This is the first authored English book completely focused on global navigation satellite system reflectometry (GNSS-R). It consists of two main parts: the fundamental theory; and major applications, which include ocean altimetry, sea surface wind speed retrieval, snow depth measurement, soil moisture measurement, tsunami detection and sea ice detection. Striking a healthy balance between theory and practice, and featuring in-depth studies and extensive experimental results, the book introduces beginners to the fundamentals, while preparing experienced researchers to pursue advanced investigations and applications in GNSS-R.

This chapter has shown a small sample of GIS applications in economic devel- ment. GIS is a powerful tool for data analysis and presentation, and the economic development rami cations are truly signi cant. The speed at which data and stra- gies can be coordinated is clearly changing the way economic developers approach their job. There are a number of important trends that are likely to result in GIS becoming more pervasive in the economic development community. These include declining costs of GIS software, increased computing power, and the growth of Web-based GIS applications. There also has been increase in GIS skills among economic development professionals. References Bastian, L. (2002). Getting the best from the web. Area Development Site and Facility Planning, March 1-7. Accessed 5 September 2008. Batheldt, H. (2005). Geographies of production: growth regimes in spatial perspective (II) - kno- edge creation and growth in clusters. Progress in Human Geography, 29(2), 204-216. Bathelt,H.,Malmberg,A.,Maskell,P.(2004). Clustersandknowledge: localbuzz,globalpipelines and the process of knowledge creation. Progress in Human Geography, 28(1), 31-56. Bernthal, M., Regan, T. (2004). The economic impact of a NASCAR racetrack on a rural com- nity and region. Sports Marketing Quarterly, 13(1), 26-34. Blackwell, M., Cobb, S. Weinbert, D. (2002). The economic impact of educational institutions: Issues and methodology. Economic Development Quarterly, 16(1), 88-95. Blair, J. (1995). Local Economic Development, Analysis and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

This book examines the application of geotechniques to address a wide range of issues facing urban water resources. Growing populations leading to urbanization and related development have lead to problems associated with water quality, storm water management, flood control, environmental health, and related ecosystem impacts. Major cities and other urban areas are facing challenges in addressing the implications of impacts to water resources. Recent innovations in geotechnologies, including Geographic Information Science (GIS), remote sensing, and other spatial tools and techniques, provide great opportunities and potential to assist in dealing with these problems. This volume provides a series of case studies that examine the application of new methods and approaches in a range of geotechnologies as utilized to better understand and resolve urban water resource concerns in communities throughout the world. Computer based mapping, spatial analysis, satellite imagery, decision support systems, web based applications, aerial photography, and other methods are highlighted by their development and application. The research presented in this volume will provide for an excellent source of knowledge and learning to assist professionals, experts, and students with a better understanding of how the use of geotechnologies can be used to assist urban communities to address water resource challenges.

This book presents the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary review of the rapidly developing field of air lasing. In most applications of lasers, such as cutting and engraving, the laser source is brought to the point of service where the laser beam is needed to perform its function. However, in some important applications such as remote atmospheric sensing, placing the laser at a convenient location is not an option. Current sensing schemes rely on the detection of weak backscattering of ground-based, forward-propagating optical probes, and possess limited sensitivity. The concept of air lasing (or atmospheric lasing) relies on the idea that the constituents of the air itself can be used as an active laser medium, creating a backward-propagating, impulsive, laser-like radiation emanating from a remote location in the atmosphere. This book provides important insights into the current state of development of air lasing and its applications.

Advancements in digital sensor technology, digital image analysis techniques, as well as computer software and hardware have brought together the fields of computer vision and photogrammetry, which are now converging towards sharing, to a great extent, objectives and algorithms. The potential for mutual benefits by the close collaboration and interaction of these two disciplines is great, as photogrammetric know-how can be aided by the most recent image analysis developments in computer vision, while modern quantitative photogrammetric approaches can support computer vision activities. Devising methodologies for automating the extraction of man-made objects (e.g. buildings, roads) from digital aerial or satellite imagery is an application where this cooperation and mutual support is already reaping benefits. The valuable spatial information collected using these interdisciplinary techniques is of improved qualitative and quantitative accuracy. This book offers a comprehensive selection of high-quality and in-depth contributions from world-wide leading research institutions, treating theoretical as well as implementational issues, and representing the state-of-the-art on this subject among the photogrammetric and computer vision communities.

This edited volume gathers the proceedings of the Symposium GIS Ostrava 2016, the Rise of Big Spatial Data, held at the Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, March 16-18, 2016. Combining theoretical papers and applications by authors from around the globe, it summarises the latest research findings in the area of big spatial data and key problems related to its utilisation. Welcome to dawn of the big data era: though it's in sight, it isn't quite here yet. Big spatial data is characterised by three main features: volume beyond the limit of usual geo-processing, velocity higher than that available using conventional processes, and variety, combining more diverse geodata sources than usual. The popular term denotes a situation in which one or more of these key properties reaches a point at which traditional methods for geodata collection, storage, processing, control, analysis, modelling, validation and visualisation fail to provide effective solutions. >Entering the era of big spatial data calls for finding solutions that address all "small data" issues that soon create "big data" troubles. Resilience for big spatial data means solving the heterogeneity of spatial data sources (in topics, purpose, completeness, guarantee, licensing, coverage etc.), large volumes (from gigabytes to terabytes and more), undue complexity of geo-applications and systems (i.e. combination of standalone applications with web services, mobile platforms and sensor networks), neglected automation of geodata preparation (i.e. harmonisation, fusion), insufficient control of geodata collection and distribution processes (i.e. scarcity and poor quality of metadata and metadata systems), limited analytical tool capacity (i.e. domination of traditional causal-driven analysis), low visual system performance, inefficient knowledge-discovery techniques (for transformation of vast amounts of information into tiny and essential outputs) and much more. These trends are accelerating as sensors become more ubiquitous around the world.

This volume gathers together a representative set of examples from the many varied spatial techniques and analytical approaches being used by geographers, ecologists, and biogeographers to study plant and animal distributions, to assess processes affecting the observed patterns at selected spatial and temporal scales, and to discuss these examples within a strong conceptual spatial and/or temporal framework. Therefore, the aims of this volume are to: Identify the key spatial concepts that underpin Geographic Information Science (GISc) in biogeography and ecology; Review the development of these spatial concepts within geography and how they have been taken up in ecology and biogeography; Exemplify the use of the key spatial concepts underpinning GISc in biogeography and ecology using case studies from both vegetation science and animal ecology/biogeography that cover a wide range of spatial scales (from global to micro-scale) and different geographical regions (from arctic to humid tropical); and Develop an agenda for future research in GISc, which takes into account developments in biogeography and ecology, and their applications in GISc including remote sensing, geographic information systems, quantitative methods, spatial analysis, and data visualisation. B#/LISTB# The idea for GIS and Remote Sensing Applications in Biogeography and Ecology arose from two joint symposia organized by the Biogeography Study Group of the International Geographical Union; the Biogeography, Remote Sensing, and GIS Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers, and the Biogeography Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers and held in Leicester andHonolulu in 1999. These groups represent the majority of geographers conducting research in biogeography and ecology and teaching this material to geographers. While this material is increasingly being covered in a variety of disciplines and sub-disciplines (e.g., large-area ecology, landscape ecology, remote sensing and GIS), many researchers in these fields lack the training in spatial concepts behind the techniques that they utilize. The spatial concepts that are covered in this book are richer than those found within landscape ecology at the present time, and GIS and Remote Sensing Applications in Biogeography and Ecology will promote the use of many of these concepts among landscape ecologists.GIS and Remote Sensing Applications in Biogeography and Ecology is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate level course, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

This second edition includes updated chapters from the first edition as well as five additional new chapters (Light detection and ranging (LiDAR), CORONA historical de-classified products, Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs), GNSS-reflectometry and GNSS applications to climate variability), shifting the main focus from monitoring and management to extreme hydro-climatic and food security challenges and exploiting big data. Since the publication of first edition, much has changed in terms of technology, and the demand for geospatial data has increased with the advent of the big data era. For instance, the use of laser scanning has advanced so much that it is unavoidable in most environmental monitoring tasks, whereas unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs)/drones are emerging as efficient tools that address food security issues as well as many other contemporary challenges. Furthermore, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are now responding to challenges posed by climate change by unravelling the impacts of teleconnection (e.g., ENSO) as well as advancing the use of reflected signals (GNSS-reflectometry) to monitor, e.g., soil moisture variations. Indeed all these rely on the explosive use of "big data" in many fields of human endeavour. Moreover, with the ever-increasing global population, intense pressure is being exerted on the Earth's resources, leading to significant changes in its land cover (e.g., deforestation), diminishing biodiversity and natural habitats, dwindling fresh water supplies, and changing weather and climatic patterns (e.g., global warming, changing sea level). Environmental monitoring techniques that provide information on these are under scrutiny from an increasingly environmentally conscious society that demands the efficient delivery of such information at a minimal cost. Environmental changes vary both spatially and temporally, thereby putting pressure on traditional methods of data acquisition, some of which are highly labour intensive, such as animal tracking for conservation purposes. With these challenges, conventional monitoring techniques, particularly those that record spatial changes call for more sophisticated approaches that deliver the necessary information at an affordable cost. One direction being pursued in the development of such techniques involves environmental geoinformatics, which can act as a stand-alone method or complement traditional methods.

These proceedings are aimed at researchers, industry / market operators and students from different backgrounds (scientific, engineering and humanistic) whose work is either focused on or affined to Location Based Services (LBS). It contributes to the following areas: positioning / indoor positioning, smart environments and spatial intelligence, spatiotemporal data acquisition, processing, and analysis, data mining and knowledge discovery, personalization and context-aware adaptation, LBS visualization techniques, novel user interfaces and interaction techniques, smart phone navigation and LBS techniques, three-dimensional visualization in the LBS context, augmented reality in an LBS context, innovative LBS systems and applications, way finding /navigation ( indoor/outdoor), indoor navigation databases, user studies and evaluations, privacy issues in LBS, usability issues in LBS, legal and business aspects of LBS, LBS and Web 2.0, open source solutions and standards, ubiquitous computing, smart cities and seamless positioning.

This book presents advances in matrix and tensor data processing in the domain of signal, image and information processing. The theoretical mathematical approaches are discusses in the context of potential applications in sensor and cognitive systems engineering.
The topics and application include Information Geometry, Differential Geometry of structured Matrix, Positive Definite Matrix, Covariance Matrix, Sensors (Electromagnetic Fields, Acoustic sensors) and Applications in Cognitive systems, in particular Data Mining."

For one-semester courses in Introductory Remote Sensing as well as Introductory Airphoto Interpretation. This widely adopted book introduces the fundamentals of remote sensing from an earth resource (versus engineering) perspective. Emphasis is on turning remote sensing data into useful spatial biophysical or socio-economic information that can be used to make decisions.

Light scattering by densely packed inhomogeneous media is a particularly ch- lenging optics problem. In most cases, only approximate methods are used for the calculations. However, in the case where only a small number of macroscopic sc- tering particles are in contact (clusters or aggregates) it is possible to obtain exact results solving Maxwell's equations. Simulations are possible, however, only for a relativelysmallnumberofparticles,especiallyiftheirsizesarelargerthanthewa- length of incident light. The ?rst review chapter in PartI of this volume, prepared by Yasuhiko Okada, presents modern numerical techniques used for the simulation of optical characteristics of densely packed groups of spherical particles. In this case, Mie theory cannot provide accurate results because particles are located in the near ?eld of each other and strongly interact. As a matter of fact, Maxwell's equations must be solved not for each particle separately but for the ensemble as a whole in this case. The author describes techniques for the generation of shapes of aggregates. The orientation averaging is performed by a numerical integration with respect to Euler angles. The numerical aspects of various techniques such as the T-matrix method, discrete dipole approximation, the ?nite di?erence time domain method, e?ective medium theory, and generalized multi-particle Mie so- tion are presented. Recent advances in numerical techniques such as the grouping and adding method and also numerical orientation averaging using a Monte Carlo method are discussed in great depth.

This book will cover the fundamental principles of measuring oceans from space, but will contain state-of-the-art developments in data analysis and interpretation and in sensors. Completely new will be material covering advances in oceanography that have grown out of remote sensing, including some of the global applications of the data. The variety of applications of remotely sensed data to ocean science has grown significantly and new areas of science are emerging to exploit the gobal datasets being recovered by satellites, particularly in relation to climate and climate change, basin-scale, air-sea interaction processes (e.g. El Niño) and the modelling, forecasting and prediction of the ocean.

This book covers the entire field of satellite geodesy and is intended to serve as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a reference for professionals and scientists in the fields of engineering and geosciences such as geodesy, surveying engineering, geomatics, geography, navigation, geophysics and oceanography. The text provides a systematic overview of fundamentals including reference systems, time, signal propagation and satellite orbits, together with observation methods such as satellite laser ranging, satellite altimetry, gravity field missions, very long baseline interferometry, Doppler techniques, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Particular emphasis is given to positioning techniques, such as the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), and to applications. Numerous examples are included which refer to recent results in the fields of global and regional control networks; gravity field modeling; Earth rotation and global reference frames; crustal motion monitoring; cadastral and engineering surveying; geoinformation systems; land, air, and marine navigation; marine and glacial geodesy; and photogrammetry and remote sensing. This book will be an indispensable source of information for all concerned with satellite geodesy and its applications, in particular for spatial referencing, geoinformation, navigation, geodynamics, and operational positioning.

Homeland security and context In the Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism (GDOT) (Cutter et al. 2003), the first book after 9/11 to address homeland security and geography, we developed several thematic research agendas and explored intersections between geographic research and the importance of context, both geographical and political, in relationship to the concepts of terrorism and security. It is good to see that a great deal of new thought and research continues to flow from that initial research agenda, as illustrated by many of the papers of this new book, entitled Geospatial Technologies and Homeland Security: Research Frontiers and Future Challenges. Context is relevant not only to understanding homeland security issues broadly, but also to the conduct of research on geospatial technologies. It is impossible to understand the implications of a homeland security strategy, let alone hope to make predictions, conduct meaningful modeling and research, or assess the value and dangers of geospatial technologies, without consideration of overarching political, social, economic, and geographic contexts within which these questions are posed.

The Real and Virtual Worlds of Spatial Planning brings together contributions from leaders in landscape, transportation, and urban planning. They present case studies - from North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa - that ground the exploration of ideas in the realities of sustainable urban and regional planning, landscape planning and present the prospects for using virtual worlds for modeling spatial environments and their application in planning. The first part explores the challenges for planning in the real world that are caused by the dynamics of socio-spatial systems as well as by the contradictions of their evolutionary trends related to their spatial layout. The second part presents diverse concepts to model, analyze, visualize, monitor and control socio-spatial systems by using virtual worlds

Acquiring spatial data for geoinformation systems is still mainly done by human operators who analyze images using classical photogrammetric equipment or digitize maps, possibly assisted by some low level image processing. Automation of these tasks is difficult due to the complexity of the object, the topography, and the deficiency of current pattern recognition and image analysis tools for achieving a reliable transition from the data to the high level description of topographic objects. It appears that progress in automation only can be achieved by incorporating domain-specific semantic models into the analysis procedures. This volume collects papers which were presented at the Workshop "SMATI '97." The workshop focused on "Semantic Modeling for the Acquisition of Topographic Information from Images and Maps." This volume offers a comprehensive selection of high-quality and in-depth contributions by experts of the field coming from leading research institutes, treating both theoretical and implementation issues and integrating aspects of photogrammetry, cartography, computer vision, and image understanding.

Realistic and immersive simulations of land, sea, and sky are requisite to the military use of visual simulation for mission planning. Until recently, the simulation of natural environments has been limited first of all by the pixel resolution of visual displays. Visual simulation of those natural environments has also been limited by the scarcity of detailed and accurate physical descriptions of them. Our aim has been to change all that. To this end, many of us have labored in adjacent fields of psych- ogy, engineering, human factors, and computer science. Our efforts in these areas were occasioned by a single question: how distantly can fast-jet pilots discern the aspect angle of an opposing aircraft, in visual simulation? This question needs some ela- ration: it concerns fast jets, because those simulations involve the representation of high speeds over wide swaths of landscape. It concerns pilots, since they begin their careers with above-average acuity of vision, as a population. And it concerns aspect angle, which is as much as to say that the three-dimensional orientation of an opposing aircraft relative to one's own, as revealed by motion and solid form. v vi Preface The single question is by no means simple. It demands a criterion for eye-limiting resolution in simulation. That notion is a central one to our study, though much abused in general discussion. The question at hand, as it was posed in the 1990s, has been accompanied by others.

The fast exchange of information and knowledge are the essential conditions for successful and effective research and practical applications in cartography. For successful research development, it is necessary to follow trends not only in this domain, but also try to adapt new trends and technologies from other areas. Trends in cartography are also quite often topics of many conferences which have the main aim to link research, education and application experts in cartography and GIS&T into one large platform. Such the right place for exchange and sharing of knowledge and skills was also the CARTOCON2014 conference, which took place in Olomouc, Czech Republic, in February 2014 and this book is a compilation of the best and most interesting contributions. The book content consists of four parts. The first part New approaches in map and atlas making collects studies about innovative ways in map production and atlases compilation. Following part of the book Progress in web cartography brings examples and tools for web map presentation. The third part Advanced methods in map use includes achievement of eye-tracking research and users' issues. The final part Cartography in practice and research is a clear evidence that cartography and maps played the significant role in many geosciences and in many branches of the society. Each individual paper is original and has its place in cartography.

The experience developed by Ian McHarg represents the first attempt to base environmental planning on more objective methods. In particular, he supposed that the real world can be considered as a layer cake and each layer represents a sectoral analysis. This metaphor represents the fundamental of overlay mapping. At the beginning, these principles have been applied only by hand, just considering the degree of darkness, produced by layer transparency, as a negative impact. In the following years, this craftmade approach, has been adopted for data organization in Geographical Information Systems producing analyses with a high level of quality and rigour. Nowadays, great part of studies in environmental planning field have been developed using GIS. The next step relative to the simple use of geographic information in supporting environmental planning is the adoption of spatial simulation models, which can predict the evolution of phenomena. As the use of spatial information has definitely improved the quality of data sets on which basing decision-making process, the use of Geostatistics, spatial simulation and, more generally, geocomputation methods allows the possibility of basing the decision-making process on predicted future scenarios. It is very strange that a discipline such as planning which programs the territory for the future years in great part of cases is not based on simulation models. Sectoral analyses, often based on surveys, are not enough to highlight dynamics of an area. Better knowing urban and environmental changes occurred in the past, it is possible to provide better simulations to predict possible tendencies. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the main methods and techniques adopted in the field of environmental geocomputation in order to produce a more sustainable development.

This book is geared for advanced level research in the general subject area of remote sensing and modeling as they apply to the coastal marine environment. The various chapters focus on the latest scientific and technical advances in the service of better understanding coastal marine environments for their care, conservation and management. Chapters specifically deal with advances in remote sensing coastal classifications, environmental monitoring, digital ocean technological advances, geophysical methods, geoacoustics, X-band radar, risk assessment models, GIS applications, real-time modeling systems, and spatial modeling. Readers will find this book useful because it summarizes applications of new research methods in one of the world s most dynamic and complicated environments. Chapters in this book will be of interest to specialists in the coastal marine environment who deals with aspects of environmental monitoring and assessment via remote sensing techniques and numerical modeling."