Inauguration of Earth Observation for Emergency Management Section

Dear Colleagues,

Disaster monitoring and assessment are one of the most benefited areas by the advancement of remote sensing technologies. The number of natural disasters and their effects are increasing due rapid urbanization and climate change.  Use of Earth Observation (EO) data from various sensors on board spacecraft and aircraft is increasing rapidly due to wider applicability of EO data in the timeline of disastrous events with increasing spatial resolution. EO data are used in post-disaster response, damage assessment, recovery and mitigation phases, and data collection and processing methods have advanced substantially in the recent years.

Using satellite and airborne data, regional and global environmental, economic, and societal impacts on the public health (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic) can be assessed. To discover the effects on the environment due to changes in human behavior, remote sensing data can show new trends over time. Man-made and technological hazards are events that are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements. They include complex emergencies, conflicts, industrial accidents, transport accidents, environmental degradation and pollution.

At the occasion of start-up of a new section“Earth Observation for Emergency Management” in the open access journal Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292, IF 4.848), we intend to collect original scientific contribution using the available wide variety of remote sensed data (e.g., optical sensor, SAR, Lidar) for disaster monitoring, assessment and forecasting. Data fusion of EO data and GNSS and other sensor data is encouraged as well as the introduction of recent machine learning techniques.

This Collection offers a platform to present and discuss the development and application of remote sensing techniques toward improving our knowledge and understanding of natural hazards (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic activities, storms, floods, wildfires, and landslides) and man-made hazards and their effects to human societies and environment.

Prof. Dr. Fumio Yamazaki
Section Editor-in-Chief

Manuscript Submission Information

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