336
May 2017
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
BOOK
REVIEW
Infrared Imager Radiation Suite (VIIRS) summarizes the
platform and observation issues including some instrumentation
problems. Followed by a chapter case-study based in the Oregon
Cascades, McKenzie River and Middle Fork Williamette Basins
to study fractional snow cover area (fSCA) [i.e., here estimates
of snow under the forested canopy] comparing an adjust fSCA
to a standard fSAC. The fourth chapter in this section was a
study that provided evidence from again the Yukon River
Basin for the utility of Diurnal Amplitude Variations (DAV) in
terrestrial hydrological systems via passive microwave remote
sensing systems specifically from Special Sensor Microwave
Imager (SSM/I) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer
– Earth Observation System (AMRS-E) and MODIS. The
final chapter in this section is a temporal study of the Canadian
Prairies (CP) from 1979-2004’s snow pack change where snow
water equivalent (SWE) is measured monthly using Scanning
Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and SSM/I data.
Sections 5 addresses remote sensing of soil moisture. The
first chapter discusses the JPL Soil Moisture Active Passive
(SMAP) sensor that at the time of this monograph’s publication
had not yet been launched but in 2014 was launched and has
subsequently stopped transmitting data due to sensor failure.
The authors gives some details about the instrument and
issues addressed in its calibration and validation. The second
chapter considers three Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to
retrieve soil moisture estimates and examines their sensitivity
to backscatter and the usefulness of ancillary data, the case
study is based in Alberta, Canada. Next, a case study in the
Little Washita River Watershed micronet in Oklahoma with the
aim of the study to disaggregate the North American Land data
Assimilation System (NLDAS) derived soil temperatures and
to derive the soil evaporation efficiency variables. The fourth
chapter in this section is a case-study in the Yanco region of
New South Whales, Austraila that utilizes AMRS-E derived soil
moistures data for the top soil measurement and Community
Atmosphere Bioshpere Land Exchange (CABLE) data for
deeper soil moisture predictions. The next case-study is found
in the Green Bayou Basin in east Texas, USA. Here the surface
and root zone satellite soil moisture retrievals from both passive
and active microwave sensors were separately assimilated to
the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting Model (SAC-SMA)
and their contribution to river discharge improvement was
evaluated. The final chapter in this section gives the ins and
outs of the NASA Giovanni tool for visualization, analyzation,
and intercomparison of soil moisture data.
Section 6 addresses groundwater remote sensing. In the first
chapter a case study focusing on Nubian Sandstone Aquifer
System (NSAS) in north east Saharan Africa and the Arabian
Pennisula Aquifer System (APAS) in the Arabian Pennisula
where temporal and spatial variation in groundwater is
examined using GRACE, TRMM, soil moisture derived from t
he ESA-ECV project and other ancillary data is used to monitor
changes since 1987. The next case-study is from the Nile Basin
and examines ground water change from 2003-2013. The
fourth chapter in this section details the creation of a ground
water potential map in the Northern Highland Lake Region
(NHLR) of Vilas County Wisconsin using field work collection,
an AirSAR data collect and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(STMR) DEM used in the map compilation. The final chapter
in this section from JPL is a study on land subsidence using
InSAR to monitor ground water dynamics.
And finally, section 7 considers different aspects remote
sensing analyses involved in terrestrial water cycle modeling
and consists of nine chapters of widely varying mostly
application and case study work related to hydrological remote
sensing, including topics such as extreme events, unmanned
areal systems collections, a case study from Iran and prediction
in ungagged basins through spaceborne microwave signals.
Missing from this text is a list of the many acronyms
used throughout the book, but the editors were diligent
about acronyms being defined within the text and the index
included at the end of the book is both sufficient and useful.
This compilation of important research is welcomed for any
interested in remote sensing of the terrestrial water cycle.
Too young to drive the car? Perhaps!
But not too young to be curious about geospatial sciences.
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