The aquatic coastal zone is one of the most challenging targets for environmental remote sensing. Properties such as bottom reflectance, spectrally diverse suspended sediments and phytoplankton communities, diverse benthic communities, and transient events that affect surface reflectance (coastal blooms, runoff, etc.) all combine to produce an optical complexity not seen in terrestrial or open ocean systems. Despite this complexity, remote sensing is proving to be an invaluable tool for "Case 2" waters. This book presents recent advances in coastal remote sensing with an emphasis on applied science and management. Case studies of the operational use of remote sensing in ecosystem studies, monitoring, and interfacing remote sensing/science/management are presented. Spectral signatures of phytoplankton and suspended sediments are discussed in detail with accompanying discussion of why blue water (Case 1) algorithms cannot be applied to Case 2 waters.

Audience

This book is targeted for scientists and managers interested in using remote sensing in the study or management of aquatic coastal environments. With only limited discussion of optics and theory presented in the book, such researchers might benefit from the detailed presentations of aquatic spectral signatures, and to operational management issues. While not specifically written for remote sensing scientists, it will prove to be a useful reference for this community for the current status of aquatic coastal remote sensing.

CD included

An interactive CD accompanies this book containing the WASI program by Peter Gege (DLR, Germany). The WASI program allows users to interactively manipulate and view coastally relevantspectra. The CD also contains full color images of a selection of illustrations which are printed as black and white figures in the book.

Focusing on nanophotonics, which has been proposed by M. Ohtsu in 1993, this volume begins with theories for operation principles of characteristic nanophotonic devices and continues with novel optical near field phenomena for fabricating nanophotonic devices. Further topics include: unique properties of optical near fields and their applications to operating nanophotonic devices; and nanophotonic information and communications systems that can overcome the integration-density limit with ultra-low-power operation as well as unique functionalities. Taken as a whole, this overview will be a valuable resource for engineers and scientists working in the field of nano-electro-optics.

This text on contemporary optical systems is intended for optical researchers and engineers, graduate students and optical microscopists in the biological and biomedical sciences. In three sections, the book discusses high-aperture optical systems, nonlinear optical techniques, and various techniques that are finding new applications. The new second edition has been thoroughly revised and expanded to account for new advances in fluorescence imaging and diffractive optical lenses.

This book consists of the identification, characterization, and modeling of electromagnetic interferences in substations for the deployment of wireless sensor networks. The authors present in chapter 3 the measurement setup to record sequences of impulsive noise samples in the ISM band of interest. The setup can measure substation impulsive noise, in wide band, with enough samples per time window and enough precision to allow a statistical study of the noise. During the measurement campaign, the authors recorded around 120 noise sequences in different substations and for four ranges of equipment voltage, which are 25 kV, 230 kV, 315 kV and 735 kV. A characterization process is proposed, by which physical characteristics of partial discharge can be measured in terms of first- and second-order statistics. From the measurement campaign, the authors infer the characteristics of substation impulsive noise as a function of the substation equipment voltage, and can provide representative parameters for the four voltage ranges and for several existing impulsive noise models. The authors investigate in chapters 4 and 5 the modeling of electromagnetic interferences caused by partial discharge sources. First, the authors propose a complete and coherent approach model that links physical characteristics of high-voltage installations to the induced radio-interference spectra of partial discharge sources. The goodness-of-fit of the proposed physical model has been measured based on some interesting statistical metrics. This allows one to assess the effectiveness of the authors' approach in terms of first- and second-order statistics. Chapter 6 proposes a model based on statistical approach. Indeed, substation impulsive noise is composed of correlated impulses, which would require models with memory in order to replicate a similar correlation. Among different models, we have configured a Partitioned Markov Chain (PMC) with 19 states (one state for the background noise and 18 states for the impulse); this Markov-Gaussian model is able to generate impulsive noise with correlated impulse samples. The correlation is observable on the impulse duration and the power spectrum of the impulses. Our PMC model provides characteristics that are more similar to the characteristics of substation impulsive noise in comparison with other models, in terms of time and frequency response, as well as Probability Density Functions (PDF). Although PMC represents reliably substation impulsive noise, the model remains complex in terms of parameter estimation due to a large number of Markov states, which can be an obstacle for future wireless system design. In order to simplify the model, the authors decrease the number of states to 7 by assigning one state to the background noise and 6 states to the impulse and we call this model PMC-6. PMC-6 can generate realistic impulses and can be easily implemented in a receiver in order to mitigate substation impulsive noise. Representative parameters are provided in order to replicate substation impulsive noise for different voltage ranges (25-735 kV). Chapter 7, a generalized radio-noise model for substations is proposed, in which there are many discharges sources that are randomly distributed over space and time according to the Poisson field of interferers approach. This allows for the identification of some interesting statistical properties of moments, cumulants and probability distributions. These can, in turn, be utilized in signal processing algorithms for rapid partial discharge's identification, localization, and impulsive noise mitigation techniques in wireless communications in substations. The primary audience for this book is the electrical and power engineering industry, electricity providers and companies who are interested in substation automation systems using wireless communication technologies for smart grid applications. Researchers, engineers and students studying and working in wireless communication will also want to buy this book as a reference.

Image segmentation consists of dividing an image domain into disjoint regions according to a characterization of the image within or in-between the regions. Therefore, segmenting an image is to divide its domain into relevant components. The efficient solution of the key problems in image segmentation promises to enable a rich array of useful applications. The current major application areas include robotics, medical image analysis, remote sensing, scene understanding, and image database retrieval. The subject of this book is image segmentation by variational methods with a focus on formulations which use closed regular plane curves to define the segmentation regions and on a level set implementation of the corresponding active curve evolution algorithms. Each method is developed from an objective functional which embeds constraints on both the image domain partition of the segmentation and the image data within or in-between the partition regions. The necessary conditions to optimize the objective functional are then derived and solved numerically. The book covers, within the active curve and level set formalism, the basic two-region segmentation methods, multiregion extensions, region merging, image modeling, and motion based segmentation. To treat various important classes of images, modeling investigates several parametric distributions such as the Gaussian, Gamma, Weibull, and Wishart. It also investigates non-parametric models. In motion segmentation, both optical flow and the movement of real three-dimensional objects are studied.

Soft Computing Approach to Pattern Classification and Object Recognition establishes an innovative, unified approach to supervised pattern classification and model-based occluded object recognition. The book also surveys various soft computing tools, fuzzy relational calculus (FRC), genetic algorithm (GA) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) to provide a strong foundation for the reader. The supervised approach to pattern classification and model-based approach to occluded object recognition are treated in one framework , one based on either a conventional interpretation or a new interpretation of multidimensional fuzzy implication (MFI) and a novel notion of fuzzy pattern vector (FPV). By combining practice and theory, a completely independent design methodology was developed in conjunction with this supervised approach on a unified framework, and then tested thoroughly against both synthetic and real-life data. In the field of soft computing, such an application-oriented design study is unique in nature. The monograph essentially mimics the cognitive process of human decision making, and carries a message of perceptual integrity in representational diversity. Soft Computing Approach to Pattern Classification and Object Recognition is intended for researchers in the area of pattern classification and computer vision. Other academics and practitioners will also find the book valuable.

The first of its kind, this book reviews image processing tools and techniques including Independent Component Analysis, Mutual Information, Markov Random Field Models and Support Vector Machines. The book also explores a number of experimental examples based on a variety of remote sensors. The book will be useful to people involved in hyperspectral imaging research, as well as by remote-sensing data like geologists, hydrologists, environmental scientists, civil engineers and computer scientists.

The book describes first the principle photon generation processes from nuclear reactions, electron motion and from discrete quantum transitions. It then focuses on the use of photons in various selected fields of modern natural and life sciences. It bridges disciplines such as physics, chemistry, earth- and materials science, proteomics, information technology, photoelectrochemistry, photosynthesis and spintronics. Advanced light sources and their use in natural and life sciences are emphasized and the effects related to the quantum nature of photons (quantum computing, teleportation) are described. The content encompasses among many other examples the role of photons on the origin of life and on homochirality in biology, femtosecond laser slicing, photothermal cancer therapy, the use of gamma rays in materials science, photoelectrochemical surface conditioning, quantum information aspects and photo-spintronics. The book is written for scientists and graduate students from all related disciplines who are interested in the science beyond their immediate research field. It is meant to encourage interdisciplinary research and development in an age where nanoscience results in a convergence of formerly more disparate science.

This thesis covers the few-cycle laser-driven acceleration of electrons in a laser-generated plasma. This process, known as laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), relies on strongly driven plasma waves for the generation of accelerating gradients in the vicinity of several 100 GV/m, a value four orders of magnitude larger than that attainable by conventional accelerators. This thesis demonstrates that laser pulses with an ultrashort duration of 8 fs and a peak power of 6 TW allow the production of electron energies up to 50 MeV via LWFA. The special properties of laser accelerated electron pulses, namely the ultrashort pulse duration, the high brilliance, and the high charge density, open up new possibilities in many applications of these electron beams.

This book treats the phenomena and techniques of advanced optics confined in nanometer-scale regions, especially near-field optics and surface as well as local plasmons. Written by internationally distinguished scientists the coverage extends from the basics to the most advanced technologies, system characteristics and methods of manipulation.

This practitioner's look at optical transmission gives you essential, hands-on guidance to engineering for optimal network performance. Real-world applications illustrate in detail the principles of transmission systems engineering. Complete with tables containing optical signal, noise and impairment parameters, this book is a useful tool for calculating and modelling network transmission capabilities, evaluating tradeoffs among systems parameters and transmission optimization, and assessing optical transport limits and penalties. The book includes a series of transmission scenarios that help you ensure network transmission under worst case conditions, establish benchmarks for innovating high-performance, high-reliability optical transmission equipment, and achieve other network performance goals. An overview of systems engineering and optical networking fundamentals quickly brings students and novices up to speed on a wide range of critical topics all practitioners need to understand.

Mathematical methods play a significant role in the rapidly growing field of nonlinear optical materials. This volume discusses a number of successful or promising contributions. The overall theme of this volume is twofold: (1) the challenges faced in computing and optimizing nonlinear optical material properties; and (2) the exploitation of these properties in important areas of application. These include the design of optical amplifiers and lasers, as well as novel optical switches. Research topics in this volume include how to exploit the magnetooptic effect, how to work with the nonlinear optical response of materials, how to predict laser-induced breakdown in efficient optical devices, and how to handle electron cloud distortion in femtosecond processes.

Demonstrational Optics presents a new didactical approach to the study of optics. It emphasizes the importance of elaborate new experimental demonstrations, pictorial illustrations, computer simulations and models of optical phenomena in order to ensure a deeper understanding of wave and geometric optics. It includes problems focused on the pragmatic needs of students, secondary school teachers, university professors and optical engineers. Part 2, Coherent and Statistical Optics, contains chapters on interference, diffraction, Fourier optics, light quanta, thermal radiation (Shot noise and Gaussian light), Correlation of light fields and Correlation of light intensities. A substantial part of this volume is devoted to thermal radiation and its properties, especially with partial coherence. A detailed treatment of the photo-effect with respect to statistical properties leads to the basics of statistical optics. To illustrate the phenomena covered by this volume, a large number of demonstration experiments are described and discussed. In the chapters devoted to statistical phenomena computer simulations are described, the code of all relevant programs being included.

An exciting new development has taken place in the digital era that has captured the imagination and talent of researchers around the globe - wavelet image compression. This technology has deep roots in theories of vision, and promises performance improvements over all other compression methods, such as those based on Fourier transforms, vectors quantizers, fractals, neural nets, and many others. It is this revolutionary new technology that is presented in Wavelet Image and Video Compression, in a form that is accessible to the largest audience possible. Wavelet Image and Video Compression is divided into four parts. Part I, Background Material, introduces the basic mathematical structures that underly image compression algorithms with the intention of providing an easy introduction to the mathematical concepts that are prerequisites for the remainder of the book. It explains such topics as change of bases, scalar and vector quantization, bit allocation and rate-distortion theory, entropy coding, the discrete-cosine transform, wavelet filters and other related topics. Part II, Still Image Coding, presents a spectrum of wavelet still image coding techniques. Part III, Special Topics in Still Image Coding, provides a variety of example coding schemes with a special flavor in either approach or application domain. Part IV, Video Coding, examines wavelet and pyramidal coding techniques for video data. Wavelet Image and Video Compression serves as an excellent reference and may be used as a text for advanced courses covering the subject.

With a preface by Ton Kalker. Informed Watermarking is an essential tool for both academic and professional researchers working in the areas of multimedia security, information embedding, and communication. Theory and practice are linked, particularly in the area of multi-user communication. From the Preface: Watermarking has become a more mature discipline with proper foundation in both signal processing and information theory. We can truly say that we are in the era of "second generation" watermarking. This book is first in addressing watermarking problems in terms of second-generation insights. It provides a complete overview of the most important results on capacity and security. The Costa scheme, and in particular a simpler version of it, the Scalar Costa scheme, is studied in great detail. An important result of this book is that it is possible to approach the Shannon limit within a few decibels in a practical system. These results are verified on real-world data, not only the classical category of images, but also on chemical structure sets. Inspired by the work of Moulin and O'Sullivan, this book also addresses security aspects by studying AGWN attacks in terms of game theory. "The authors of Informed Watermarking give a well-written exposA(c) of how watermarking came of age, where we are now, and what to expect in the future. It is my expectation that this book will be a standard reference on second-generation watermarking for the years to come." Ton Kalker, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

This book will bring together experts in the field of astronomical photometry to discuss how their subfields provide the precision and accuracy in astronomical energy flux measurements that are needed to permit tests of astrophysical theories. Differential photometers and photometry, improvements in infrared precision, theimprovements in precision and accuracy of CCD photometry, the absolute calibration of flux, the development of the Johnson UBVRI photometric system and other passband systems to measure and precisely classify specific types of stars and astrophysical quantities, and the current capabilities of spectrophotometry, and polarimetry to provide precise and accurate data, will all be discussed in this volume. The discussion of differential or two-star photometers will include those developed for planetary as well as stellar photometry and will range from the Princeton polarizing photometer through the pioneering work of Walraven to the differential photometers designed to measure the ashen light of Venus and to counter the effects of aurorae at high latitude sites; the last to be discussed will be the Rapid Alternate Detection System (RADS) developed at the University of Calgary in the 1980s."

The computational modelling of deformations has been actively studied for the last thirty years. This is mainly due to its large range of applications that include computer animation, medical imaging, shape estimation, face deformation as well as other parts of the human body, and object tracking. In addition, these advances have been supported by the evolution of computer processing capabilities, enabling realism in a more sophisticated way. This book encompasses relevant works of expert researchers in the field of deformation models and their applications. The book is divided into two main parts. The first part presents recent object deformation techniques from the point of view of computer graphics and computer animation. The second part of this book presents six works that study deformations from a computer vision point of view with a common characteristic: deformations are applied in real world applications. The primary audience for this work are researchers from different multidisciplinary fields, such as those related with Computer Graphics, Computer Vision, Computer Imaging, Biomedicine, Bioengineering, Mathematics, Physics, Medical Imaging and Medicine.

This book describes a unique approach to smart receiver system design. It starts with the analysis of a very basic, single-path receiver structure, then using similar methods, extends the analysis to a more complicated multi-path receiver. Within the multi-path structure, two different types of phased -array architectures are discussed: Analog beam-forming, and digital beam-forming. The pros and cons are studied, and the gaps are identified. Whereas previous books in this area focus mainly on phased-array circuit implementations, this book fills a gap by providing a system-level approach and introduces new methods for developing smart systems.

A guide to the theory and application of methods of projections.

With the rise of powerful personal computers, methods of vector space projections have moved rapidly from the realm of theory into widespread use. This book reflects the growing interest in the application of these methods to problem solving in science and engineering. It brings together material previously scattered in disparate papers, book chapters, and articles, and offers a systematic treatment of vector space projections.

Written by two leading authorities in the field, this self-contained volume provides a tutorial on projection methods and how to apply them in science and engineering. It details effective problem-solving strategies, and explores key applications in communication and signal processing, neural networks and pattern recognition, and optics and image processing. This book:

• Reviews the fundamentals of vector space theory
• Covers principles and applications of vector space projections in general, and projections onto convex sets in particular
• Provides real-world examples solvable on PCs and modest workstations
• Features more than 100 illustrations
• Includes end-of-chapter exercises and references.

This extremely useful reference for practicing engineers, scientists, and educators can also be used for graduate-level study in science, mathematics, and engineering. Portions of the book have been used as material in short courses on applications of vector space projections.

The book describes a system for visual surveillance using intelligent cameras. The camera uses robust techniques for detecting and tracking moving objects. The real time capture of the objects is then stored in the database. The tracking data stored in the database is analysed to study the camera view, detect and track objects, and study object behavior. These set of models provide a robust framework for coordinating the tracking of objects between overlapping and non-overlapping cameras, and recording the activity of objects detected by the system.

This volume focuses on Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC), a powerful tool allowing luminescence lifetime measurements to be made with high temporal resolution, even on single molecules. Combining spectrum and lifetime provides a "fingerprint" for identifying such molecules in the presence of a background. Used together with confocal detection, this permits single-molecule spectroscopy and microscopy in addition to ensemble measurements, opening up an enormous range of hot life science applications such as fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) and measurement of Foerster Resonant Energy Transfer (FRET) for the investigation of protein folding and interaction. Several technology-related chapters present both the basics and current state-of-the-art, in particular of TCSPC electronics, photon detectors and lasers. The remaining chapters cover a broad range of applications and methodologies for experiments and data analysis, including the life sciences, defect centers in diamonds, super-resolution microscopy, and optical tomography. The chapters detailing new options arising from the combination of classic TCSPC and fluorescence lifetime with methods based on intensity fluctuation represent a particularly unique highlight.

This book is about the interaction of laser radiation with various surfaces at variable parameters of radiation. As a basic principle of classification we chose the energetic or intensity level of interaction of laser radiation with the surfaces. These two characteristics of laser radiation are the most important parameters defining entire spectrum of the processes occurring on the surfaces during interaction with electromagnetic waves. This is a first book containing a whole spectrum of the laser-surface interactions distinguished by the ranges of used laser intensity. It combines the surface response starting from extremely weak laser intensities (~1 W cm-2) up to the relativistic intensities (~1020 W cm-2 and higher). The book provides the basic information about lasers and acquaints the reader with both common applications of laser-surface interactions (laser-related printers, scanners, barcode readers, discs, material processing, military, holography, medicine, etc) and unusual uses of the processes on the surfaces under the action of lasers (art conservation, rangefinders and velocimeters, space and earth explorations, surface engineering and ablation, and others). The scientific applications of laser-surfaces interactions (surface optical nonlinearities, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface nanostructuring, nanoripples and clusters formation, X-ray lasers and harmonic generation from the surfaces) are discussed from the point of view of the close relations between the properties of surface and matter, which is a cornerstone of most of studies of materials. The novelty of the approach developed in Laser - Surface Interactions is related with the interconnection of scientific studies with numerous applications of the laser-surface interactions separated in different chapters by the ranges of laser intensities. We present most recent achievements in this field. The book provides valuable information for different ranges of reader's preparedness to the laser-related topics (from unprepared readers, to students, engineers and researchers, professionals and academics).

When the 50th anniversary of the birth of Information Theory was celebrated at the 1998 IEEE International Symposium on Informa tion Theory in Boston, there was a great deal of reflection on the the year 1993 as a critical year. As the years pass and more perspec tive is gained, it is a fairly safe bet that we will view 1993 as the year when the "early years" of error control coding came to an end. This was the year in which Berrou, Glavieux and Thitimajshima pre sented "Near Shannon Limit Error-Correcting Coding and Decoding: Turbo Codes" at the International Conference on Communications in Geneva. In their presentation, Berrou et al. claimed that a combi nation of parallel concatenation and iterative decoding can provide reliable communications at a signal to noise ratio that is within a few tenths of a dB of the Shannon limit. Nearly fifty years of striving to achieve the promise of Shannon's noisy channel coding theorem had come to an end. The implications of this result were immediately apparent to all -coding gains on the order of 10 dB could be used to dramatically extend the range of communication receivers, increase data rates and services, or substantially reduce transmitter power levels. The 1993 ICC paper set in motion several research efforts that have permanently changed the way we look at error control coding."