MATLAB® Recipes for Earth Sciences: Recipes for Data Analysis - Hardcover

Trauth, M.H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3540279830 ISBN 13: 9783540279839

Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K, 2006

Synopsis

MATLAB is used in a wide range of applications in geosciences, such as image processing in remote sensing, generation and processing of digital elevation models and the analysis of time series. This book introduces basic methods of data analysis in geosciences using MATLAB. The text includes a brief description of each method and numerous examples on how MATLAB can be used on data sets from earth sciences. All MATLAB recipes can easily be modified in order to analyse the reader's own data sets. The book comes with a CD containing example data sets and a digital version of the MATLAB recipes.

About this title

Review

This is a well written, perhaps slightly overpriced book, providing an overview and starting point for a wide range of applications in geosciences, such as image processing in remote sensing, generation and processing of digital elevation models and the analysis of time series - as stated. Also, as stated, the book introduces methods of data analysis in geosciences using MATLAB. I purchased the book for the "applications in geosciences" part and not the "MATLAB" part. I have nothing, in particular, against using MATLAB, but I choose to use Python. Python is free, and I (and many, many others) believe it to provide more manageable and powerful numerical analysis capabilities as well as better overall peripheral integration (integrating with other programming languages, applications, OS systems, or other platform specifics). The nice thing about the book is that the MATLAB code snippets and brief implementation explanations, can be easily translated into python implementation. If you are tied to MATLAB, I don't think you will be disappointed. If you have some familiarity with python then you will also be able to glean allot from the content. Another reason that I enjoy this book, is that while it relies on quite a bit of advanced math and its application, it uses the math as an 'engineering type' book should - as a tool to use to solve a problem. The mathematical element flows nicely with the subject matter and I suspect that even an individual without a mathematics background could gain an appreciation for the math based on the context and would not necessarily need to know or learn every underlying aspect of theory that generated the mathematics used. This is refreshing to see in anadvanced book - here is what you might be up against, here is what you need to get the job done.

From the Back Cover

MATLAB® is used for a wide range of applications in geosciences, such as image processing in remote sensing, the generation and processing of digital elevation models, and the analysis of time series. This book introduces methods of data analysis in geosciences using MATLAB, such as basic statistics for univariate, bivariate and multivariate datasets, jackknife and bootstrap resampling schemes, processing of digital elevation models, gridding and contouring, geostatistics and kriging, processing and georeferencing of satellite images, digitizing from the screen, linear and nonlinear time-series analysis, and the application of linear time-invariant and adaptive filters. The revised and updated Third Edition includes ten new sections and has greatly expanded on most chapters from the previous edition, including a step by step discussion of all methods before demonstrating the methods with MATLAB functions. New sections include: Data Storage and Handling, Data Structures and Classes of Objects, Generating M-Files to Regenerate Graphs, Publishing M-Files, Distribution Fitting, Nonlinear and Weighted Regression, Color-Intensity Transects of Varved Sediments, and Grain Size Analysis from Microscope Images. The text includes numerous examples demonstrating how MATLAB can be used on data sets from earth sciences. All MATLAB recipes can be easily modified in order to analyse the reader's own data sets. The online files accompanying the book contain exemplary data sets and a digital version of the MATLAB recipes.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3540279830
• ISBN 13: 9783540279839
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 250