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.

Experts report the state of the art in the study of global climate change using remote sensing techniques. Topics covered include the principles of remote sensing, the management of data, data requirements in climatology, the principles of modelling, the input of data into models, and the application of remote sensing to the atmosphere, ice and snow, seas and land. The book is highly topical given the current great public and scientific awareness of possible man-made changes to the climate. It is essential reading for anyone new to the field, and invaluable as a reference work to those already working in it.