360
May 2015
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
REGION
EWS
content and presentation should make them useful both to an
applications practitioner and students learning about thermal
remote sensing. Many of the illustrations in these chapters
are excellent.
The other half of the book illustrates applications of remote
sensing using thermal wavelengths. In each chapter, where
necessary for understanding, the authors have included enough
additional physics to set the context for their particular topic.
Where an equation is really needed, it is given in a form that
is visually easy to read and is well explained. Illustrations are
placed with the topical text, and are sized adequately to be
read without strain. The authors of each chapter are clearly
knowledgeable on their topic.
Thermal remote sensing may be used in a surprising range of
applications. This text explores much of this range. There are
chapters on sea surface temperature, soil moisture, vegetation
fires, lava flows, volcanic heat patterns, coal fires, hot springs
and geothermal areas, urban fabric, and mapping of surficial
mineralogy. Topics such as vegetation or agricultural
productivity, ecological thermodynamics, atmospheric and
weather processes, or lithologic mapping are not addressed.
But to cover a meaningful number of additional applications for
thermal remote sensing would have required a substantially
larger book. The applications selected are adequate to sketch
out the scope of the canvas. However, in a revised edition of
the book the authors should consider at least enumerating
additional applications of the technology with a citation or two.
This would serve to put the reader on notice that there is far
more out there.
One final observation is pertinent. The editors have chosen
authors from a broad range of institutions and backgrounds.
This is seen in the international scope of the contributors.
The 61 authors are truly international. According to their
institutional affiliations there are 11 nations, with no single
nation dominating: 16 - Germany, 16 - U.S., 9 - Italy, 6 - United
Kingdom, 5 - China, 3 – Spain, 2 – France, 2 – Netherlands, 1
each from Brazil, Austria and Canada. This is not a statistic
lacking in meaning. Rather, it illustrates the breadth and
diversity of the field; and, it reflects the distinctly different
interests for which thermal remote sensing is used.
Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing: Sensors, Methods,
Applications
is a book I am personally recommending to my
colleagues and collaborators, many of whom have worked
intensively in the field for three decades. It is also within reach
of undergraduates and distinctly useful for graduate students.
Rocky Mountain Region
GIS IN THE ROCKIES — “TODAYS VISION TOMORROWS
REALITY” RETURNS TO THE CABLE CENTER IN DENVER
J
oin us September 23 & 24 in Denver, Colorado
for the 28
th
Annual GIS in the Rockies
Conference—the Intermountain West’s premier
geospatial information and technology conference.
We are pleased to welcome as our keynote speaker Steve Coast,
founder of OpenStreetMap - a user created map of the world
emphasizing local knowledge. Steve also created the State of the Map
conference, co-founded CloudMade, kicked off mapstraction and works at Telenav.
Tracks are being organized by GIS Colorado, ASPRS, Rocky Mountain URISA, and PLSC. Other tracks
include GIS in Education, GIS in Government, and Open Source (FOSS4G). Aside from sessions, the
opening and closing keynotes, and discussion panels, the conference also features an evening social, vendor showcase, student
breakfast, job fair, and more. A preliminary schedule for 2015 is now available at
.
Discounted early registration is available for $250 - a $75 savings - until May 31
st
!
For more information, visit
.
Book Review
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