Special Issue "Remote Sensing of Land Surface Properties, Patterns and Processes"

Guest Editor
Dr. Dale A. Quattrochi
NASA, Earth Science Department, SD60, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
E-Mail:
Interests: thermal remote sensing; urban heat island analysis; geospatial techniques and remote sensing; land use/land cover change

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Qihao Weng
Center for Urban and Environmental Change, Department of Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA
Website: http://isu.indstate.edu/qweng/
E-Mail:
Interests: urban remote sensing; thermal remote sensing; digital image processing; remote sensing and GIS integration

Guest Editor
Dr. George Xian
SAIC, USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA
E-Mail:
Interests: remote sensing of land cover and urban; surface thermal properties; regional climate change

In this special issue, we wish to explore the current state in using remote sensing technology to understand land surface properties, patterns, and processes. In particular, studies that employ remotely sensed data to derive quantitative measurements of land surface properties, to characterize and quantify land surface ecological and geographical patterns, and to analyze and model land surface processes are encouraged. The virtues and importance of remote sensing data from various ground, aircraft, and satellite platforms will be assessed. Moreover, we wish to explore how improved sensor and analytical techniques can be employed to better define, characterize, quantify, and model land surface forms, patterns, and processes. The topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Retrieval and analysis of land surface biophysical parameters, temperatures, surface emissivity, surface roughness and anisotropy.
• Analysis of remote sensed data derived parameters such as land surface temperature, emissivity, vegetation cover, soil type, soil moisture, and surface water content for estimation of surface energy fluxes and investigation of land-atmosphere interactions.
• Utilization of remote sensing data of various platforms for landscape characterization (e.g., land cover/land use attributes, impervious surfaces, and habitats).
• Analysis of land surface patterns and their relations to land surface processes and properties.
• Application of GIS, geospatial statistics, visualization, and landscape ecological approaches to remote sensing of land surfaces.
• Study of the improvements in spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal resolutions of remote sensing data for analysis of land surface properties, patterns, and processes.
• Investigation of impacts of spatial and temporal scale on analysis of remote sensing data.

Remote Sensing of Land Surface Properties, Patterns and Processes