This book summarizes the key findings of a five-year interdisciplinary research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF). It serves as a typical case study for a rapidly growing and developing urban center - Da Nang City, which is surrounded by remote areas characterized by increasing migration and limited development. A number of German and Vietnamese universities and international institutions participated in the project, contributing their particular expertise to assess the data-scarce region under study, two provinces in central Vietnam with a combined area of ca. 12,000 km(2).

The book Dhaka Megacity: Geospatial Perspectives on Urbanisation, Environment and Health presents the use of geospatial techniques to address a number of environmental issues, including land use change, climatic variability, urban sprawl, population density modelling, flooding, environmental health, water quality, energy resources, urban growth modelling, infectious diseases and the quality of life. Although the work is focused on the Megacity of Dhaka in Bangladesh, the techniques and methods that are used to research these issues can be utilized in any other areas where rapid population growth coupled with unplanned urbanization is leading to environmental degradation. The book is useful for people working in the area of Geospatial Science, Urban Geography, Environmental Management and International Development. Since the chapters in the book cover a range of environmental issues, this book describes useful tools for assisting informed decision making, particularly in developing countries.

There are more than 70 countries in the world that suffer from the presence of landmines. Annually, between 15,000 and 20,000 people are killed or injured by these mines so there is a pressing need for advances in technology to help to remove them.

Anti-personnel Landmine Detection for Humanitarian Demining reports on state-of-the-art technologies developed during a Japanese National Research Project which ran from 2002 2007. The conventional, and often reliable, method of landmine detection is to use a metal detector to pick up small amounts of metal within the mine. Unfortunately, minefields are frequently strewn with small metal fragments which can camouflage landmines greatly hindering progress using this form of demining. The challenge, then, is to develop practical detection systems that can discriminate between anti-personnel (AP) landmines and randomly scattered innocent metal fragments.

The results of research proposals from universities and industrial sources adopted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency are presented here. This book concentrates on various aspects of three main approaches to AP mine detection:

enhancing and confirming the results of metal-detection scans using ground penetrating radar (GPR);

using robot vehicles and manipulators to operate within minefields remotely; and

methods of sensing the explosives within mines.

Basic results are presented in the fields of GPR, nuclear quadrupole resonance, neutron thermal analysis and biosensors. The integration of these methods for workable robot operation is demonstrated.

The project was carried out in conjunction with mine action centers in Croatia, Cambodia and Afghanistan and evaluation data from field trials of the technologies are also reported.

The results presented by Professor Furuta and his colleagues will be most useful to anyone who is involved in the use or production of technical equipment associated with landmine removal. In addition, academics researching advances in this field and those working in remote sensing, mechatronics and robotics will find much to interest them and a co-ordinated body of work with which to expand their own studies.

Remote Sensing of the Changing Oceans is a comprehensive account of the basic concepts, theories, methods and applications used in ocean satellite remote sensing. The book provides a synthesis of various new ideas and theories and discusses a series of key research topics in oceanic manifestation of global changes as viewed from space. A variety of research methods used in the analysis and modeling of global changes are introduced in detail along with numerous examples from around the world s oceans. The authors review the changing oceans at different levels, including Global and Regional Observations, Natural Hazards, Coastal Environment and related scientific issues, all from the unique perspective of Satellite Observation Systems. Thus, the book not only introduces the basics of the changing oceans, but also new developments in satellite remote sensing technology and international cooperation in this emerging field.

Danling Tang (Lingzis) received her Ph.D from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She conducted research and teaching in Hong Kong, USA, Japan, and South Korea for more than 10 years; in 2004, she received 100 Talents Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences and returned to China. She was a professor of Fudan University, and now is a Leading Professor of Remote Sensing of Marine Ecology and Environment at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Tang has been working on satellite remote sensing of marine ecology and environment; her major research interests include ocean dynamics of phytoplankton bloom, global environmental changes, and natural hazards.

Dr. Tang has organized several international conferences, workshops, and training, she also services as member of organizing committee for several international scientific organizations; she was the Chairman of the 9th Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conference (PORSEC 2008), and currently is the President-elect of PORSEC Association.

The book is a thorough presentation of theoretical and applied aspects of the evaporation and evapotranspiration process supported by data from experimental studies. It is written in a way that the theoretical background of evaporation and evapotranspiration estimation is presented in a simplified manner, comprehensive to most technical readers. The book deals with details of meteorological parameters and monitoring sensors which are needed for estimating evaporation and evapotranspiration. Errors in meteorological parameter measurements are also presented. Estimation errors, strengths, weaknesses and applicability of a wide range of evaporation and evapotranspiration estimation methods are presented along with samples of application to a certain region. Application of newer simpler methods is presented. A new technology, remote sensing application to evaporation and evapotranspiration estimation, is presented. The latest interest in the subject, climate change and evapotranspiration is presented in the last chapter. This book will be beneficial to students, hydrologists, engineers, meteorologists, water managers and others.

Modern Technologies for Landslide Investigation and Prediction presents eleven contributed chapters from Chinese and Italian authors, as a follow-up of a bilateral workshop held in Shanghai on September 2013. Chapters are organized in three main parts: ground-based monitoring techniques (photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning, ground-based InSAR, infrared thermography, and GNSS networks), geophysical (passive seismic sensor networks) and geotechnical methods (SPH and SLIDE), and satellite remote-sensing techniques (InSAR and optical images). Authors of these contributes are internationally-recognized experts in their respective research fields. Marco Scaioni works in the college of Surveying and Geo-Informatics at Tongji University, Shanghai (P.R. China). His research fields are mainly Close-range Photogrammetry, Terrestrial Laser Scanning, and other ground-based sensors for metrological and deformation monitoring applications to structural engineering and geosciences. In the period 2012-2016 he is chairman of the Working Group V/3 in the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, focusing on 'Terrestrial 3D Imaging and Sensors'.

Basics of Distributed and Cooperative Radio and Non-Radio Based Geolocation provides a detailed overview of geolocation technologies. The book covers the basic principles of geolocation, including ranging techniques to localization technologies, fingerprinting and localization in wireless sensor networks. This book also examines the latest algorithms and techniques such as Kalman Filtering, Gauss-Newton Filtering and Particle Filtering.

This book discusses theoretical backgrounds, techniques and methodologies, and applications of the current state-of-the-art human dynamics research utilizing social media and geospatial big data. It describes various forms of social media and big data with location information, theory development, data collection and management techniques, and analytical methodologies to conduct human dynamics research including geographic information systems (GIS), spatiotemporal data analytics, text mining and semantic analysis, machine learning, trajectory data analysis, and geovisualization. The book also covers applied interdisciplinary research examples ranging from disaster management, public health, urban geography, and spatiotemporal information diffusion. By providing theoretical foundations, solid empirical research backgrounds, techniques, and methodologies as well as application examples from diverse interdisciplinary fields, this book will be a valuable resource to students, researchers and practitioners who utilize or plan to employ social media and big data in their work.

This book covers the latest research on landmarks in GIS, including practical applications. It addresses perceptual and cognitive aspects of natural and artificial cognitive systems, computational aspects with respect to identifying or selecting landmarks for various purposes, and communication aspects of human-computer interaction for spatial information provision. Concise and organized, the book equips readers to handle complex conceptual aspects of trying to define and formally model these situations. The book provides a thorough review of the cognitive, conceptual, computational and communication aspects of GIS landmarks. This review is unique for comparing concepts across a spectrum of sub-disciplines in the field. Portions of the ideas discussed led to the world's first commercial navigation service using landmarks selected with cognitive principles. Landmarks: GI Science for Intelligent Services targets practitioners and researchers working in geographic information science, computer science, information science, cognitive science, geography and psychology. Advanced-level students in computer science, geography and psychology will also find this book valuable as a secondary textbook or reference.

This proceedings volume introduces recent work on the storage, retrieval and visualization of spatial Big Data, data-intensive geospatial computing and related data quality issues. Further, it addresses traditional topics such as multi-scale spatial data representations, knowledge discovery, space-time modeling, and geological applications. Spatial analysis and data mining are increasingly facing the challenges of Big Data as more and more types of crowd sourcing spatial data are used in GIScience, such as movement trajectories, cellular phone calls, and social networks. In order to effectively manage these massive data collections, new methods and algorithms are called for. The book highlights state-of-the-art advances in the handling and application of spatial data, especially spatial Big Data, offering a cutting-edge reference guide for graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the field of GIScience.

The Association of Geographic Information Laboratories for Europe (AGILE) was established in early 1998 to promote academic teaching and research on GIS at the European level. AGILE seeks to ensure that the views of the geographic information teaching and research community are fully represented in the discussions that take place on future European - search agendas and it also provides a permanent scientific forum where geographic information researchers can meet and exchange ideas and - periences at the European level. In 2007 AGILE provided - for the first time since its existence - a book constituting a collection of scientific papers that were submitted as fu- papers to the annual AGILE conference and went through a competitive and thorough review process. Published in the Springer Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography this first edition was well received within AGILE and within the European Geoinformation Science com- nity as a whole. Thus, the decision was easily made to establish a Springer th Volume for the 11 AGILE conference held 2008 in Girona, Spain, and led to what you now hold in your hands.

With the onslaught of emergent technology in academia, libraries are privy to many innovative techniques to recognize and classify geospatial data - above and beyond the traditional map librarianship. As librarians become more involved in the development and provision of GIS services and resources, they encounter both problems and solutions. ""Integrating Geographic Information Systems into Library Services"" integrates traditional map librarianship and contemporary issues in digital librarianship within a framework of a global embedded information infrastructure, addressing technical, legal, and institutional factors such as collection development, reference and research services, and cataloging/metadata, as well as issues in accessibility and standards.

The Workshop Proceedings reflect problems of advanced geo-information science with a special emphasis on environmental and urban challenges. The Proceedings incorporate papers presented by leading scientists doing research on environmental issues from modeling to analysis, information processing and visualization. As well as practitioners engaged in GIS and GIS applications development. The Proceedings pay close attention to the problems of scientific and technological innovations as well application opportunities such as getting environmental and global warming problems under control, as well as the monitoring, planning and simulation of urban systems with respect to economic trends as related to: Artificial intelligence; GIS ontologies; GIS data integration and modeling; Environmental management ; Urban GIS; Transportation GIS; GIS data fusion; GIS and corporate information systems; GIS and real-time monitoring systems; GIS algorithms and computational issues; Landscape studies; Global warming; GIS and the Arctic sea; Novel and emerging GIS research areas; Maritime and environmental GIS; and Coastal GIS.

Despite the promising and exciting possibilities presented by new and fast-developing remote sensing technologies applied to urban areas, there is still a gap perceived between the generally academic and research-focused spectrum of results offered by the urban remote sensing community and the application of these data and products by the local governmental bodies of urban cities and regions. While there is no end of interesting science questions that we can ask about cities, sometimes these questions don't match well with what the operational problems and concerns of a given city are. The authors present data from six urban regions from all over the world. They explain what the important questions are, and how one can use data and scientific skills to help answer them."

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 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 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 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.

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.