Accurate solar radiation knowledge and its characterization on the Earth’s surface are of high interest in many aspects of environmental and engineering sciences. Modeling of solar irradiance from satellite imagery has become the most widely used method for retrieving solar irradiance information under total sky conditions, particularly in the solar energy community. Solar radiation modeling, forecasting, and characterization continue to be broad areas of study, research, and development in the scientific community. This Special Issue contains a small sample of the current activities in this field. Both the environmental and climatology community, as the solar energy world, share a great interest in improving modeling tools and capabilities for obtaining more reliable and accurate knowledge of solar irradiance components worldwide. The work presented in this Special Issue also remarks on the significant role that remote sensing technologies play in retrieving and forecasting solar radiation information.

Solar radiation data is important for a wide range of applications, e.g. in engineering, agriculture, health sector, and in many fields of the natural sciences. A few examples showing the diversity of applications may include: architecture and building design, e.g. air conditioning and cooling systems; solar heating system design and use; solar power generation; evaporation and irrigation; calculation of water requirements for crops; monitoring plant growth and disease control; skin cancer research.

This book is a completely updated, greatly expanded version of the previously successful volume by the author. The Second Edition includes new results and data, and discusses a unified framework and rationale for designing and evaluating image processing algorithms.Written from the viewpoint that image processing supports remote sensing science, this book describes physical models for remote sensing phenomenology and sensors and how they contribute to models for remote-sensing data. The text then presents image processing techniques and interprets them in terms of these models. Spectral, spatial, and geometric models are used to introduce advanced image processing techniques such as hyperspectral image analysis, fusion of multisensor images, and digital elevationmodel extraction from stereo imagery.The material is suited for graduate level engineering, physical and natural science courses, or practicing remote sensing scientists. Each chapter is enhanced by student exercises designed to stimulate an understanding of the material. Over 300 figuresare produced specifically for this book, and numerous tables provide a rich bibliography of the research literature.

Since the first edition of Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach was published in 2002, GRASS has undergone major improvements. This second edition includes numerous updates related to the new development; its text is based on the GRASS 5.3 version from December 2003. Besides changes related to GRASS 5.3 enhancements, the introductory chapters have been re-organized, providing more extensive information on import of external data. Most of the improvements in technical accuracy and clarity were based on valuable feedback from readers. Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach, Second Edition, provides updated information about the use of GRASS, including geospatial modeling with raster, vector, and site data, image processing, visualization, and coupling with other open source tools for geostatistical analysis and web applications. A brief introduction to programming within GRASS encourages new development. The sample data set used throughout the book has been updated and is available on the GRASS web site. This book also includes links to sites where the GRASS software and on-line reference manuals can be downloaded and additional applications can be viewed.

The cost of operating a building far exceeds the cost of constructing it, and yet until recently little attention was paid to the impact of solar radiation on the costs of heating, cooling and ventilation. And now that there has been a surge in interest in energy efficiency and solar design, architects and designers need a practical guide to the modelling and application of solar energy data. There are many different models and techniques available for calculating the distribution of solar radiation on and in buildings, and these algorithms vary considerably in scope, accuracy and complexity. This book demonstrates which of these predictive tools gives the best results in different circumstances, including explaining which models can be best used in different parts of the world. The author has had over twenty-five years of experience of dealing with solar energy data from four continents and has used that experience in this book to show the development not just of knowledge but also the growing sophistication of the models available to apply it.

Advanced Remote Sensing is an application-based reference that provides a single source of mathematical concepts necessary for remote sensing data gathering and assimilation. It presents state-of-the-art techniques for estimating land surface variables from a variety of data types, including optical sensors such as RADAR and LIDAR. Scientists in a number of different fields including geography, geology, atmospheric science, environmental science, planetary science and ecology will have access to critically-important data extraction techniques and their virtually unlimited applications. While rigorous enough for the most experienced of scientists, the techniques are well designed and integrated, making the book's content intuitive, clearly presented, and practical in its implementation. Comprehensive overview of various practical methods and algorithms Detailed description of the principles and procedures of the state-of-the-art algorithms Real-world case studies open several chapters More than 500 full-color figures and tables Edited by top remote sensing experts with contributions from authors across the geosciences

This book describes the algorithms, validation and preliminary analysis of the Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) products, a long-term, high-quality dataset that is now freely available worldwide to government organizations and agencies, scientific research institutions, students and members of the general public. The GLASS products include leaf area index, broadband albedo, broadband emissivity, downward shortwave radiation and photosynthetically active radiation. The first three GLASS products cover 1981 to 2012 with 1km and 5km spatial resolutions and 8-day temporal resolution, and the last two GLASS products span 2008 to 2010 with 3-hour temporal resolution and 5km spatial resolution. These GLASS products are unique. The first three are spatially continuous and cover the longest period of time among all current similar satellite products. The other two products are the highest spatial-resolution global radiation products from satellite observations that are currently available. These products can be downloaded from Beijing Normal University at http://glass-product.bnu.edu.cn/ and the University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility at http://www.glcf.umd.edu/ The GLASS products are the outcome of a key research project entitled “Generation & Applications of Global Products of Essential Land Variables”, supported by funding from the High-Tech Research and Development Program of China and involving dozens of institutions and nearly one hundred scientists and researchers. Following an introduction, the book contains five chapters corresponding to these five GLASS products: background, algorithm, quality control and validation, preliminary analysis and applications. It discusses the long-term environmental changes detected from the GLASS products and other data sources at both global and local scales and also provides detailed analysis of regional hotspots where environmental changes are mainly associated with climate change, drought, land-atmosphere interactions, and human activities. The book is based primarily on a set of published journal papers about these five GLASS products and includes updated information. Since these products have now begun to be widely used, this book is an essential reference document. It is also a very helpful resource to anyone interested in satellite remote sensing and its applications.