Victor V. Klemas (photo left) and Samuel J. Purkis provide a solutions based approach to employing remote sensing technology and methodology to addressing the most pressing environmental issues and concerns. The authors examine several remote sensor technologies, as well as their various applications, to a wide variety of global environmental change areas. Following an overview of the basics of remote sensing, the various sensors and digital image analysis techniques, the authors focus the book on the range of applications available for studying and monitoring change in widely different environments.
The authors describe the various remote sensing applications for monitoring:
* Change in global vegetation cover
* Urban environments
* Surface and ground water resources
* Coral reefs, carbon, and climate
* Coastal impact of storm surges and sea level rise
* The oceans
* Earth's atmosphere
* The cryoshere
For me, the power of the book is how Samuel J. Purkis and Victor V. Klemas provide a comprehensive overview of the role of remote sensing, and its various technologies, in studying and monitoring global climate and environmental change. The authors demonstrate how to apply remote sensing applications through a systematic approach to the subject matter. The book is both engaging and instructive, and of tremendous value for students, professionals, and policy makers in various environmental disciplines.
Whether the field is earth sciences, environmental science, or physical geography, students will discover the technologies and applications of remote sensing in an approachable and readily understood format. The addition of many graphics and full color images enhance, and provide an important visual supplement to the well described and presented concepts.
I highly recommend the well explained and invaluable reference book Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change by Samuel J. Purkis and Victor V. Klemas, to any students, professionals, and policy makers who are seeking a comprehensive and well presented approach to the application of remote sensing technology to global environmental change. This book will enhance and enrich your understanding of remote sensing, and of its accompanying technologies and environmental applications.
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