Product Description

Geomorphologists played a major role in the 1960s and 1970s in terrain research as the potential of the computer was realised for both storing and manipulating landform information. With growth in the subject area, further technological development, and a growing input from other disciplines, much of this research has moved into the domain of GIS and Remote Sensing, where the involvement of geomorphologists has inevitably been reduced, despite the importance of this type of research to geomorphology in general. This book comprises selected and full–refereed papers from a recent BGRG Annual Conference which was held with these issues in mind. The book contains both review and original and significant research papers that consider recent methodological developments in, and the constraints of, current terrain monitoring and modelling methods in geomorphology, along with the application of these methods to specific geomorphological problems. By providing up–to–date research by leaders in the field of terrain study this book will be of enormous value to undergraduates, research students and research scientists in geomorphology, mapping science and GIS and Remote Sensing, as well as those working in industry who use, or need to apply terrain research methods.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3600788 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 466 pages

Int. Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol.22 No.12, 2001
"compelling and very informative reading"

Review
"compelling and very informative reading"
(Int. Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol.22 No.12, 2001

From the Back Cover
Geomorphologists played a major role in the 1960s and 1970s in terrain research as the potential of the computer was realised for both storing and manipulating landform information. With growth in the subject area, further technological development, and a growing input from other disciplines, much of this research has moved into the domain of GIS and Remote Sensing, where the involvement of geomorphologists has inevitably been reduced, despite the importance of this type of research to geomorphology in general. This book comprises selected and full–refereed papers from a recent BGRG Annual Conference which was held with these issues in mind. The book contains both review and original and significant research papers that consider recent methodological developments in, and the constraints of, current terrain monitoring and modelling methods in geomorphology, along with the application of these methods to specific geomorphological problems. By providing up–to–date research by leaders in the field of terrain study this book will be of enormous value to undergraduates, research students and research scientists in geomorphology, mapping science and GIS and Remote Sensing, as well as those working in industry who use, or need to apply terrain research methods.

Customer Reviews

Reads more like a text book than proceedings!
This book comprises selected full-refereed papers from the 1995 annual meeting of the British Geomorphological Research Group (BGRG), held in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. As the preface reveals the symposium theme was "terrain modelling, modelling and analysis". This meeting was designed not only to present new work, but also as an opportunity to reflect on the changes in this field since a similarly themed symposium was held by the BGRG a quarter of a century earlier, also at Cambridge. As such it is not only a very informative text, but also contains some interesting chronological insights.

The emphasis of the book is undeniably terrain and landform research, but as the blurb rightly points out "With growth in the subject area, further technological development, and a growing input from other disciplines, much of this research has moved into the domain of GIS and Remote Sensing". Restricted to spatial and temporal aspects, the contents will be of most interest to specialists in photogrammetry, surveying, geostatistics and GIS, as well as a broad range of geomorphologists wishing to employ these techniques.

This is reflected in the way the book is split into two sections. The first section "Technical Issues" opens with a comprehensive and apt review of "Datums, Co-ordinates and Differences" before the following seven chapters go on to deal with topics such as GPS surveying, photogrammetry, visualisation, interpolation, geostatistics and SAR. However, notable by their absence were two technical innovations that are having an increasing impact on terrain research, namely airborne laser scanning and interferometric SAR. The second "Application" section contains ten chapters dealing with subjects as diverse as hydrological, coastal, glaciological and estuarine geomorphology.

The editors have done an excellent job with the difficult task of transforming original conference papers into genuine chapters that flow from one to the next, presumably by careful selection of the topics and some coaxing of the authors. The result is eminently readable and more reminiscent of a conventional text. The order of the chapters and their integral quality also means that a reader originally intent on reading a single, specific chapter can easily be compelled to read on, realising the relevance of other chapters that at first glance may have been perceived as peripheral or removed from their interests. Despite the fact that many of the chapters deal with specific techniques and/or specific applications, an open-minded reader can easily see the possible cross-fertilizations, which multiplies the value and enjoyment of this book.

All this is preceded by an excellent introductory chapter from the editors, which almost justifies the purchase of this book alone, and concludes with a comprehensive list of web references that will be of interest to many.

In summary, this book was born of a symposium, but flows more like a single author text and makes compelling and very informative reading. It is recommended to all who have an interest in remote sensing, geomorphology or both. The only downside is the high cost, which is enough to make anyone think twice... so buy it from Amazon instead!