 Preface
LIMNOLOGY AND REMOTE SENSING. A Contemporary
Approch.
Kirill Ya. Kondratyev and N. N. Filatov
(Editors).
Springer, 1999
The problem of water resources on the globe has become a severe
limitation for the future development of civilization. In many countries (especially in a
number of developing ones with rapidly growing populations) the resources of drinking
water are close to being completely exhausted. Therefore it is urgent to study and assess
the various components of global water resources. Freshwater lakes are one of the most
important components. That is why limnological study is a subject of growing significance.
Regrettably, this has not been adequately recognized so far, in spite of numerous efforts
devoted to further development of environmental sciences and various outstanding events,
such as the Second UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, 1992) and a
subsequent UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS, 1997).
The aim of this book is to discuss contemporary limnological problems on a local,
regional and global scale with special emphasis on the application of remote-sensing
techniques to monitor lake dynamics, thermodynamics, biodynamics, and water quality. An
interactive approach has been used to consider various processes from viewpoints of both
numerical modelling and observations. In the latter case, a combined use of in situ
and remote-sensing data has been recommended, making use of (for illustrative purposes)
information relevant to the lakes of north-western Russia and the American Great Lakes (a
specific comparative analysis has been carried out in this context). The role of
geographic information systems (GIS) has been discussed and emphasized.
The book is intended for broad circles of readers, including students of different
levels who are involved in studying environmental subjects.
The Editors would like to express their gratitude to Mr. M.A. Poshekhonov for his
contribution to the technical preparation of the manuscript of the book.
ISBN 1–85233–112–7
http://www.springer.co.uk
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Preface