ABSTRACT
The chapter reviews applications of remote sensing and GIS in the assessment of global environmental change. Data collected through satellite remote sensing (SRS) provides critical information about the warming of the climate system including changes in global average air and ocean temperatures; mass loss in polar ice sheets, glaciers, and ice caps; and rising global average sea level. Satellite remote sensing plays a critical role in monitoring and evaluating the biophysical parameters that provide evidence of the changes occurring in global terrestrial, estuarine, and marine ecosystems. SRS is also critical to understanding ecological responses to global environmental change and plays an increasingly important role in monitoring and evaluating changes in urban microclimate.
