Coastal Ecosystems from Space
Springer Nature
This book presents a comprehensive and accessible account of coastal ecosystem monitoring and management using open-source remote sensing data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), with a strong focus on community engagement and sustainability. It is organised into three interconnected parts that move from foundational concepts to applied analysis and finally to emerging technologies, providing a clear and logical progression from basic understanding to practical implementation and further innovation. The first part introduces the concept and technical foundations of coastal remote sensing and open-source GIS, focusing on the spectral characteristics of key coastal ecosystem components and outlining preprocessing techniques to improve satellite data quality. It also introduces open-access geospatial databases and explains how diverse datasets can be integrated using open GIS platforms. The second part moves into practical applications, focusing on coastal mapping and analytical approaches using open remote sensing data and GIS tools such as QGIS, SAGA GIS, Google Earth Engine, and GRASS GIS. It presents case studies on land use change and habitat dynamics, land surface…
