This book contains a selection of refereed papers presented at the 6 Specialist Meeting on Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing of the Environment held in Florence, Italy on March 15-18, 1999. Over the last two decades, passive microwave remote sensing has made considerable progress, and has achieved significant results in the study of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Many years of observations with ground-based and satellite-borne sensors have made an important contribution to improving our knowledge of many geophysical processes of the Earth's environment and of global changes. The evolution in microwave radiometers aboard satellites has increased steadily over recent years. At the same time, many investigations have been carried out both to improve the algorithms for the retrieval of geophysical parameters and to develop new technologies. The book is divided into four main sections: three of these are devoted to the observation of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, and the fourth, to future missions and new technologies. The first section deals with the study of sea and land surfaces, and reports recent advances in remote sensing of ocean wind, sea ice, soil moisture and vegetation biomass, including electromagnetic modelling and the assimilation of radiometric data in models of land surface processes. The following two sections are devoted to the measurement of atmospheric quantities which are of fundamental importance in climatology and meteorology, and, since they influence radio-wave propagation, they also impact on several other fields, including geodesy, navigational satellite and radioastronomy. The last section presents an overview of new technologies and plans for future missions.

A rapidly growing area, remote sensing is crucial to the effort of modeling the earth's atmosphere and collecting such fundamental data as temperature, winds, pressures, water vapor distribution, clouds and other active constituents. This information enables us to test existing models of the atmosphere's energy balance, depletion of the ozone layer, climatic trends and other essential environmental data. Also discussed is the application of microwave remote sensing techniques to the atmospheres of planets other than the earth.

The most comprehensive description of the physical foundations of methods and instruments in the fields of passive remote sensing applied to investigations of the Earth, Solar system bodies and space. Emphasis is placed on the physical aspects necessary to judge the possibilities and limitations of passive remote sensing methods in specific observation cases. Numerous practical applications and illustrations are given referring to airspace up-to-date experiments. Due to the lack in traditional separation on methods and instruments of remote sensing of the Earth and outerterrestrial space this book aims to supply more information in this field.

The ability to effectively monitor the atmosphere on a continuous basis requires remote sensing in microwave. Written for physicists and engineers working in the area of microwave sensing of the atmosphere, Ground-Based Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing: Methods and Applications is completely devoted to ground-based remote sensing. This text

Introduction to Satellite Remote Sensing: Atmosphere, Ocean and Land Applications is the first reference book to cover ocean applications, atmospheric applications, and land applications of remote sensing. Applications of remote sensing data are finding increasing application in fields as diverse as wildlife ecology and coastal recreation management. The technology engages electromagnetic sensors to measure and monitor changes in the earth's surface and atmosphere. The book opens with an introduction to the history of remote sensing, starting from when the phrase was first coined. It goes on to discuss the basic concepts of the various systems, including atmospheric and ocean, then closes with a detailed section on land applications. Due to the cross disciplinary nature of the authors' experience and the content covered, this is a must have reference book for all practitioners and students requiring an introduction to the field of remote sensing. - Provides study questions at the end of each chapter to aid learning - Covers all satellite remote sensing technologies, allowing readers to use the text as instructional material - Includes the most recent technologies and their applications, allowing the reader to stay up-to-date - Delves into laser sensing (LIDAR) and commercial satellites (DigitalGlobe) - Presents examples of specific satellite missions, including those in which new technology has been introduced

This volume contains a collection of refereed papers which were presented at the Specialist Meeting on Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing of the Environment, 14--17 February 1994, Rome, Italy. The last decade has marked a period of steady advancement and new developments in the observation of the terrestrial environment by passive microwave sensors. Both ground-based and satellite-borne systems have improved their accuracy, stability and spatial resolution and are providing a wealth of quantitative data, which are increasingly being employed in application-oriented projects. The contributions in this volume cover different fields of applications of microwave radiometry, the various observation and retrieval techniques and the recent technological developments. The articles are divided into four sections: measurement of atmospheric water vapor and cloud liquid, measurement of rain, observation of the surface, and new radiometric systems.

The capability of the microwave radiometric method to determine soil moisture and vegetation biometric indices was revealed a quarter of a century ago by the author and many of his colleagues. In light of many research projects since then, the main objective of this book is to render a systematic account of questions concerning the microwave radiometry of the Earth’s surface in the presence of vegetation canopies.