Book excerpt: Concern for environment hazards, plus the real or potential disasters they may prompt, is growing fast as populations and living standards rise. Fortunately, at the same time both the science and technology of space-based mapping and monitoring of our terrestrial environment are maturing fast. This book explores the principles and practices of environmental remote sensing, especially the techniques available for data processing, interpretation and analysis. The applicability of remotely sensed data to marine and coastal hazard monitoring and disaster assessment is described and discussed with special reference to problems endemic to he Mediterranean region, including earthquakes, vulcanicity, soil erosion and degradation, vegetation and crop damage, severe weather phenomena, marine conditions, and air and water pollution. This book will be of particular interest to graduate students, scientists and technical officers involved in environmental protection and management, and to national international relief agencies, both in the Mediterranean region itself and elsewhere.