Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
years because a very complex system of satellite and airborne sensors are available.
Some environmental changes have only been identifi ed because of satellite data.
Other processes have been better quantifi ed using satellite-derived information, and
the uncertainties of these processes have been reduced as a direct result of the sensing
capability. For geographers, access to comprehensive spatial and temporal informa-
tion on the state of the physical, chemical and biological environment provides
exciting new opportunities to better understand the many rapid changes that are
currently reshaping our planet. Earth Observation also opens up previously unimag-
inable opportunities to visualise and analyse three-dimensional space-time processes
of urban change of relevance for spatial planning. Finally, remote sensing is not just
a tool for monitoring. Its use for environmental monitoring can also act as a force
in shaping the environment it observes by driving land management and policy
decisions (Robbins, 2001). This reciprocal relationship makes remote sensing a
fascinating subject to study for Human Geographers, too.
The international community is coordinating Earth Observation needs and the
required technological infrastructure through the Global Earth Observation System
of Systems (GEOSS). This idea was conceived following the fi rst Earth Observation
Summit in Washington, DC in July 2003, which established the intergovernmental
Group on Earth Observations (GEO). At the second Earth Observation Summit in
Tokyo in April 2004, a Framework Document for GEOSS was adopted. At the third
Summit in Brussels in February 2005, the GEOSS 10-Year Implementation Plan
was endorsed. The societal needs for a global observing system were identifi ed as
follows:
• 'Reducing loss of life and property from natural and human-induced disasters.
• Understanding environmental factors affecting human health and well-being.
• Improving management of energy resources.
• Understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating and adapting to climate vari-
ability and change.
• Improving water resource management through better understanding of the
water cycle.
• Improving weather information, forecasting and warning.
• Improving the management and protection of terrestrial, coastal and marine
ecosystems.
• Supporting sustainable agriculture and combating desertifi cation.
• Understanding, monitoring and conserving biodiversity'. (Group on Earth
Observations, 2006).
In conclusion, the current Earth Observation capabilities will further develop, and
we will see new information services emerge.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andersen, H.-E., McGaughey, R., Reutebuch, S., Schreuder, G., Agee, J. and Mercer, B.
(2004) Estimating canopy fuel parameters in a Pacifi c Northwest conifer forest using mul-
tifrequency polarimetric IFSAR. Proceedings of the ISPRS conference, Istanbul.
Andreae, M. O. (1997) Emissions of trace gases and aerosols from southern African savanna
fi res. In B. W. van Wilgen et al. (eds),
Fire in Southern African Savannas: Ecological and
Atmospheric Perspectives
. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand Univiversity Press, pp. 161-84.
