Clouds and cloud systems and their interactions with larger scales of motion, radiation, and the Earth's surface are extremely important parts of weather and climate systems. Their treatment in weather forecast and climate models is a significant source of errors and uncertainty. As computer power increases, it is beginning to be possible to explicitly resolve cloud and precipitation processes in these models, presenting opportunities for improving precipitation forecasts and larger-scale phenomena such as tropical cyclones which depend critically on cloud and precipitation physics.

This book by Professor Shouting Gao of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Beijing and Xiaofan Li of NOAA's National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Services (NESDIS) presents an update and review of results of high-resolution, mostly two-dimensional models of clouds and precipitation and their interactions with larger scales of motion and the Earth's surface. It provides a thorough description of cloud and precipitation physics, including basic governing equations and related physics, such as phase changes of water, radiation and mixing. Model results are compared with observations from the 1992-93 Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) experiment. The importance of the ocean to tropical convective systems is clearly shown here in the numerical results of simulations with their air-sea coupled modeling system. While the focus is on tropical convection, the methodology and applicability can be extended to cloud and precipitation processes elsewhere.

The results described in this well-written book form a solid foundation for future high-resolution model weather forecasts and climate simulations that resolve clouds explicitly in three dimensions-a future that has great promise for the understanding and prediction of weather and climate for the great benefit of society.

Here is a review of the current potential of Earth Observations that devotes particular attention to the challenges posed by the European Seas. The assessment of surface parameters by means of passive techniques - which measure reflected visible and near-infrared sunlight, or surface emissions in the thermal infrared or microwave spectral regions - is addressed. Active techniques - which use transmitted impulses of visible or microwave radiation - are covered as well.

Advances in Mapping from Remote Sensor Imagery: Techniques and Applications reviews some of the latest developments in remote sensing and information extraction techniques applicable to topographic and thematic mapping. Providing an interdisciplinary perspective, leading experts from around the world have contributed chapters examining state-of-the-art techniques as well as widely used methods.
The book covers a broad range of topics including photogrammetric mapping and LiDAR remote sensing for generating high quality topographic products, global digital elevation models, current methods for shoreline mapping, and the identification and classification of residential buildings. Contributors also showcase cutting-edge developments for environmental and ecological mapping, including assessment of urbanization patterns, mapping vegetation cover, monitoring invasive species, and mapping marine oil spills crucial for monitoring this significant environmental hazard.

The authors exemplify the information presented in this text with case studies from around the world. Examples include:

• Envisat/ERS-2 images used to generate digital elevation models over northern Alaska
• In situ radiometric observations and MERIS images employed to retrieve chlorophyll a concentration in inland waters in Australia
• ERS-1/2 SAR images utilized to map spatiotemporal deformation in the southwestern United States

Aerospace sensors and related information extraction techniques that support various mapping applications have recently garnered more attention due to the advances in remote sensing theories and technologies. This book brings together top researchers in the field, providing a state-of-the-art review of some of the latest advancements in remote sensing and mapping technologies.

This book reports the newest research and technical achievements on the following theme blocks: Design of mobile map services and its constraints, typology and usability of mobile map services, visualization solutions on small displays for time-critical tasks, mobile map users, interaction and adaptation in mobile environments and applications of map-based mobile services.

This volume contains selected papers by Torben Krarup, one of the most important geodesists of the 20th century. The collection includes the famous booklet "A Contribution to the Mathematical Foundation of Physical Geodesy" from 1969, the unpublished "Molodenskij letters" from 1973, the final version of "Integrated Geodesy" from 1978, "Foundation of a Theory of Elasticity for Geodetic Networks" from 1974, as well as trend-setting papers on the theory of adjustment.

The book addresses scientists and technical experts who have already some background knowledge in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and who want to know more about standardisation in GIS, in particular, the role of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In addition, the monograph meets the needs of programmers who are involved in implementing ISO 19100 standards and who need a better understanding of the overall structure of the standards. Last, but not least, this richly illustrated book helps readers to better understand the rather abstract ISO documents.

Metadata play a fundamental role in both DLs and SDIs. Commonly defined as "structured data about data" or "data which describe attributes of a resource" or, more simply, "information about data," it is an essential requirement for locating and evaluating available data. Therefore, this book focuses on the study of different metadata aspects, which contribute to a more efficient use of DLs and SDIs. The three main issues addressed are: the management of nested collections of resources, the interoperability between metadata schemas, and the integration of information retrieval techniques to the discovery services of geographic data catalogs (contributing in this way to avoid metadata content heterogeneity).

Until the 1980s, a tacit agreement among many physical oceanographers was that nothing deserving attention could be found in the upper few meters of the ocean. The lack of adequete knowledge about the near-surface layer of the ocean was mainly due to the fact that the widely used oceanographic instruments (such as bathythermographs, CTDs, current meters, etc.) were practically useless in the upper few meters of the ocean. Interest in the ne- surface layer of the ocean rapidly increased along with the development of remote sensing techniques. The interpretation of ocean surface signals sensed from satellites demanded thorough knowledge of upper ocean processes and their connection to the ocean interior. Despite its accessibility to the investigator, the near-surface layer of the ocean is not a simple subject of experimental study. Random, sometimes huge, vertical motions of the ocean surface due to surface waves are a serious complication for collecting quality data close to the ocean surface. The supposedly minor problem of avoiding disturbances from ships' wakes has frustrated several generations of oceanographers attempting to take reliable data from the upper few meters of the ocean. Important practical applications nevertheless demanded action, and as a result several pioneering works in the 1970s and 1980s laid the foundation for the new subject of oceanography - the near-surface layer of the ocean.

The fourth edition of this highly regarded and successful text continues to provide a clear and accessible introduction to the world of GIS for students and professionals. With an increased focus on the practical applications of GIS, the new edition features a wealth of new multi-disciplinary case studies and examples of GIS in practice, demonstrating how it is used worldwide and within a variety of different industries.

Furthermore, the new edition has been substantially revised and updated to include coverage of the latest advances in GIS such as web and mobile applications.

"An Introduction to Geographical Information Systems "is suitable for students of Geographical Information studies at all levels, from undergraduate to professionals retraining in GIS.

This book is a result of a career spent developing and applying computer techniques for the geosciences. The need for a geoscience modeling reference became apparent during participation in several workshops and conferences on the subject in the last three years. For organizing these, and for the lively discussions that ensued and inevitably contributed to the contents, I thank Keith Turner, Brian Kelk, George Pflug and Johnathan Raper. The total number of colleagues who contributed in various ways over the preceding years to the concepts and techniques presented is beyond count. The book is dedicated to all of them. Compilation of the book would have been impossible without assistance from a number of colleagues who contributed directly. In particular, Ed Rychkun, Joe Ringwald, Dave Elliott, Tom Fisher and Richard Saccany reviewed parts of the text and contributed valuable comment. Mohan Srivastava reviewed and contributed to some of the geostatistical presentations. Mark Stoakes, Peter Dettlaff and Simon Wigzell assisted with computer processing of the many application examples. Anar Khanji and Randal Crombe assisted in preparation of the text and computer images. Klaus Lamers assisted with printing. The US Geological Survey, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Dave Elliott and others provided data for the application examples. My sincere thanks to all of them.

This book describes the interdisciplinary work of USAID's Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET) and its influence on methodological and development policies in the US. This book describes FEWS NET's systems, methods and presents several illustrative case studies that will demonstrate the integration of both physical and social science disciplines in its work. The aim of this book is to bring the work of USAID's Famine Early warning System Network into the public domain.

This book presents decade-long advances in atmospheric research in the Mackenzie River Basin in northern Canada, which encompasses environments representative of most cold areas on Earth. Collaborative efforts have yielded knowledge entirely transferable to other high latitude regions in America, Europe and Asia. This book complements the first volume coming from the GEWEX project, dealing with the region's atmospheric dynamics.

This volume contains selected essays of Manfred M. Fischer in the field of spatial analysis from the perspective of GeoComputation. The volume is structured in four parts, from broad issues in spatial analysis and the role of GIS to computational intelligence technologies such as neural networks. The third part provides the theoretical framework required for adaptive pattern classifiers in remote sensing environments. The final section outlines the latest in neural spatial interaction modeling.

Renaissance man " ... discovered many a mechanical marvel .... The achievement of the astronauts '" opened up comparable prospects to the men of today, but of infinitely wider scope". C. LUCET, French Ambassador to the United States.* "Any future ... must inevitably pass through the channel of combined disciplines ... (from which) will arise a humanization of state-of-the-art technology, and updating of methods of Earth Science." Author unknown.** "It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality tomorrow." ROBERT GODDARD, American physicist. This'phrase has become the symbol of NASA . * Is there a crisis of the spirit?, Bu/. Soc. Prof. Fr. en Amer. (1969) p. 9. *. La recherchespatiale [Space Research] (May 1969) p. 15. INTRODUCTION FROM GALILEO TO ALDRIN AND ARMSTRONG In 1610, Galileo observed the surface of the Moon through the lens which bears his name and announced that, contrary to official opinion, its surface was irregular and not smooth. We now know that this observation -and many others ofGalileo-was a correct one, but the opposition that always arises against research too far ahead of its time resulted in his condemnation.

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.

During the Conference on Air-Sea Interaction in January 1986, it was suggested to me by David Larner of Reidel Press that it may be timely for an updated compendium of air-sea interaction theory to be organized, developed, and published. Many new results were emerging at the time, i.e., results from the MARSEN, MAS EX, MILDEX, and TOWARD field projects (among others) were in the process of being reported and/or published. Further, a series of new experiments such as FASINEX and HEXOS were soon to be conducted in which new strides in our knowledge of air-sea fluxes would be made. During the year following the discussions with David Larner, it became apparent that many of the advances in air-sea interaction theory during the 1970s and 1980s were associated with sponsor investments in satellite oceanography and, in particular, remote sensing research. Since ocean surface remote sensing, e.g., scatterometry and SAR, requires intimate knowledge of ocean surface dynamics, advances in remote sensing capabilities required coordinated research in air-sea fluxes, wave state, scattering theory, sensor design, and data exploitation using environmental models. Based on this interplay of disciplines, it was decided that this book be devoted to air sea interaction and remote sensing as multi-disciplinary activities."

General circulation models (GCMs) predict certain changes in the amounts and distribution of precipitation, but the conversion of these predictions of impacts on water resources presents novel problems in hydrologic modeling, particularly with regard to the scale of the processes involved. Therefore improved, distributed GCMs are required. New remote sensing technologies provide the necessary spatially distributed data. However, there are many attendant problems with the translation of remotely sensed signals into hydrologically relevant information. This book elucidates how to improve the representation of land surface hydrologic processes in GCMs and in regional and global scale climate studies. It is divided into five sections: Models and Data; Precipitation; Soil Moisture; Evapotranspiration; Runoff.

As editors of this volume we would like to express our gratitude to the contributing authors who have delivered these highly relevant and inspiring chapters and to the international scientific committee for their help in the review and editing. Special thanks go to our colleagues Mandy van de Sande, Marlyn Aretz, and Leo van Veghel, who were great in organising the conference and took care of everything that made it a pleasant and comfortable event. Eindhoven, July 2004 Jos van Leeuwen and Harry Timmermans Conference Chairs x DDSS 2004 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Alan Bridges, UK Kees Dorst, NL Aleksander Asanowicz, PL Luca Caneparo, IT Aloys Borgers, NL Mark Clayton, USA Anders Ekholm, SE Mark Gross, USA Andy Brown, UK Michael Batty, UK Anthony Yeh, HK Milton Tan, SG Ardeshir Mahdavi, AT Mitsuo Morozumi, JP Atsuyuki Okabe, JP Nancy Cheng, USA Bauke de Vries, NL Omer Akin, USA Bob Martens, AT Philip Steadman, UK Dirk Donath, DE Pierre Leclercq, BE Frances Brazier, NL Ray Wyatt, AU Gilles Halin, FR Richard Klosterman, USA Guilermo Vasquez de Velasco, USA Rivka Oxman, IL Hannu Penttila, FI Robert Woodbury, CA Henri Achten, NL Sevil Sariyildiz, NL Jin-Yeu Tsou, HK Sheng-Fen Chien, TW Joachim Kieferle, DE Stefania Bandini, IT Johan Verbeke, BE Tay-Sheng Jeng, TW John Stillwell, UK Theo Arentze, NL Jose Duarte, PT Thomas Kvan, HK Jose Kos, BR Wassim Jabi, USA INTRODUCTION The International Conference on Design & Decision Support Systems in Architecture and Urban Planning is organised bi-annually by the Eindhoven"

This book approaches the realisation of digital terrain and landscape data through clear and practical examples. From data provision and the creation of revealing analyses to realistic depictions for presentation purposes, the reader is led through the world of digital 3-D graphics. The authors deep knowledge of the scientific fundamentals and many years of experience in 3-D visualization enable them to lead the reader through a complex subject and shed light on previously murky virtual landscapes.

Filling the need for a comprehensive book that covers both theory and application, Remote Sensing of Land Use and Land Cover: Principles and Applications provides a synopsis of how remote sensing can be used for land-cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring from the local to the global scale. With contributions by leading scientists from around the world, this well-structured volume offers an international perspective on the science, technologies, applications, and future needs of remote sensing of land cover and land use. After an overview of the key concepts and history of land-use and land-cover mapping, the book discusses the relationship between land cover and land use and addresses the land-cover classification system. It then presents state-of-the-art methods and techniques in data acquisition, preprocessing, image interpretation, and accuracy assessment for land-use and land-cover characterization and mapping. Case studies from around the world illustrate land-cover applications at global, continental, and national scales. These examples use multiple data sources and provide in-depth understanding of land cover and land-cover dynamics in multiple spatial, thematic, and temporal resolutions. Looking to the future, the book also identifies new frontiers in land-cover mapping and forecasting. The availability and accessibility of accurate and timely land-cover data sets play an important role in many global change studies, highlighting the need for better land-use and land-cover change information at multiple scales. A synthesis of current knowledge in remote sensing of land-use and land-cover science, this book promotes more effective use of Earth observation data and technology to assess, monitor, and manage land resources.

The IAG International Symposium on Gravity, Geoid and Geodynamics 2000 (GGG2000) took place in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from July 31 to August 4, 2000. This symposium continued the tradition of mid-term meetings ("GraGeoMar96: Gravity, Geoid and Marine Geodesy," Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 30 - Oct. 5,1996) held between the joint symposia of the International Geoid and Gravity Commissions ("1st Joint Meeting of the International Gravity Commission and the International Geoid Commission," Graz, Austria, Sept. 11-17, 1994 and "2nd Joint Meeting of the International Gravity Commission and the International Geoid Commission," Trieste, Italy, Sept. 7-12, 1998). This time, geodynamics was chosen as the third topic to accompany the of gravity and geoid. The symposium thus aimed and succeeded at bringing traditional topics together geodesists and geophysicists working in the general areas of gravity, geoid and geodynamics. Besides covering the traditional research areas, special attention was paid to the use of geodetic methods for geodynamics studies, dedicated satellite missions, airborne surveys, arctic regions geodesy and geodynamics, new mathematical methods and the integration of geodetic and geophysical information. The Scientific Committee members (Jean Dickey, Martine Feissel, Rene Forsberg, Petr Holota, Inginio Marson, Masao Nakada, Richard W. Peltier, Reiner Rummel, Burkhard Schaffrin, Klaus Peter Schwarz, Michael G. Sideris, DetlefWolf and Patrick Wu) are sincerely thanked for selecting the session topics, which resulted in such an exciting scientific event. More specifically, the following ten sessions were organized: 1. Reference Frames and the Datum Problem C.

Remote Sensing of Drought: Innovative Monitoring Approaches presents emerging remote sensing-based tools and techniques that can be applied to operational drought monitoring and early warning around the world. The first book to focus on remote sensing and drought monitoring, it brings together a wealth of information that has been scattered throughout the literature and across many disciplines. Featuring contributions by leading scientists, it assembles a cross-section of globally applicable techniques that are currently operational or have potential to be operational in the near future. The book explores a range of applications for monitoring four critical components of the hydrological cycle related to drought: vegetation health, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and groundwater, and precipitation. These applications use remotely sensed optical, thermal, microwave, radar, and gravity data from instruments such as AMSR-E, GOES, GRACE, MERIS, MODIS, and Landsat and implement several advanced modeling and data assimilation techniques. Examples show how to integrate this information into routine drought products. The book also examines the role of satellite remote sensing within traditional drought monitoring, as well as current challenges and future prospects. Improving drought monitoring is becoming increasingly important in addressing a wide range of societal issues, from food security and water scarcity to human health, ecosystem services, and energy production. This unique book surveys innovative remote sensing approaches to provide you with new perspectives on large-area drought monitoring and early warning.

In the recent years, space-based observation methods have led to a subst- tially improved understanding of Earth system. Geodesy and geophysics are contributing to this development by measuring the temporal and spatial va- ations of the Earth's shape, gravity ?eld, and magnetic ?eld, as well as at- sphere density. In the frame of the GermanR&D programmeGEOTECHNO- LOGIEN, researchprojectshavebeen launchedin2002relatedto the satellite missions CHAMP, GRACE and ESA's planned mission GOCE, to comp- mentary terrestrial and airborne sensor systems and to consistent and stable high-precision global reference systems for satellite and other techniques. In the initial 3-year phase of the research programme (2002-2004), new gravity ?eld models have been computed from CHAMP and GRACE data which outperform previous models in accuracy by up to two orders of m- nitude for the long and medium wavelengths. A special highlight is the - termination of seasonal gravity variations caused by changes in continental water masses. For GOCE, to be launched in 2006, new gravity ?eld analysis methods are under development and integrated into the ESA processing s- tem. 200,000 GPS radio occultation pro?les, observed by CHAMP, have been processed on an operational basis. They represent new and excellent inf- mation on atmospheric refractivity, temperature and water vapor. These new developments require geodetic space techniques (such as VLBI, SLR, LLR, GPS) to be combined and synchronized as if being one global instrument.

This book provides an account of recent developments in light scattering media optics. Leading researchers focus on both the theoretical and experimental results in the area. In particular, light scattering by ice crystals, soil particles and biological particles is considered. This volume first discusses single light scattering, followed by multiple light scattering and finally examines possible applications in combustion and marine research.

Although designed primarily for desktop mapping and analysis, Geographic Information Systems have, for some years, been coupled to other allied technologies. This coupling or integration has occurred for some time due to the limitations in commercially available systems. It has occurred in several areas including visualisation (virtual reality), simulation (pedestrian, urban modelling), data storage and management (distributed or Internet GIS) and decision support. The chapters of the book, written by an international group of experts examine several of these discrete areas, focussing on the use of GIS and the technology it has been allied to. "