Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring in Cold and Arid Regions: Advances and Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Cold and arid regions, spanning high-latitude and high-altitude zones, are experiencing accelerated environmental changes driven by global warming, including glacier retreat, permafrost degradation, desertification, and ecosystem shifts. These transformations pose significant threats to water security, biodiversity, and human livelihoods. Remote sensing technologies—ranging from satellite imagery to AI-driven data analytics—have emerged as pivotal tools for monitoring these vast, inaccessible landscapes. However, challenges persist in data accuracy, model generalizability, and interdisciplinary integration, necessitating innovative approaches to advance the field.

This Special Issue aims to consolidate cutting-edge research on remote sensing applications in cold and arid environments. We seek contributions that address ​methodological advances, ​empirical discoveries, and ​future-oriented perspectives​ to enhance the precision, scalability, and societal relevance of environmental monitoring. By bridging theoretical innovation with practical solutions, this collection will support sustainable management and policy-making in vulnerable ecosystems.

Articles may address, but are not limited, to the following topics:

• Advanced sensing technologies;
• ​AI and data fusion;
• ​Environmental process monitoring;
• ​Cross-scale modeling;
• ​Human–environment interactions;
• ​New datasets and validation.

Dr. Lihui Luo
Dr. Jie Xue
Dr. Miao Zhang
Dr. Mingyang Lv
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.