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New Developments in Remote Sensing for the Environment II

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 3615

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
The State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: SAR remote sensing; SAR interferometry; surface motion estimation; SAR in archaeology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Observing the human impact on the environment with Earth observation (EO) systems is crucial for a better understanding of the underlying processes of our dynamic planet Earth. Improvements in remote sensing technologies and methodologies lead us toward a better understanding of ecological and environmental interactions. Facing global change, improving our understanding of the environment is critical for developing sustainable solutions. To achieve this goal, a multitude of sensor systems are used, such as synthetic aperture radar systems, UAV data, high-resolution multispectral data, or hyperspectral data.

In recent years, significant progress in environmental remote sensing has been achieved. To summarize these achievements and highlight the advancements they have led to, we are collecting articles from our editorial board members concentrating on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, the latest discoveries, recent advances, and future perspectives in the field of environmental remote sensing. Articles authored, co-authored, or invited by our editorial board members are welcome. The article processing charge for the papers included in the collection will be waived if they are deemed well-written by all of the reviewers and academic editors.

This Special Issue will cover a wide range of topics on environmental remote sensing, focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Ecosystem assessment and monitoring
  • Land use/cover changes (LUCC)
  • Arid environments and droughts
  • Wetlands and coastal dynamics
  • Water resources vulnerability
  • Advanced methods for environmental applications
  • Coastal environments and climate change
  • Land subsidence and disaster monitoring
  • New sensors/platforms for environmental studies

Prof. Dr. Timo Balz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land use/cover changes (LUCC)
  • arid environments and droughts
  • wetlands and coastal dynamics
  • water resources vulnerability
  • advanced methods for environmental applications
  • coastal environments and climate change
  • land subsidence and disaster monitoring
  • new sensors/platforms for environmental studies

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 11079 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Variations in Biophysical Water Quality Parameters: An Integrated In Situ and Remote Sensing Analysis of an Urban Lake in Chile
by Santiago Yépez, Germán Velásquez, Daniel Torres, Rodrigo Saavedra-Passache, Martin Pincheira, Hayleen Cid, Lien Rodríguez-López, Angela Contreras, Frédéric Frappart, Jordi Cristóbal, Xavier Pons, Neftali Flores and Luc Bourrel
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(2), 427; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16020427 - 22 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1006
Abstract
This study aims to develop and implement a methodology for retrieving bio-optical parameters in a lagoon located in the Biobío region, South-Central Chile, by analyzing time series of Landsat-8 OLI satellite images. The bio-optical parameters, i.e., chlorophyll-a (Chl-a, in mg·m−3) and [...] Read more.
This study aims to develop and implement a methodology for retrieving bio-optical parameters in a lagoon located in the Biobío region, South-Central Chile, by analyzing time series of Landsat-8 OLI satellite images. The bio-optical parameters, i.e., chlorophyll-a (Chl-a, in mg·m−3) and turbidity (in NTU) were measured in situ during a satellite overpass to minimize the impact of atmospheric distortions. To calibrate the satellite images, various atmospheric correction methods (including ACOLITE, C2RCC, iCOR, and LaSRC) were evaluated during the image preprocessing phase. Spectral signatures obtained from the scenes for each atmospheric correction method were then compared with spectral signatures acquired in situ on the water surface. In short, the ACOLITE model emerged as the best fit for the calibration process, reaching R2 values of 0.88 and 0.79 for Chl-a and turbidity, respectively. This underlies the importance of using inversion models, when processing water surfaces, to mitigate errors due to aerosols and the sun-glint effect. Subsequently, reflectance data derived from the ACOLITE model were used to establish correlations between various spectral indices and the in situ data. The empirical retrieval models (based on band combinations) yielding superior performance, with higher R2 values, were subjected to a rigorous statistical validation and optimization by applying a bootstrapping approach. From this process the green chlorophyll index (GCI) was selected as the optimal choice for constructing the Chl-a retrieval model, reaching an R2 of 0.88, while the red + NIR spectral index achieved the highest R2 value (0.79) for turbidity analysis, although in the last case, it was necessary to incorporate data from several seasons for an adequate model training. Our analysis covered a broad spectrum of dates, seasons, and years, which allowed us to search deeper into the evolution of the trophic state associated with the lake. We identified a striking eight-year period (2014–2022) characterized by a decline in Chl-a concentration in the lake, possibly attributable to governmental measures in the region for the protection and conservation of the lake. Additionally, the OLI imagery showed a spatial pattern varying from higher Chl-a values in the northern zone compared to the southern zone, probably due to the heat island effect of the northern urban areas. The results of this study suggest a positive effect of recent local regulations and serve as the basis for the creation of a modern monitoring system that enhances traditional point-based methods, offering a holistic view of the ongoing processes within the lake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Developments in Remote Sensing for the Environment II)
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7 pages, 11937 KiB  
Communication
Preliminary Investigation of Sudden Ground Subsidence and Building Tilt in Balitai Town, Tianjin City, on 31 May 2023
by Haonan Jiang, Timo Balz, Jianan Li and Vishal Mishra
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(19), 4891; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15194891 - 09 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 904
Abstract
A short-term rapid subsidence event occurred in the Bi Guiyuan community in Balitai Town, Tianjin City, leading to the tilting of high-rise buildings and the emergency evacuation of over 3000 residents. In response to this incident, InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology was [...] Read more.
A short-term rapid subsidence event occurred in the Bi Guiyuan community in Balitai Town, Tianjin City, leading to the tilting of high-rise buildings and the emergency evacuation of over 3000 residents. In response to this incident, InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology was swiftly employed to monitor the subsidence in the area before and after the event. Our observations indicate that the region had maintained stability for 8 months prior to the incident. However, over the course of the 15-day event, the ground experienced more than 10mm of subsidence. By integrating the findings from an InSAR analysis with geological studies, we speculate that the rapid subsidence in the region is related to the extraction of geothermal resources. It is suspected that during drilling operations, the wellbore mistakenly penetrated a massive underground karst cavity. Consequently, this resulted in a sudden rapid leakage of drilling fluid, creating a pressure differential that caused the overlying soil layers to collapse and rapidly sink into the cavity. As a result, short-term rapid subsidence on the ground surface and tilting of high-rise buildings occurred. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Developments in Remote Sensing for the Environment II)
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21 pages, 3143 KiB  
Article
First Retrievals of Surface and Atmospheric Properties Using EnMAP Measurements over Antarctica
by Alexander A. Kokhanovsky, Maximillian Brell, Karl Segl, Giovanni Bianchini, Christian Lanconelli, Angelo Lupi, Boyan Petkov, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Robert S. Stone and Sabine Chabrillat
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(12), 3042; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15123042 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1169
Abstract
The paper presents the first retrievals of clean snow properties using spaceborne hyperspectral observations via the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP). The location close to the Concordia station at the Dome C Plateau (Antarctica) was selected. At this location, the atmospheric effects [...] Read more.
The paper presents the first retrievals of clean snow properties using spaceborne hyperspectral observations via the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP). The location close to the Concordia station at the Dome C Plateau (Antarctica) was selected. At this location, the atmospheric effects (except molecular light scattering and absorption) are weak, and the simplified atmospheric correction scheme could be applied. The ice grain size, snow specific surface area, and snow spectral and broadband albedos were retrieved using single-view EnMAP measurements. In addition, we propose a technique to retrieve trace gas concentrations (e.g., water vapor and ozone) from EnMAP observations over the snow surfaces. A close correspondence of satellite and ground-measured parameters was found. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Developments in Remote Sensing for the Environment II)
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