The environmental and economic importance of monitoring forests and agricultural resources has allowed remote sensing to be increasingly in the development of products and services responding to user needs. This volume presents the main applications in remote sensing for agriculture and forestry, including the primary soil properties, the estimation of the vegetation's biophysical variables, methods for mapping land cover, the contribution of remote sensing for crop and water monitoring, and the estimation of the forest cover properties (cover dynamic, height, biomass). This book, part of a set of six volumes, has been produced by scientists who are internationally renowned in their fields. It is addressed to students (engineers, Masters, PhD), engineers and scientists, specialists in remote sensing applied to agriculture and forestry. Through this pedagogical work, the authors contribute to breaking down the barriers that hinder the use of radar imaging techniques.

The continental hydrological cycle is one of the least understood components of the climate system. The understanding of the different processes involved is important in the fields of hydrology and meteorology. In this volume the main applications for continental hydrology are presented, including the characterization of the states of continental surfaces (water state, snow cover, etc.) using active and passive remote sensing, monitoring the Antarctic ice sheet and land water surface heights using radar altimetry, the characterization of redistributions of water masses using the GRACE mission, the potential of GNSS-R technology in hydrology, and remote sensing data assimilation in hydrological models. This book, part of a set of six volumes, has been produced by scientists who are internationally renowned in their fields. It is addressed to students (engineers, Masters, PhD) , engineers and scientists, specialists in remote sensing applied to hydrology. Through this pedagogical work, the authors contribute to breaking down the barriers that hinder the use of Earth observation data.

For a long time, the dynamics of urban and coastal areas have been the focus of administrators and decision makers in charge of public policy in order to better take into account anthropogenic pressure and the impact of climate change. This volume presents applications of remote sensing in urban environments and coastal zones, including the use of remote sensing in city planning (urban expansion, light pollution, air quality, etc.), observation of the properties of ocean color, the study of coastal dynamics (identifying coastlines and estimating sediment balances, etc.) and analysis of the dynamics of mangroves. This book, part of a set of six volumes, has been produced by scientists who are internationally renowned in their fields. It is addressed to students (engineers, Masters, PhD), engineers and scientists, specialists in remote sensing applied to the coastal environment and urban areas. Through this pedagogical work, the authors contribute to breaking down the barriers that hinder the use of Earth observation data.

Geographic Information Systems GIS is a modern and effective technology to address developmental issues. All over the world, it is extensively used for resource management, environmental issues and policy decisions support systems with increasingly wider applications in agriculture, water resources development & management, veterinary sciences to disaster management. Being a new and interdisciplinary in nature, this interesting subject requires a lot of introductory textbook to improve understanding of the students. The author has put his teaching and research experience into good use and has brought out this concise and very readable book. With topics like: Hardware, software & liveware, recent developments Spatial and Map Projections and Database management, modeling, structuring, Networking, conversion and quality aspects finding their way in this book, which makes it worth reading for not only students but also for the teaching fraternity.

Over the past century, mechanization has been an important means for optimizing resource utilization, improving worker health and safety and reducing labor requirements in farming while increasing productivity and quality of 4F (Food, Fuel, Fiber, Feed). Recognizing this contribution, agricultural mechanization was considered as one of the top ten engineering achievements of 20th century by the National Academy of Engineering. Accordingly farming communities have adopted increasing level of automation and robotics to further improve the precision management of crops (including input resources), increase productivity and reduce farm labor beyond what has been possible with conventional mechanization technologies. It is more important than ever to continue to develop and adopt novel automation and robotic solutions into farming so that some of the most complex agricultural tasks, which require huge amount of seasonal labor such as fruit and vegetable harvesting, could be automated while meeting the rapidly increasing need for 4F. In addition, continual innovation in and adoption of agricultural automation and robotic technologies is essential to minimize the use of depleting resources including water, minerals and other chemicals so that sufficient amount of safe and healthy food can be produced for current generation while not compromising the potential for the future generation. This book aims at presenting the fundamental principles of various aspects of automation and robotics as they relate to production agriculture (the branch of agriculture dealing with farming operations from field preparation to seeding, to harvesting and field logistics). The building blocks of agricultural automation and robotics that are discussed in the book include sensing and machine vision, control, guidance, manipulation and end-effector technologies. The fundamentals and operating principles of these technologies are explained with examples from cutting-edge research and development currently going on around the word. This book brings together scientists, engineers, students and professionals working in these and related technologies to present their latest examples of agricultural automation and robotics research, innovation and development while explaining the fundamentals of the technology. The book, therefore, benefits those who wish to develop novel agricultural engineering solutions and/or to adopt them in the future.

While megacities are a reality, so too are the environmental disturbances that they cause, including air and water pollution. These disturbances can be modeled with technology and data obtained by modern methods, such as by drone, to monitor cities in near real-time as well as help to simulate risk situations and propose future solutions. These solutions can be inspired by the theoretical principles of sustainable urbanism. Methods and Applications of Geospatial Technology in Sustainable Urbanism is a collection of innovative research that combines theory and practice on analyzing urban environments and applying sustainability principles to them. Highlighting a wide range of topics including geographic information systems, internet mapping technologies, and green urbanism, this book is ideally designed for urban planners, public administration officials, landscape analysts, geographers, engineers, entrepreneurs, academicians, researchers, and students.

GeoComputation and Public Health is fundamentally a multi-disciplinary book, which presents an overview and case studies to exemplify numerous methods and solicitations in addressing vectors borne diseases (e.g, Visceral leishmaniasis, Malaria, Filaria). This book includes a practical coverage of the use of spatial analysis techniques in vector-borne disease using open source software solutions. Environmental factors (relief characters, climatology, ecology, vegetation, water bodies etc.) and socio-economic issues (housing type & pattern, education level, economic status, income level, domestics' animals, census data, etc) are investigated at micro -level and large scale in addressing the various vector-borne disease. This book will also generate a framework for interdisciplinary discussion, latest innovations, and discoveries on public health. The first section of the book highlights the basic and principal aspects of advanced computational practices. Other sections of the book contain geo-simulation, agent-based modeling, spatio-temporal analysis, geospatial data mining, various geocomputational applications, accuracy and uncertainty of geospatial models, applications in environmental, ecological, and biological modeling and analysis in public health research. This book will be useful to the postgraduate students of geography, remote sensing, ecology, environmental sciences and research scholars, along with health professionals looking to solve grand challenges and management on public health.

Advancements in technology have paved the way for innovative developments in geographic information systems. This has led to the creation of new platforms for spatial analysis applications and strategies. Spatial Analysis Techniques Using MyGeoffice (R) is an information reference source for the latest academic material on emerging software developments for the exploration of spatial data and its various applications. Including a range of topics such as digital image processing, spatial autocorrelation, and system functionality, this book is ideally designed for researchers, engineers, academics, students, and practitioners seeking information on new technological progress in spatial analysis.

Geographic Information Systems or popularly known as GIS has been developing it's roots since the role of remote sensing has increased. It spreads it's branches to civil engineering, geosciences, forestry, disaster mitigation, ecology and environment and various other fields. The book explains the concepts of GIS in a simple language. Topics like development of GIS, data structures, database concepts, map projections, requirement of hardware and software for implementing GIS, errors and removing errors, advanced analysis are a few s to be named which find place in this book.

This book introduces readers to the polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) system, its information processing, and imaging applications. The content is divided into three main parts: Part I, on the research scope of PolSAR, addresses the underlying theory and system design, polarimetric SAR interferometry (PolInSAR), compact PolSAR, and calibration of PolSAR. Part II, which focuses on information processing, highlights the new theories and methods used in PolSAR, such as statistical properties analysis for images, speckle reduction, image enhancement, polarimetric target decomposition, and classification of PolSAR target detection. In turn, Part III, on the applications of polarimetric SAR, discusses the geophysical parameter retrieval of PolSAR data, polarimetric interferometric SAR information processing, compact polarimetric interferometric SAR information processing, and the effects of terrain tilt in azimuth direction on PolSAR data. The book provides a comprehensive and systematic guide to the system, integrating theory and practice, and has a highly application-oriented focus. Presenting new theories, methods and achievements made in polarimetric microwave imaging in recent years, it offers a valuable asset for researchers, engineers and scientists in the area of remote sensing and radar imaging. It can also be used as a reference book for university educators and graduate students.

This proceedings volume contains selected and expanded contributions presented at the 6th International Symposium of Space Optical Instruments and Applications, held in Delft, the Netherlands on Sep 24th-25th, 2019. The meeting was organized by the Sino-Holland Space Optical Instruments Joint Laboratory and supported by TU Delft.The symposium focused on key innovations of space-based optical instruments and applications, and the newest developments in theory, technology and applications in optics, in both China and Europe. It thus provided a platform for exchanges on the latest research and current and planned optical missions. The major topics covered in these conference proceedings are: space optical remote sensing system design; advanced optical system design and manufacturing; remote sensor calibration and measurement; remote sensing data processing and information retrieval; and remote sensing data applications.

This book presents the selected peer-reviewed proceedings of the International Conference on Recent Trends and Innovations in Civil Engineering (ICRTICE 2019). The volume focuses on latest research and advances in the field of civil engineering and materials science such as design and development of new environmental materials, performance testing and verification of smart materials, performance analysis and simulation of steel structures, design and performance optimization of concrete structures, and building materials analysis. The book also covers studies in geotechnical engineering, hydraulic engineering, road and bridge engineering, building services design, engineering management, water resource engineering and renewable energy. The contents of this book will be useful for students, researchers and professionals working in civil engineering.

Monitoring drought’s slow evolution and identifying the end of a drought is still a big challenge for scientists, natural resource managers, and decision makers. This comprehensive two-volume set with contributions from over 200 experts, and featuring case studies representing numerous countries throughout the world, discusses different aspects of drought from types, indices, and forecasting to monitoring, modeling, and mitigation measures. It also addresses how climate change is impacting drought and decision-making concluding with lessons learned about science, policy, and managing uncertainty. Features: Provides a global perspective on drought prediction and management and a synthesis of the recent state of knowledge. Covers a wide range of topics from essential concepts and advanced techniques for forecasting and modeling drought to societal impacts, consequences, and planning Presents numerous case studies with different management approaches from different regions and countries. Addresses how climate change impacts drought, the increasing challenges associated with managing drought, decision making, and policy implications. Includes contributions from hundreds of experts around the world. Professionals, researchers, academics, and postgraduate students with knowledge in Environmental Sciences, Ecology, Agriculture, Forestry, Hydrology, Water Resources Engineering, and Earth Sciences, as well as those interested in how climate change impacts drought management, will gain new insights from the experts featured in this two-volume handbook.

This book, the first of a two-volume set, focuses on the basic physical principles of blackbody radiometry and describes artificial sources of blackbody radiation, widely used as sources of optical radiation, whose energy characteristics can be calculated on the base of fundamental physical laws. Following a review of radiometric quantities, radiation laws, and radiative heat transfer, it introduces the basic principles of blackbody radiators design, details of their practical implementation, and methods of measuring their defining characteristics, as well as metrological aspects of blackbody-based measurements. Chapters are dedicated to the effective emissivity concept, methods of increasing effective emissivities, their measurement and modeling using the Monte Carlo method, techniques of blackbody radiators heating, cooling, isothermalization, and measuring their temperature. An extensive and comprehensive reference source, this book is of considerable value to students, researchers, and engineers involved in any aspect of blackbody radiometry.

This book offers in-depth insights into the rapidly growing topic of technologies and approaches to modeling fuzzy spatiotemporal data with XML. The topics covered include representation of fuzzy spatiotemporal XML data, topological relationship determination for fuzzy spatiotemporal XML data, mapping between the fuzzy spatiotemporal relational database model and fuzzy spatiotemporal XML data model, and consistencies in fuzzy spatiotemporal XML data updating. Offering a comprehensive guide to the latest research on fuzzy spatiotemporal XML data management, the book is intended to provide state-of-the-art information for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students of Web intelligence, as well as data and knowledge engineering professionals confronted with non-traditional applications that make the use of conventional approaches difficult or impossible.

With the emergence of smart technology and automated systems in today's world, big data is being incorporated into many applications. Trends in data can be detected and objects can be tracked based on the real-time data that is utilized in everyday life. These connected sensor devices and objects will provide a large amount of data that is to be analyzed quickly, as it can accelerate the transformation of smart technology. The accuracy of prediction of artificial intelligence (AI) systems is drastically increasing by using machine learning and other probability and statistical approaches. Big data and geospatial data help to solve complex issues and play a vital role in future applications. Emerging Trends, Techniques, and Applications in Geospatial Data Science provides an overview of the basic concepts of data science, related tools and technologies, and algorithms for managing the relevant challenges in real-time application domains. The book covers a detailed description for readers with practical ideas using AI, the internet of things (IoT), and machine learning to deal with the analysis, modeling, and predictions from big data. Covering topics such as field spectra, high-resolution sensing imagery, and spatiotemporal data engineering, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for data scientists, computer and IT professionals, managers, mathematicians and statisticians, health professionals, technology developers, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book gathers selected and expanded contributions presented at the 5th Symposium on Space Optical Instruments and Applications, which was held in Beijing, China, on September 5-7, 2018. This conference series is organized by the Sino-Holland Space Optical Instruments Laboratory, a cooperative platform between China and the Netherlands. The symposium focused on key technological problems regarding optical instruments and their applications in a space context. It covered the latest developments, experiments and results on the theory, instrumentation and applications of space optics. The book is split into five main sections: The first covers optical remote sensing system design, the second focuses on advanced optical system design, and the third addresses remote sensor calibration and measurement. Remote sensing data processing and information extraction are then presented, followed by a final section on remote sensing data applications.