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Earth Observation Methods for Wetlands: Overview

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The Wetland Book

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Abstract

At local to global scales, wetlands can be observed, characterized, mapped, and monitored using a diverse range of ground, airborne, and spaceborne sensors operating in different modes and across different spatial and temporal scales. Sensors that are generally more familiar to those involved with wetlands assessment operate in the spectral (reflected visible to shortwave infrared) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with these allowing identification of open water, determination of water state and quality, discrimination of different aquatic environments and vegetation types, and tracking of vegetation phenology and water dynamics. Sensors operating in the thermal regions provide information on the temperature variations of wetlands and particularly the water surface. Microwave sensors (on the order of cm wavelength) typically facilitate the mapping of open water and inundation and also provide information on the three-dimensional structure of wetland vegetation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, SY23 2EJ, Aberystwyth, UK

    Richard Lucas

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  1. Richard Lucas
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Correspondence to Richard Lucas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Ecology and Biodiversity, Charles Sturt University Inst. for Land, Water and Society, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. Great Somerford, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

    Mark Everard

  3. Chair of Aquatic Ecosystems, UNESCO-IHE Chair of Aquatic Ecosystems, Delft, The Netherlands

    Kenneth Irvine

  4. RM Wetland & Environment Ltd. , Littleworth, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

    Robert J. McInnes

  5. USGS National Wetlands Research Center , Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

    Beth A. Middleton

  6. Dept. of Water Science and Engineering, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education Dept. of Water Science and Engineering, Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

    Anne A. van Dam

  7. Charles Sturt University , Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

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Lucas, R. (2016). Earth Observation Methods for Wetlands: Overview. In: Finlayson, C., et al. The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6172-8_314-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6172-8_314-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6172-8

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