Book Review

Remote Sensing and GIS Integration: Theories, Methods, and Applications, by Qihao Weng, New York, McGraw-Hill, 2009, xviii + 397 pp., US$125.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 9780071606530

Comments

Remote Sensing and GIS Integration: Theories, Methods, and Applications is a book discussing the importance and practice of integrating remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), two important geospatial technologies. Such a topic was first brought to a discussion in a journal article more than 20 years ago: Ehlers, M., Edwards, G., and Bedard, Y., 1989. Integration of remote sensing with geographic information systems: a necessary evolution. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 55 (11), 1619–1627. One year later in 1990, NCGIA (National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, funded in 1988) Initiative 12: Integration of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems leading scientists had a planning meeting to identify areas of emphasis. Succeeding meetings expanded discussions and outlined a research agenda. The NCGIA Initiative 12 was closed in 1995, with a final report and related publications. Since then, this topic has been in the mainstream of research, education, and discussion. This book is the author's research experience on this topic. The target audience are graduate students, researchers, and practitioners who have research interests in urban areas and possess a strong remote sensing background. It is especially suited as seminar materials.

This book is organized into 13 chapters and could be divided into two sections. The first section (Chapters 1 and 2) is an overview on the topic. Chapter 1 explains the principles of remote sensing and GIS with an excellent review on classification methods used on remotely sensed images. Chapter 2 discusses theories and methods of integrating remote sensing and GIS. Also discussed are current impediments and future developments. The second section (Chapters 3 through 13) is applications with each chapter presenting an application based on a case study and all of them are urban related. Subjects discussed include urban land use and land cover classification, urban landscape characterization and analysis, urban feature extraction, building extraction from LiDAR data, urban land surface temperature analysis, surface runoff modeling and analysis, assessing urban air pollution patterns, population estimation, quality-of-life assessment, urban and regional development, and public health applications.

Although this book is single authored, some of the early drafts come from the author's students or colleagues (author, acknowledgments). The author did a great job making sure that the organization of chapters is clear and consistent in the second section, where he presents applications. The consistent structure enables readers to quickly pick up materials that are of most benefit to their background or interests. Each chapter begins with an introduction to overview the subject, then methodology and results, followed by discussion and conclusion, and ends with a list of references. There are plenty of high-quality figures and tables to assist the explanation of concepts and the interpretation of results. The discussion and conclusion section highlights ‘problems encountered’, ‘lessons learned’, ‘new findings’, and ‘further research opportunities’. In most chapters, the author also points out how remote sensing and GIS are used together on the subject under study.

The author took an application-oriented approach of addressing different aspects of the topic from case studies. More emphases are placed on concepts, results, and discussions and less on technical details of each case study. This approach makes this book easy to follow and understand for readers who are not experts in remote sensing or urban areas. However, you will not be disappointed if you are seeking technical details. The author provides an excellent survey and review on related literature, algorithms, and methodologies in the first section. Moreover, every chapter has its own list of references. These references are great starting points to pursue technical details.

This book is concerned with the topic of the integration of two important geospatial technologies; each is widely used in interdisciplinary studies, yet very different from each other. Apparently, there is much to cover and discuss. It will take much more than one book to address all aspects of this broad topic. The author did a great job of selecting representative applications on this topic. However, there are other subjects or themes that might benefit greatly from the integration of remote sensing and GIS, such as climatechanges, environmental modeling, natural resources management, error and accuracy, to name a few. Readers are encouraged to seek additional readings on this topic. There are other books on this topic (with an almost identical book title): Integration of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing by J.L. Star, J.E. Estes, and K.C. McGwire (Ed.), 1997 hardcover and 2010 paperback, Cambridge University Press; Integration of GIS and Remote Sensing by Victor Mesev (Ed.), 2008, Wiley and Sons. Additionally, there are numerous books, book chapters, and journal articles addressing such topics under various circumstances and on various themes.

In conclusion, this book is a great addition to personal collections or libraries. It is well organized and subjects are clearly presented. Materials are easy to understand, with plenty of opportunities to pursue technical details. Although many materials may be found elsewhere in published literature, this book is valuable as it brings together many representative applications on the integration of remote sensing and GIS on urban areas under one cover. It will serve well as reading materials for graduate-level seminars, as well as reference for researchers and practitioners.

Ming-Chih Hung

Department of Geology and Geography,

Northwest Missouri State University,

Maryville, MO ,USA.

@ 2010, Ming-Chih Hung

[email protected]