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Book Review: Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation

Summary
An excellent teaching and reference text which is also a delight to consult or browse through

Review
The pervasive impact of technologies such as GIS (geographic information systems) and GPS (global positioning systems) on the conduct of business, science and government, has produced a need for a book that can be used as a reference by practitioners of these systems and for an introductory teaching text on the subject. Lillesand and Kiefer have set out to do this in the fourth edition of their standard work "Remote sensing and image interpretation" which is about the many types of electromagnetic energy sensors currently being operated from airborne and spaceborne platforms "to assist in inventorying, mapping, and monitoring earth resources". They map a logical progression from the simplest sensing systems to the more complex. Befittingly, there is also a progression from the short to the long wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum - photography in the UV, visible, and near IR regions; multispectral scanning (including thermal scanning in the "heat" region); and radar sensing in the microwave region. This structure is followed from Chapter 1 "Concepts and foundations of remote sensing" through "Elements of photographic systems" and "Basic principles of photogrammetry" (CH 2 & 3). Chapter 4 is an "Introduction to visual image interpretation". It moves through land use/cover mapping and Geological/soil mapping on to a range of applications including agricultural, forestry, rangeland, water resources and wetlands, wildlife ecology and environmental assessment and also urban and regional planning, plus archaeology. The next two chapters cover "Multispectral, thermal and hyperspectral sensing" and "Earth resource satellites operating in the optical spectrum". Raw data collected need processing and enhancement and these techniques are covered in Chapter seven "Digital image processing". The final chapter covers "Microwave sensing". The two brief appendices on "Remote data sources" and "Remote sensing periodical" will be valuable to newcomers to this growing and useful discipline. Each chapter is self-contained and includes what the authors modestly refer to as a "selected bibliography" but which is as detailed as that in any refereed journal article and contains many references to within a year before the final publication of the volume. This is as good as can be reasonably expected of any text. It is copiously illustrated with black and white and colour photographs in the visible range and many colour images of data gained from the entire range of sensing devices described in the volume. The line illustrations are clear and instructive and I am sure that many

lecturers would consciously or subconsciously use these in both structured and informal teaching sessions. This is a book that is a pleasure to read, whether to consult or just browse through. It is well written with a clarity and general economy of style. It belongs not merely in the library of any college that has an earth science or related departments such as engineering, archaeology or those applications mentioned in chapter 4, but also in the personal collection of anyone who steps back to look at our planet. Thomas M. Lillesand and Ralph W. Kiefer have accomplished what they set out to achieve. This fourth edition can be recommended without reservation save for human frailties, should some readers not live up to the authors dedication "to the peaceful application of remote sensing order to maximise the scientific, social and commercial benefits of this technology for all humankind".

About the Reviewer


Lecturer, Earth Science, Richmond upon Thames College

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