Remote Sensing for GIS Managers

This book is incredibly readable even for someone just getting started in GIS managing. Visual stunning pictures and enlightening figures dot every single page. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the science and practice of GIS management.

Remote sensing technology is changing not just government pursuits, but our daily lives - and REMOTE SENSING FOR GIS MANAGERS surveys the uses and applications of GIS using color images and illustrations to explore such diverse fields as agriculture, business, urban planning and more. Little prior information is assumed here: chapters start with the basics such as the characteristics of GIS data and moves to more advanced topics on managing and storing such data. From digital and video cameras to wavelength processing and active sensors, REMOTE SENSING FOR GIS MANAGERS is easy to access, yet packed with technical information. Very highly recommended.

Much of the information put into GIS systems presents a view from overhead. This obviously lends itself to generating that data from overhead imagery collected by airplane or satellite. This book presents a good introduction of collecting and more important, using this kind of data. As you might guess from the title, the book is aimed at the manager who is trying to get information from the GIS system/department. About half the book is on the sensors and sensor platforms. This includes not only sensors that operate in visible light, but also light in other frequencies such as infrared, and active sensors such as sonar, radar and lidar. Chapter 12 is on the applicatiosn of remote sensing within the specific firlds of agriculture, forestry, geology, meteorology, oceanography, climatology, archaeology, military and other areas including business intelligence. Being a businessman, I was surprised at the infomation available from imagry. There is an overhead picture of a container port. Over time it shows that the loading/unloading cranes haven't moved and that a line of containers has been shown in photographs for some months. Perhaps this is an indication of deteriorating business conditions. Other images show new production buildings being built in an industrial plant indicating improving conditions. Most of the book is by Stan Aronoff, but he has called on other experts for selected chapters. Fascinating book.

Aronoff deals with the issue of integration. Of teaching a nontechnical GIS manager the essentials of GIS. So that she can understand what types of data can be extracted. More importantly, how this can be integrated with business applications. The manager sits at the intersection between the business needs and the technical capabilities. Hopefully, by the time you finish this book, you will have learnt more about both aspects. The examples of existing applications using GIS data are a good grounding. The usage is expanding greatly, as in Google Maps, for example. Maybe you can also come up with a nifty usage.