Interpreting Aerial Photographs to Identify Natural Hazards

Book excerpt: Authored by a world-renowned aerial photography and remote sensing expert, Geographic Aerial Photography: Identifying Earth-Surface Hazards Through Image Interpretation is the most practical and authoritative reference available for any professional or student looking for a reference on how to recognize, analyze, interpret and avoid – or successfully plan for – dangerous contingencies. Whether they are related to natural terrain, geology, vegetation, hydrology or land use patterns – it's critical for you to be able to recognize dangerous conditions when and where they exist. Failure to adequately recognize and characterize geomorphic, geologic, and hydrologic dangers on the ground using aerial photography is one of the major factors contributing to due to natural hazards and disasters, damage to architectural structures, and often the subsequent loss of human life as a result. Aerial photographs provide one of the most prevalent, inexpensive and under-utilized tools to those with the knowledge and expertise to interpret them. - Authored by one of the world's experts in aerial photography and remote sensing, with more than 35 years of experience in research and instruction - Features more than 100 color photographs to vividly explore the fundamental principles of aerial photography - Chapter tables underscore key concepts including channel size and shape characteristics, image scales, reverse fault values, and strike-slip fault systems