Global environmental change is one of the most pressing international issues of the next century. There is a need to monitor the Earth's vital signs, from atmospheric ozone to tropical deforestation to sea level change. Models used to predict global changes have not yet fully used global observational data sets. Satellite data sets will be vital in addressing global change issues, in determining natural variability and monitoring global and regional changes. This timely volume provides an illustration of the variety of satellite-derived global data sets now available, their uses, advantages and limitations, and the range of variation that has already been observed with these data. A team of distinguished contributors provide a highly illustrated and accessible account suitable for the general scientific reader.

Future Climates of the World: A Modelling Perspective is Volume 16 of the highly prestigious series of climatology reference books World Survey of Climatology. The present volume offers a state-of-the-art overview of our understanding of future climates and is aimed at climatology undergraduates, interested non-climatologists with a scientific background as well as the generally interested reader. Each topic is discussed clearly so that the full implications of its affect on the earth's future climate can be fully understood. The study of climate has moved from data collection ``climatology'' to the model and experimentally based predictions of ``climatic science''. Our understanding of climatic prediction depends crucially upon improvements in, and improved understanding of, climatic models. The book compises four main themes which follow an introductory chapter i.e. the geologic perspective (I) and present-day observations (II) as they pertain to future climates; human factors affecting future climates (III) and planetary geophysiology and future climates (IV).

Earth Surface Processes is an introductory text for those studying the dynamics of fluid and sediment transport in the environments, in the context of both present-day patterns as well as the environmental changes decipherable in the geological record. The book is divided into two parts. The first deals with the global-scale aspects of the earth's surface system. The second part focuses on the physical underpinnings for fluid and sediment transport in a number of settings, found at the earth's surface and in its oceans. Earth Surface Processes fits into the literature of the broad holistic discipline of 'Earth System Science.' The author illustrates the physical principles of earth's surface processes and explains the relevant theories by quantitative practical exercises. The pioneering textbook on the "new sedimentology" One of the first textbooks to adopt the Earth Systems approach to geology, developed at Penn State and Stanford Should reinvigorate more traditional courses in physical sedimentology and dynamical sedimentology Successfully marries the innovative holistic approach to Earth Systems with the traditional reductionist approach to sedimentary processes Explains both the global-scale Earth Surface System and the fluid dynamics and sedimentary transport processes that underlie this Quantitative approach is reinforced with worked examples and solutions Richly illustrated with original diagrams and a colour plate section

Global Change is increasingly considered a critical topic in environmental research. Remote sensing methods provide a useful tool to monitor global variables, since they provide a systematic coverage of the Earth’s surface, at different spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions. This book offers an analysis of the leading missions in global Earth observation, and reviews the main fields in which remote sensing methods are providing vital data for global change studies.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This text aims to familiarize the uninitiated with satellite data and with the reading of colour-coded satellite images of the Earth. It gives a sense of how the raw data is converted into information about the Earth and the atmosphere, and shows the range of information being collected about the Earth through satellites. There is also coverage of six of the important topics in Earth/atmosphere studies now being examined with data from satellites: atmospheric ozone; polar sea ice; continental snow cover; sea surface temperatures; land vegetation; and volcanoes.

Designed for an introductory course in remote sensing, this highly regarded text offers 28 pages with color photos, Sabins trademark clarity, and comprehensive coverage. The first chapter vividly introduces the major remote sensing systems and the interactions between electromagnetic energy and materials that are the basis for remote sensing. Six following chapters describe the major imaging systems. After a digital image-processing chapter, Sabins devotes the rest of the text to descriptions of practical applications of remote sensing to environmental monitoring, oil and mineral exploration, land-use and geographic information systems, and natural hazards.