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Principles of remote sensing
Book Reviews approach as and regard a ‘who said what’ unrewarding. I see the book, therefore, as an important one as there are few competitors; it is indeed, as the cover proclaims, ‘a readable survey’. As a stimulus to ideological debate it is a milestone on the road to nowhere; as a lucid, coherent account of the nature of physical geography it is an unrivalled ‘tour de force’, well worth recommending to the serious student of developments in physical geography. Gregory, D. (1978) Ideology, science and human geography. London: Hutchinson. Stephen Trudgill Department of Geography,
University of Sheffield
181
forward ‘conventional’ approach to include, for example, under ‘Glacial subsystems’ (Ch. 3). the theories of causation of the ice ages, and within Chapter 4 (Arid subsystems) a brief discussion of African climatic change interpreted through variations in lake levels. Other chapters contain similar end-of-chapter diversions, which might be more logically included within an enlarged section of the book dealing with climatic history, climatic change and applied climatology. Such reorganization might logically suggest the division of the text into two volumes: the first covered effectively by earlier works by the same author, and the second a more conventional applied climatology text. Graham Sumner Deparimenr of Geography, St David’s University College, Lampeler
Lockwood, J. G. World climaticsystems. London: Edward Arnold, 1985. 292 pp. f 17.50 paperback. Any text which takes on the task of embracing the entire field of applied climatology is risking that its coverage of the varied and various topics will be superficial in the extreme. The alternative might be a book of inordinate length. World climafic sysrems weathers the test remarkably well for a text of less than 300 pages. There is an acceptable compromise between brevity and generality which has produced a text efficiently covering the very considerable spectrum of selected topics. These range from the background meteorology to the world’s major climatic belts, through the problems of desertification, the ice ages, and the relationships between climate, food and energy, to a brief consideration of urban meso- and forest microclimates. The literature base drawn on is considerable: the book is, at the very least, a worthy source of reference on this wide range of topics. However, there are aspects of the book’s approach and content which detract from its undoubted value as a source of reference. It draws quite heavily on two previous texts by the same author, Causes of climate and World Climatology: an environmental approach. This does not directly reduce the book’s academic value, but it might influence decisions to purchase. This quibble aside, the book’s value as an undergraduate text is somewhat reduced by its approach. Here we return to the problem posed by the considerable range of topics covered in the text. These may be conveniently divided, first, into the ‘conventional’ approach to the world’s climatic systems (belts?) themselves, their origin, characteristics etc., and, secondly, the application of this knowledge to current world economic and environmental problems. The book itself is divided into two unequal parts: the first dealing with ‘aspects of the climatic system’, and the second with ‘impacts of the climatic system’. The first occupies about threequarters of the text, but ranges beyond the straight-
Curran, London: back.
P. J. Principles of remote sensing. Longman, 1985. 282 pp. fl I.95 paper-
Within the last quarter-century the term ‘remote sensing’ has become widely accepted and remote sensing techniques are now used by many environmental scientists. This book is intended to provide a synthesis of remote sensing principles for such workers and also an introduction to the literature of the subject for undergraduate and graduate students. Three themes are followed within the book: the meaning of remotely sensed images in terms of our environment; the techniques for their acquisition, and the procedures for their processing and interpretation. Remote sensing is here confined to those sensors that employ electromagnetic radiation and produce images. Much thought has been given on how to present such a broad subject within a limited compass and the text is extremely well structured. Many sections, identified by a somewhat cumbersome numbering system, are very short and sometimes only amount to a single paragraph, leaving the reader wanting more. The introductory chapter on electromagnetic radiation and its interactions with the earth’s surface is the clearest exposition of the topic I have encountered. Further chapters on aerial photography and aerial and satellite sensor imagery follow. There is little in the aerial photography chapter that will be new to many readers and the novice may not comprehend that aerial photos have been proven operational tools for many years while some of the later techniques have had little use outside the laboratory. Dr Curran’s aside that aerial photography is the last bastion of relatively inexpensive and controllable ‘do-it-yourself remote sensing deserves a wider audience. The chapter describing the techniques and machinery used for processing and interpreting
182
Book Reviews
both visual images and discrete digital data brings together many recent developments. The reader unfamiliar with them will find this section hard to follow although the author always writes clearly and manages to avoid use of the jargon that remote sensing has generated. The illustrations are particularly well chosen and with few exceptions well reproduced, and offer the reader splendid examples of what remote sensing techniques can offer. There are many excellent diagrams and the lay-out of the volume is attractive. A novel and welcome feature is the provision of an appendix of ‘Abbreviations and acronyms’ and there is a comprehensive glossary. The reference list is very full, but mainly confined to American and British sources; the interesting contributions from other western European nations and the USSR are barely mentioned in the text. There is little space in such a short volume for critical evaluation of the work cited in the text and the author for the most part simply lists published work for further reading without comment. It is perhaps a measure of the rapid growth of the subject that such a recently published book can already appear somewhat dated; important publications will need to be added to the reference list and new material to the text of a second edition. It is also a little disappointing that, although SPOT and the Thematic iMapper are briefly discussed, there is little information on the exciting developments we can expect in the 1990s. This book will be a useful introduction to remote sensing for students in many disciplines, although they will need to follow up the reading recommended. Others will enjoy it because it is so carefully prepared and well written that it is a pleasure to read. D. M. Carroll
Soil Survey of England and Waales,Harrogate Hill, A. G. (ed.) Population, health and nutrition in the Sahel: issues in the welfare of selected West African communilies. London, KPI, 1985. 399 pp, f 15 paperback. In the recent welter of writings on the Sahel a good deal is opinion and rhetoric. Emphatically it is not so in this thoroughly commendable collection of I5 specific research studies with an editorial introduction, which issues from a meeting held in Bamako, Mali, in January 1983 on ‘Demography, social structure, and welfare of Sahelian pastoral and agro-pastoral communities’. The three main sessions respectively concerned: demography; livestock rearing and the social organization of herders; nutrition, health and seasonality. The volume is organized accordingly, and its 20 con-
tributors comprise six West Africans from the countries studied (Mali, Mauritania and Niger) and the rest from Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. This ensures a range of insight and expertise. The disciplines of medicine, nutrition, demography, social anthropology, sociology, and veterinary studies are each represented; but a more important point is that both infrastructure and presentation are refreshingly inrerdisciplinary, applied to real communities, within the past six years. Moreover, the participation of six women helped to ensure that the studies of fertility, marriage, child health and care carry tones of authenticity on such issues which must be difficult of access in conservative, predominantly Islamic societies (although, perhaps surprisingly, religion seldom figures in the analyses). Something that impresses throughout is the manifest concern with the wider context, with methodology and its limitations. As a result, many interesting tabulations command respect and lay down markers for future research. Likewise, the discussions sometimes reveal the unexpected and challenge preconceptions; for example, the almost uniformly poorer nutritional status of ‘aristocratic’ Fulani (Fulbe) as against their former ‘serfs’ (Rimaibe) at pp. 245,254,282-3, or the dangers of overstressing meat production in livestock development for nomadic pastoralis:s (p. 223). Editorial control has been informed and tight. The language, even where translated, is clear and direct, with a welcome paucity of jargon. The presentation of text, figures, and informative maps and photographs is nigh unblemished. Nor is there a weak paper herein, which makes it unattractive to particularize. Chapter 7, on land tenure in the Inland Niger Delta, which may appear at first the least integrated, turns out to be interesting and apt -not least concerning post-independence land legislation as a hindrance to agricultural development. Generally, the findings stress cultural differentials above environment; but some very germane geographical issues are also highlighted; for example, the unhealthiness of the Delta areas of Mali (especially for resident Fulani pastoralists) as against the semi-arid expanses, where the difficulties and arduousness of water-gathering directly depress male body weights. Indeed, the marked seasonality of nutritional status and health is notably well presented in a number of places. Many international gatherings promise more than they perform; not this one! Whilst the drought of the 1970s stimulated more work on the Sahel, this volume also enhances understanding. I found it an impressive contribution for which to be grateful. David McMaster
Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh
University of Sheffield
181
forward ‘conventional’ approach to include, for example, under ‘Glacial subsystems’ (Ch. 3). the theories of causation of the ice ages, and within Chapter 4 (Arid subsystems) a brief discussion of African climatic change interpreted through variations in lake levels. Other chapters contain similar end-of-chapter diversions, which might be more logically included within an enlarged section of the book dealing with climatic history, climatic change and applied climatology. Such reorganization might logically suggest the division of the text into two volumes: the first covered effectively by earlier works by the same author, and the second a more conventional applied climatology text. Graham Sumner Deparimenr of Geography, St David’s University College, Lampeler
Lockwood, J. G. World climaticsystems. London: Edward Arnold, 1985. 292 pp. f 17.50 paperback. Any text which takes on the task of embracing the entire field of applied climatology is risking that its coverage of the varied and various topics will be superficial in the extreme. The alternative might be a book of inordinate length. World climafic sysrems weathers the test remarkably well for a text of less than 300 pages. There is an acceptable compromise between brevity and generality which has produced a text efficiently covering the very considerable spectrum of selected topics. These range from the background meteorology to the world’s major climatic belts, through the problems of desertification, the ice ages, and the relationships between climate, food and energy, to a brief consideration of urban meso- and forest microclimates. The literature base drawn on is considerable: the book is, at the very least, a worthy source of reference on this wide range of topics. However, there are aspects of the book’s approach and content which detract from its undoubted value as a source of reference. It draws quite heavily on two previous texts by the same author, Causes of climate and World Climatology: an environmental approach. This does not directly reduce the book’s academic value, but it might influence decisions to purchase. This quibble aside, the book’s value as an undergraduate text is somewhat reduced by its approach. Here we return to the problem posed by the considerable range of topics covered in the text. These may be conveniently divided, first, into the ‘conventional’ approach to the world’s climatic systems (belts?) themselves, their origin, characteristics etc., and, secondly, the application of this knowledge to current world economic and environmental problems. The book itself is divided into two unequal parts: the first dealing with ‘aspects of the climatic system’, and the second with ‘impacts of the climatic system’. The first occupies about threequarters of the text, but ranges beyond the straight-
Curran, London: back.
P. J. Principles of remote sensing. Longman, 1985. 282 pp. fl I.95 paper-
Within the last quarter-century the term ‘remote sensing’ has become widely accepted and remote sensing techniques are now used by many environmental scientists. This book is intended to provide a synthesis of remote sensing principles for such workers and also an introduction to the literature of the subject for undergraduate and graduate students. Three themes are followed within the book: the meaning of remotely sensed images in terms of our environment; the techniques for their acquisition, and the procedures for their processing and interpretation. Remote sensing is here confined to those sensors that employ electromagnetic radiation and produce images. Much thought has been given on how to present such a broad subject within a limited compass and the text is extremely well structured. Many sections, identified by a somewhat cumbersome numbering system, are very short and sometimes only amount to a single paragraph, leaving the reader wanting more. The introductory chapter on electromagnetic radiation and its interactions with the earth’s surface is the clearest exposition of the topic I have encountered. Further chapters on aerial photography and aerial and satellite sensor imagery follow. There is little in the aerial photography chapter that will be new to many readers and the novice may not comprehend that aerial photos have been proven operational tools for many years while some of the later techniques have had little use outside the laboratory. Dr Curran’s aside that aerial photography is the last bastion of relatively inexpensive and controllable ‘do-it-yourself remote sensing deserves a wider audience. The chapter describing the techniques and machinery used for processing and interpreting
182
Book Reviews
both visual images and discrete digital data brings together many recent developments. The reader unfamiliar with them will find this section hard to follow although the author always writes clearly and manages to avoid use of the jargon that remote sensing has generated. The illustrations are particularly well chosen and with few exceptions well reproduced, and offer the reader splendid examples of what remote sensing techniques can offer. There are many excellent diagrams and the lay-out of the volume is attractive. A novel and welcome feature is the provision of an appendix of ‘Abbreviations and acronyms’ and there is a comprehensive glossary. The reference list is very full, but mainly confined to American and British sources; the interesting contributions from other western European nations and the USSR are barely mentioned in the text. There is little space in such a short volume for critical evaluation of the work cited in the text and the author for the most part simply lists published work for further reading without comment. It is perhaps a measure of the rapid growth of the subject that such a recently published book can already appear somewhat dated; important publications will need to be added to the reference list and new material to the text of a second edition. It is also a little disappointing that, although SPOT and the Thematic iMapper are briefly discussed, there is little information on the exciting developments we can expect in the 1990s. This book will be a useful introduction to remote sensing for students in many disciplines, although they will need to follow up the reading recommended. Others will enjoy it because it is so carefully prepared and well written that it is a pleasure to read. D. M. Carroll
Soil Survey of England and Waales,Harrogate Hill, A. G. (ed.) Population, health and nutrition in the Sahel: issues in the welfare of selected West African communilies. London, KPI, 1985. 399 pp, f 15 paperback. In the recent welter of writings on the Sahel a good deal is opinion and rhetoric. Emphatically it is not so in this thoroughly commendable collection of I5 specific research studies with an editorial introduction, which issues from a meeting held in Bamako, Mali, in January 1983 on ‘Demography, social structure, and welfare of Sahelian pastoral and agro-pastoral communities’. The three main sessions respectively concerned: demography; livestock rearing and the social organization of herders; nutrition, health and seasonality. The volume is organized accordingly, and its 20 con-
tributors comprise six West Africans from the countries studied (Mali, Mauritania and Niger) and the rest from Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. This ensures a range of insight and expertise. The disciplines of medicine, nutrition, demography, social anthropology, sociology, and veterinary studies are each represented; but a more important point is that both infrastructure and presentation are refreshingly inrerdisciplinary, applied to real communities, within the past six years. Moreover, the participation of six women helped to ensure that the studies of fertility, marriage, child health and care carry tones of authenticity on such issues which must be difficult of access in conservative, predominantly Islamic societies (although, perhaps surprisingly, religion seldom figures in the analyses). Something that impresses throughout is the manifest concern with the wider context, with methodology and its limitations. As a result, many interesting tabulations command respect and lay down markers for future research. Likewise, the discussions sometimes reveal the unexpected and challenge preconceptions; for example, the almost uniformly poorer nutritional status of ‘aristocratic’ Fulani (Fulbe) as against their former ‘serfs’ (Rimaibe) at pp. 245,254,282-3, or the dangers of overstressing meat production in livestock development for nomadic pastoralis:s (p. 223). Editorial control has been informed and tight. The language, even where translated, is clear and direct, with a welcome paucity of jargon. The presentation of text, figures, and informative maps and photographs is nigh unblemished. Nor is there a weak paper herein, which makes it unattractive to particularize. Chapter 7, on land tenure in the Inland Niger Delta, which may appear at first the least integrated, turns out to be interesting and apt -not least concerning post-independence land legislation as a hindrance to agricultural development. Generally, the findings stress cultural differentials above environment; but some very germane geographical issues are also highlighted; for example, the unhealthiness of the Delta areas of Mali (especially for resident Fulani pastoralists) as against the semi-arid expanses, where the difficulties and arduousness of water-gathering directly depress male body weights. Indeed, the marked seasonality of nutritional status and health is notably well presented in a number of places. Many international gatherings promise more than they perform; not this one! Whilst the drought of the 1970s stimulated more work on the Sahel, this volume also enhances understanding. I found it an impressive contribution for which to be grateful. David McMaster
Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh