In an age of unprecedented proliferation of data from disparate sources the urgency is to create efficient methodologies that can optimise data combinations and at the same time solve increasingly complex application problems. Integration of GIS and Remote Sensing explores the tremendous potential that lies along the interface between GIS and remote sensing for activating interoperable databases and instigating information interchange. It concentrates on the rigorous and meticulous aspects of analytical data matching and thematic compatibility - the true roots of all branches of GIS/remote sensing applications. However closer harmonization is tempered by numerous technical and institutional issues, including scale incompatibility, measurement disparities, and the inescapable notion that data from GIS and remote sensing essentially represent diametrically opposing conceptual views of reality. The first part of the book defines and characterises GIS and remote sensing and presents the reader with an awareness of the many scale, taxonomical and analytical problems when attempting integration. The second part of the book moves on to demonstrate the benefits and costs of integration across a number of human and environmental applications. This book is an invaluable reference for students and professionals dealing not only with GIS and remote sensing, but also computer science, civil engineering, environmental science and urban planning within the academic, governmental and commercial/business sectors.

This new book presents powerful techniques that can be used to address issues and problems related to wetlands and surface waters. It is the first book of its kind to address inventory and management of wetlands and water quality problems using GIS and remote sensing technologies. Wetland and Environmental Applications of GIS describes a variety of techniques, applications, and case studies for evaluating wetland and surface water characteristics at the landscape scale. The book details wetland and environmentally-oriented surface water resource studies using spatial and spectral based technologies such as GIS, remote sensing, computer modeling, and image display. Introductory material is included in the first section to provide a common background and to refresh or introduce concepts to the professional. The second section details applications of these technologies in studies of wetlands, including the use of GIS and archival satellite data in evaluating and measuring sediment types, water depth, and environmental change in the coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes. The third section addresses various environmental applications of GIS, such as locating non-point pollution sources and managing oil spills. The final section supplies additional information and applications, with particular emphasis on potential contributions of remote sensing.