The International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, 2001. — 591 p.Principles of Remote Sensing is written to be primarily used as textbook for the introductory module on Earth Observation of all ITC degree courses and for several short diploma or certificate courses. Together with the complementary book Principles of Geographic Information Systems it can also serve as a basic reference on geoinformatics for a wide disciplinary user range from urban and regional planning, civil engineering and geo-engineering, management of natural resources, environmental protection, disaster management and defense, water management and earth resources exploration to land administration and governance. The book presents the basic principles of geospatial data acquisition limiting the scope to the intersection of earth observation and remote sensing. The design of the book was governed by the aim to cover the interests of a very wide user spectrum and the restriction that a novice student of geoinformatics can learn the selected basics in three weeks. The structure of the book follows the classical set-up of first reviewing the necessary physics before discussing sensor technology and introducing common image processing techniques. The title Remote Sensing has been kept for historical reasons; the book is now in its fourth edition.
You may wonder why ITC has been producing its own introductory textbook while there are already many books on the subject available on the market. PoRS is different in various aspects. First of all, it has been developed for the specific ITC student population, thereby taking into account their entry level and knowledge of English language. Being used at the beginning of the courses it tries to stimulate conceptual and abstract thinking without overloading it with formulae. The book relates to the typical ITC application disciplines and is, therefore, not limited to traditional sectorial remote sensing; it includes photogrammetric subjects and an introduction into techniques of data acquisition for subsurface characteristics. Finally, compared to other introductory books, which often focus on the technique, PoRS also introduces processes. In this sense, it provides a frame to refer to when more detailed subjects are dealt with later in the programme.Introduction to earth observation by remote sensing
Electromagnetic energy and remote sensing
Spatial referencing
Platforms and passive electro-optical sensors
Visualization and radiometric operations
Geometric operations
Visual image interpretation
Digital image classification
Aerial photography
Active sensors
Image restoration and atmospheric corrections
Thermal remote sensing
Imaging Spectrometry
Remote sensing below the ground surface
A: Spaceborne EO systems of special significance
B: SI units & prefixes
C: List of Formulae
