Environmental change at local, regional, and global scales has fundamentally exposed the vulnerabilities of the Earth's socio-ecological systems. Environmental change induced by climate change and anthropogenic disturbances have been observed globally including urbanization and land-use changes, increased recurrences of natural hazards, rising sea levels, and increased temperatures resulting in changes in the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. One of the well-known examples of environmental changes is associated with the depleting polar sea ice and alpine glaciers. Another example includes anomalies in the hydrological cycle and surface energy budgets. Environmental change feedbacks include, for example, peatland fires driving significant increases in CO2 emissions in addition to the ecological loss. In parallel to seeking to understand the various issues arising from environmental change, we require more study to understand many of these processes and their impacts. Remote sensing via Earth observation from all orbits, in different types of platforms and sensors is the backbone of these efforts, and advances in technologies have a key role in furthering these efforts. New active and passive sensor technology, increased resolution (temporal and spectral), and data access – together with long-lasting continuity of monitoring parameters across different platforms – have enabled our ability to understand environmental change.
This special issue focuses on the advances in remote sensing technology and the applications of remotely sensed observations for the assessment of environmental changes associated with the Earth system. Special focus is given to the development of various data driven technologies, with remote sensing at its core in modeling the global and regional environmental changes. This special issue also welcomes the application of artificial intelligence integrated with remotely sensed data for solving various problems associated to environmental changes. Contributions in environmental change assessment depicting key inferences and development of novel methods are welcome in distinct areas of the Earth system including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. It is expected that this special issue will bridge the gap in research and understanding of environmental change. The issue will help both the scientific and the non-scientific communities in strategizing solutions to the major issues associated with the environmental changes.
Key themes include:
- Monitoring, modelling, managing and vulnerability assessment of anthropic and natural hazards
- Environmental changes in Earth’s Cryosphere
- Land Cover Land Use Change
- Time series applications for change analysis
- Climate change effects and impacts
- Urban Heat Islands
- Desertification
- Impacts of anthropic pressure on environmental change
- Pollution monitoring
- Integration of ground and remote sensing measurements.
