Physical Principles of Remote Sensing explains remote sensing of the Earth's surface and atmosphere from space using electromagnetic radiation. The main emphasis of the book is on the physical and mathematical principles underlying the techniques, but examples of applications are drawn from a range of the environmental sciences.
This second edition of a popular book has been very substantially revised and expanded. The topics covered include overviews of electromagnetic propagation in free space and in matter, surface and volume scattering, the interaction of radiation with the atmosphere, the main classes of sensor (photographic, electro-optical, passive microwave, laser profiling and lidar, radar altimclric, microwave scattcrometer and imaging radar), satellite orbits for remote sensing, and an introduction to image processing. Additions for this new edition include a discussion of the radiative transfer equation, atmospheric sounding techniques and interferometric radar, an expanded list of problems (now including solutions), and a discussion of GPS (the Global Positioning System). The discussions of all the main types of sensor are illustrated with up-to-date examples of real instruments. SI units are used throughout the book.
This book forms the basis of an introductory course in remote sensing highlighting physical and mathematical principles. The main readership will be undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in remote sensing, geography, cartography, surveying, meteorology, earth sciences and environmental sciences generally, as well as physicists, mathematicians and engineers who wish to know about, or retrain into, the area of Earth remote sensing. It will also form a valuable reference source for researchers using remote sensing techniques.