Remote Sensing and Climate Dynamics

Professor Pradhan is a globally recognized expert in geospatial analytics and artificial intelligence applications in Earth and environmental sciences. Currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia, he also leads the Centre for Advanced Modelling and Geospatial Information Systems (CAMGIS). With a PhD in GIS-based modeling, Prof. Pradhan has over two decades of experience in spatial data science, remote sensing, natural hazard modeling, and environmental monitoring. He has been listed among the world's top 2% scientists by Stanford University and received numerous international awards, including from IEEE and Elsevier. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), he also serves on editorial boards of several top-tier journals. His research integrates geospatial AI and deep learning for disaster risk reduction, land use planning, and sustainability.Dr. Tripathi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna. He holds a Ph.D. in Remote Sensing from IIT Ropar, where he was the department’s first doctoral graduate, completing his degree in a record 2 years and 10 months. A distinction holder in both his B.Tech (SRM University) and M.Tech (IIRS–ISRO), Dr. Tripathi has served in various academic and research roles, including Postdoctoral Research Associate at IIT Kanpur and Postdoctoral Fellow at Tel Aviv University, Israel. His expertise lies in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing, multi-sensor integration, and AI-driven modeling for agriculture, and disaster assessment. He has published over 30 scholarly works and serves as Guest Editor for Springer and Frontiers journals, and Editor for Scientific Reports (Nature). He is also an active science communicator, poet, and columnist, with deep interests in geopolitics and heritage conservation.Dr. Reet Kamal Tiwari received his M.Sc. degree in geology, M.Tech. degree in remote sensing and geographic information systems, and PhD degree in Earth sciences from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, India, in 2007, 2009, and 2015, respectively. In 2013, he joined the Centre for Glaciology, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, India, as a scientist. Since March 2017, he has been an assistant professor with the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, India. His research interests include geospatial technology applications in the fields of snow, ice and glaciers, climate change, natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and planetary sciences. He has secured over 15 Crore (INR) research funding, received multiple fellowships, held editorial positions, and is an IEEE Senior Member, advancing electronics, image processing, and geospatial intelligence. He is Senior IEEE member and an active member of various international and national societies, such as Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), IEEE Geosciences and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS), and the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS).

• PART I: FOUNDATIONS – THE CLIMATE SYSTEM AND THE REMOTE SENSING TOOLKIT 1. Observing a Planet in Flux 2. The Climate System: Key Processes, Feedbacks, and Change Drivers 3. The Remote Sensing Arsenal: Principles, Platforms, and Data PART II: MONITORING CLIMATE COMPONENTS AND DYNAMICS 4. The Warming Signal: Monitoring Surface and Atmospheric Temperatures 5. The Hydrological Cycle in Motion: Precipitation, Evaporation, and Soil Moisture 6. The Frozen Realm: Cryosphere Dynamics 7. Oceans in Transition: Sea Level, Circulation, and Acidification Proxies PART III: ASSESSING CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS AND VULNERABILITY 8. Terrestrial Ecosystems Under Stress 9. Coastal Zones and the Rising Sea-Level 10. Human Dimensions: Vulnerability, Equity, and Governance PART IV: REMOTE SENSING FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS AND THE FUTURE 11. Supporting Mitigation: Carbon Cycle Monitoring and Verification 12. Informing Adaptation and Resilience Planning 13. Integrating Remote Sensing with Climate Models: Data Assimilation, Validation, and Forecasting 14. From Pixels to Policy: Data Integration, Decision Support, and Challenges 15. The Future is Now: AI, Next-Generation Missions, and the Path to an Integrated Observing System Appendices A: Glossary of Key Terms B: Acronyms List C: Major Satellite Missions & Sensors for Climate Monitoring D: Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) and RS Contributions E: Data Processing Workflow Examples