Remote Sensing Platforms


Book Description




Remote Sensing Applications in Meteorology and Climatology


Book Description

This was the fourth postgraduate summer school on remote sensing to be held in Dundee. These summer schools were originated by, and continue to remain in, the programme of EARSel (European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories) Working Group 3 on Education and Training in Remote Sensing. The first of these summer schools was held in 1980 on "Remote Sensing in Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology". This was followed in 1982 by a more specialised summer school on "Remote Sensing Applications in Marine Science and Technology" which built on the foundation laid in 1980 and then concentrated on the marine applications of remote sensing techniques. The present summer school was another follow-up of the original 1980 summer school but this time concentrating on the atmospheric rather than the marine applications of remote sensing techniques. The 1984 summer school had not specifically involved atmospheric and marine applications but had been involved with the use of remote sensing in the field of civil engineering. This year's summer school was extremely successful. First of all, this was due to our sponsors, for without their very significant material contributions there would have been no summer school. These sponsors included the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO, together with the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories, the Council of Europe, the European Space Agency, the German Aerospace Establishment (DFVLR) and the Natural Environment Research Council.




A Vast Machine


Book Description

The science behind global warming, and its history: how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere, to measure it, to trace its past, and to model its future. Global warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science.” In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument—becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world's climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future.













Spies and Shuttles


Book Description

In this real life spy saga, James E. David reveals the extensive and largely hidden interactions between NASA and U.S. defense and intelligence departments. The story begins with the establishment of NASA in 1958 and follows the agency through its growth, not only in scope but also in complexity. In Spies and Shuttles, David digs through newly declassified documents to ultimately reveal how NASA became a strange bedfellow to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He tracks NASA’s early cooperation—supplying cover stories for covert missions, analyzing the Soviet space program, providing weather and other scientific data from its satellites, and monitoring missile tests—that eventually devolved into NASA’s reliance on DoD for political and financial support for the Shuttle. David also examines the restrictions imposed on such activities as photographing the Earth from space and the intrusive review mechanisms to ensure compliance. The ties between NASA and the intelligence community have historically remained unexplored, and David’s riveting book is the first to investigate the twists and turns of this labyrinthine relationship.