- Email: [email protected]
Book Review—Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation
BOOKREVIEW Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation by Lillesand, Kiefer, and Chipman is one of those three or four “must have” books that every remote sensing scientist has as part of their personal library. I still have the first edition that came out back in 1979 and now I am pleased to add the 7th edition to the other six. This book is useful not only as a textbook in a remote sensing course, but also as a valuable reference for the practitioner. New sections covering LiDAR and UAS technologies along with comprehensive information and tables on all the new satellites and imaging systems is incredibly valuable. The book is divided into eight chapters beginning with the concepts and foundations of remote sensing and ending with an impressive presentation of over a dozen applications using the concepts and methods presented throughout the book. As an academic, I am always searching for the perfect textbooks to use in each of my remote sensing classes. Over the last 10 or so years, one course that I teach, called Photogrammetry and Photo Interpretation, has come to add Remote Sensing and Image more and more digital analysis until I have recently changed Interpretation. 7th Edition. the name to Remote Sensing of the Environment. I have struggled finding a book that has the right balance between Thomas Lillesand, Ralph Kiefer, and Jonathan the fundamentals of image analysis with everything I want Chipman. to cover related to digital analysis. That struggle is over! John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ. 2015. Xii and 720 pp. Delivered by Ingentajust to: Georgediagrams, Mason University Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation provides maps, photos, images, index, SI units. Paperback. IP: 5.101.219.237 On: Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:28:58 the balance that I was looking for in this course. Chapter $190.95, e-book $62.50, ISBN 978-1-118-34328-9. Copyright: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 1 provides a review of the basic concepts and foundations of remote sensing including electromagnetic energy, the Reviewed by: Russell G. Congalton, Professor atmosphere, and the earth’s surface. It even has a most of Remote Sensing & GIS, Department of Natural excellent disclaimer about reference data and the term Resources & the Environment, University of New “ground truth”. I have lead a crusade to eliminate the term “ground truth” from the remote sensing vocabulary and am Hampshire, Durham, NH. very glad to see these authors reinforce the ides that there is only reference data and that all data collection includes assumptions, samples, time, methods that can inherently introduce error, and should not be called “truth”. The LiDAR sensing in Chapter 6. I would have preferred to see elements of photographic systems are covered in Chapter 2 microwave and LiDAR handled in separate chapters with including basics about both film and digital photography and more information provided on LiDAR, but understand the aerial camera systems. Chapter 3 presents the principles authors thinking of putting all these active sensors together behind photogrammetry. Given the high spatial resolution in one place. Chapter 7 is an excellent chapter dedicated to of much of our current digital imagery, a strong knowledge digital image analysis. The chapter is quite comprehensive of photogrammetry is required of every remote sensing including everything from image enhancements to scientist and this chapter is critical to the completeness of image classification including a section on object-based this book. Chapters 1 -3 provide just the right amount of classification to accuracy assessment and change detection. information to form a solid foundation that I believe is key This chapter is perfect for my introductory course and for to know and understand before moving on to any digital analysis. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 together present an overview of Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing Vol. 81, No. 8, August 2015, pp. 615–616. the digital data/imagery that are available now. Concepts 0099-1112/15/615–616 behind multispectral, thermal, and hyperspectral sensing © 2015 American Society for Photogrammetry are presented in Chapter 4, followed by a summary of earth and Remote Sensing resource satellites in Chapter 5, and then microwave and doi: 10.14358/PERS.81.8.615
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
August 2015 Layout.indd 615
Au g u s t 2015
615
7/22/2015 3:01:28 PM
those who want a great overview in context with the rest of the materials covered in this book. It is not sufficient nor was it designed for a course dedicated solely to digital image analysis nor for the practitioner who needs an entire book or books on this topic. However, as a chapter in this introductory book, it provides an excellent overview of this important material. The book ends with Chapter 8 providing applications of remote sensing to a dozen or so disciplines including land cover mapping, forestry, wildlife, and disaster assessment to list but a few. This book has been tested by time. Owners of previous editions will recognize lots of familiar figures and tables many of which show up in presentations all around the world. However, there is also significant new information and updates that make this edition extremely valuable. Our discipline is changing faster than ever and the number of sensing devices is growing exponentially. While one can and should look up the latest information on appropriate websites, it is extremely valuable and quite comforting to have a single source of this information right on the shelf next to me. I appreciate the thorough and yet compact way in which all this information is provided. In a world today where algorithms and statistics are first line of defense used by most students and practitioners when approaching a challenge this book continues to embrace and
teach old school techniques of photo interpretation that are absolutely vital to the understanding and usefulness of image resources. And as we continue to try to emulate the cognitive abilities of human photo interpretation with algorithms this book is one of very few new books that continues to teach the important and powerful observational skills required for meaningful human cognitive image interpretation. Given the rapid advances in remote sensing technologies and increases in spatial and spectral resolution of the imagery available, it is especially important to know the fundamentals of image analysis that are presented so well in the first three chapters of this book and to combine them with the more advanced digital analysis presented in rest of the book. The authors have clearly met their goals of creating a book that meets the educational needs of students in remote sensing classes while also providing a book that introduces these concepts and methods to a growing number of geospatial analysis professionals. For those that cannot afford a hardcopy of this book, it is available in electronic format at a significantly lower price.
GeoBytes! ASPRS GIS Division — Free Online Seminars
Letter from ASPRS President, E. Lynn Usery Delivered by Ingenta to: George Mason University continued from page 604 IP: 5.101.219.237 On: Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:28:58
Copyright: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
governance model for ASPRS. Doug Fuller, Chair of the Bylaws Committee, is crafting a completely new set of Bylaws for ASPRS that built to allow implementation of the recommendations of the Streamlining Task Force. The members of the Streamlining Task Force are proceeding to implement the recommendations. Among the recommendations being implemented are reformation of the Board of Directors to include only nine voting members; restructuring of member categories to include only three member types, individual, organization, and friend; elimination of the Executive and Strategic Planning Committees; merger to reduce the total number of committees and eliminate overlapping Committee charges; recommended merger of regions as has already begun with Heartland and Pacific Southwest. The recommendations are designed to make ASPRS a more nimble organization capable of quickly adapting to changes in technology, society, and the imaging and geospatial landscape. As President of ASPRS, I am committed to implement the changes recommended by the Streamlining Task Force and approved by the Board of Directors and to have the new organization in place for the Imaging and Geospatial Technology Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, April 11 - 15, 2016. ASPRS President E. Lynn Usery
616
Aug us t 2 015
August 2015 Layout.indd 616
The ASPRS GIS Division, in cooperation with CaGIS and GLIS, is sponsoring free online live seminars throughout the year.
Attention those seeking ASPRS Certification: ASPRS Online Seminars are a great way to gain Professional Development Hours! http://www.asprs.org/ GISD-Division/OnlineSeminars.html
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
7/22/2015 3:01:29 PM
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
August 2015 Layout.indd 615
Au g u s t 2015
615
7/22/2015 3:01:28 PM
those who want a great overview in context with the rest of the materials covered in this book. It is not sufficient nor was it designed for a course dedicated solely to digital image analysis nor for the practitioner who needs an entire book or books on this topic. However, as a chapter in this introductory book, it provides an excellent overview of this important material. The book ends with Chapter 8 providing applications of remote sensing to a dozen or so disciplines including land cover mapping, forestry, wildlife, and disaster assessment to list but a few. This book has been tested by time. Owners of previous editions will recognize lots of familiar figures and tables many of which show up in presentations all around the world. However, there is also significant new information and updates that make this edition extremely valuable. Our discipline is changing faster than ever and the number of sensing devices is growing exponentially. While one can and should look up the latest information on appropriate websites, it is extremely valuable and quite comforting to have a single source of this information right on the shelf next to me. I appreciate the thorough and yet compact way in which all this information is provided. In a world today where algorithms and statistics are first line of defense used by most students and practitioners when approaching a challenge this book continues to embrace and
teach old school techniques of photo interpretation that are absolutely vital to the understanding and usefulness of image resources. And as we continue to try to emulate the cognitive abilities of human photo interpretation with algorithms this book is one of very few new books that continues to teach the important and powerful observational skills required for meaningful human cognitive image interpretation. Given the rapid advances in remote sensing technologies and increases in spatial and spectral resolution of the imagery available, it is especially important to know the fundamentals of image analysis that are presented so well in the first three chapters of this book and to combine them with the more advanced digital analysis presented in rest of the book. The authors have clearly met their goals of creating a book that meets the educational needs of students in remote sensing classes while also providing a book that introduces these concepts and methods to a growing number of geospatial analysis professionals. For those that cannot afford a hardcopy of this book, it is available in electronic format at a significantly lower price.
GeoBytes! ASPRS GIS Division — Free Online Seminars
Letter from ASPRS President, E. Lynn Usery Delivered by Ingenta to: George Mason University continued from page 604 IP: 5.101.219.237 On: Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:28:58
Copyright: American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
governance model for ASPRS. Doug Fuller, Chair of the Bylaws Committee, is crafting a completely new set of Bylaws for ASPRS that built to allow implementation of the recommendations of the Streamlining Task Force. The members of the Streamlining Task Force are proceeding to implement the recommendations. Among the recommendations being implemented are reformation of the Board of Directors to include only nine voting members; restructuring of member categories to include only three member types, individual, organization, and friend; elimination of the Executive and Strategic Planning Committees; merger to reduce the total number of committees and eliminate overlapping Committee charges; recommended merger of regions as has already begun with Heartland and Pacific Southwest. The recommendations are designed to make ASPRS a more nimble organization capable of quickly adapting to changes in technology, society, and the imaging and geospatial landscape. As President of ASPRS, I am committed to implement the changes recommended by the Streamlining Task Force and approved by the Board of Directors and to have the new organization in place for the Imaging and Geospatial Technology Forum in Fort Worth, Texas, April 11 - 15, 2016. ASPRS President E. Lynn Usery
616
Aug us t 2 015
August 2015 Layout.indd 616
The ASPRS GIS Division, in cooperation with CaGIS and GLIS, is sponsoring free online live seminars throughout the year.
Attention those seeking ASPRS Certification: ASPRS Online Seminars are a great way to gain Professional Development Hours! http://www.asprs.org/ GISD-Division/OnlineSeminars.html
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
7/22/2015 3:01:29 PM