Remote sensing has witnessed a renaissance as new sensor systems, data collection capabilities and image processing methodologies have expanded the technological capabilities of this science into new and important applications areas. Perhaps nowhere has this trend been more evident than in the study of earth environments. Within this broad application area remote sensing has proven to be an invaluable asset supporting timely data gathering at a range of synoptic scales, facilitating the mapping of complex landscapes and promoting the analysis of environmental process. Yet remote sensing’s contribution to the study of human/environmental interaction is scattered throughout a rich and diverse literature spanning the social and physical sciences, which frustrates access to, and the sharing of the knowledge gained through, these recent advances, and inhibits the operational use of these methods and techniques in day to day environmental practice, a recognized gap that reduces the effectiveness of environmental management programs. The objective of this book is to address this gap and provide the synthesis of method and application that is currently missing in the environmental science, re-introducing remote sensing as an important decision-support technology.
