Remote Sensing of Coastal Environments

Book excerpt: As coastal environments around the world face unprecedented natural and anthropogenic threats, advancements in the technologies that support geospatial data acquisition, imaging, and computing have profoundly enhanced monitoring capabilities in coastal studies. Providing systematic treatment of the key developments, Remote Sensing of Coastal Environments brings together renowned scholars to supply a clear presentation of the state-of-the-art in this technically complex arena. Edited by a recipient of the prestigious PECASE award, this book provides unrivaled coverage of the issues unique to coastal environments. It presents the best available data for measuring and monitoring coastal zones and explains how decision makers and resource managers can use this data to address contemporary issues in coastal zone management. The text illustrates the latest developments in active remote sensing, hyperspectral remote sensing, high spatial resolution remote sensing, the integration of remote sensing and in situ data, and covers the effects of land-cover and land-use change on coastal environments. Complete with representative case studies, this authoritative resource provides a timely snapshot of the wide range of remote sensing applications in coastal issues to enhance the understanding of how increasing disturbances to our coastal regions are affecting the ecological dynamics, biological diversity, and ecosystem health of our coastal environments.