Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
monitoring, snow-climate interaction, and snow-atmosphere coupling strength was
reviewed in this chapter (Xu 2013 ).
Evapotranspiration is a crucial variable for understanding the impact of the
climate on vegetation health and is an important indicator for monitoring global
and regional climate changes. It is directly associated with energy and water cycles
and has critical impacts on irrigated crops, ecosystem services, and water resource
management. In Chap. 13 , Drs. Martin, Allen, and Brazil estimate evapotranspiration
with satellite remote sensing for irrigation water management. MODIS and Landsat
data products and the METRIC surface energy method were used to estimate crop
evapotranspiration in three Moroccan irrigation sectors. They found that the satellite
remote sensing data analysis delivered useful results for large irrigated areas with
little information on crop consumptive use and irrigation efficiency, and almost no
information on groundwater abstraction (Martin et al. 2013 ).
Satellite measurements are an important component of the global snow observ-
ing system. In Chap. 14 , Dr. Romanov presents an overview of the satellite-based
applications of snow cover. The reviewed techniques include an interactive
approach where snow maps are manually generated by human analysts through a
visual examination of satellite imagery. The most recent fully automated algorithms
that utilize satellite observations in multiple bands in the optical, infrared, and
microwave spectral range are discussed. The author concluded that satellite-based
retrievals of the snow extent and the spatial distribution of snow cover are accu-
rately and spatially detailed (Romanov 2013 ).
Accurate measurements of global rainfall are crucial for better understanding the
water and energy cycles of the climate system. The lack of global gauge networks,
especially over the ocean, in mountainous terrains, or in remote areas, points to
satellite observation as the only viable method for global scale rainfall monitoring.
In Chap. 15 , Drs. Chiu, Gao, and Shi discuss the recent advances of climate-scale
oceanic rainfall based on passive microwave radiometry. The authors describe the
model structure and the underlying theory, examine the product output parameters,
and discuss example techniques related to climate studies, future work, and poten-
tial product improvements.
Vegetation monitoring is crucial for understanding the sustainability of our
planet and represents an important approach to monitor climate change. Satellite
remote sensing measurements provide a valuable data source for monitoring vege-
tation from space. In Chap. 16 , Dr. Gao discusses recent studies using integrated
high spatial resolution Landsat and high temporal resolution MODIS data for
vegetation monitoring. Dr. Gao describes three categories of approach to integrate
the two satellite data sources. The data fusion approach synthesizes Landsat and
MODIS data to produce the fused data products with high spatial and temporal
resolution. Each approach has its advantages and limitations. These approaches can
be applied to other similar sensors. Their advantages and limitations are also
discussed (Gao 2013 ).
Vegetation phenology describing the seasonal cycle of plants is currently one of
the main concerns in the study of climate change and carbon balance estimation in
ecosystems. Monitoring phenology from space is another recent advance in
satellite-based applications. Satellite-derived information has been demonstrated
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