Scope of GRSL

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters (GRSL) publishes short papers (maximum length 5 pages) addressing new ideas and formative concepts in remote sensing as well as important new and timely results and concepts. Papers should relate to the theory, concepts and techniques of science and engineering as applied to sensing the earth, oceans, atmosphere and space, and the processing, interpretation, and dissemination of this information. The technical content of papers must be both new and significant. Experimental data must be complete and include sufficient description of experimental apparatus, methods, and relevant experimental conditions.

Geoscience is the study of Earth’s systems – including its surface, interior, atmosphere, and their components (e.g. water bodies, ecosystems, etc.) – and how they interact with life and human activity. It is also extended to the study of space and other planets to deepen our understanding of the universe.

Remote Sensing is the science of observing a sample in its natural environment from outside that environment. Unlike in-situ measurements, which involve direct sampling within the environment, or laboratory experiments, which analyze samples removed from their environment under controlled conditions, remote sensing collects data without physical contact, enabling non-invasive observation and analysis.

Geoscience and Remote Sensing intersect in the study of Earth’s systems through the indirect observation of environmental processes (natural or man-made), where data is collected from outside the observed environment. It combines geoscientific understanding with remote sensing techniques to analyze how natural and human-induced processes interact across the land, oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and space.

The scope of a submission is defined by its core contributions, not by its potential applicability to geoscience or remote sensing. For instance, a generic data processing method that happens to be demonstrated on Earth observation data does not fall within the scope of Remote Sensing and Geoscience unless it is explicitly adapted to the particular challenges and characteristics of remote sensing. Similarly, a new radar waveform design intended for general radar applications is not in scope merely because it could also be used by Earth observation sensors.

The following are examples of topics where relevance to the journal’s scope may not be immediately clear. These lists are not exhaustive and are intended as guidance only. If the relevance is not obvious, the paper should clearly articulate its connection to the journal’s scope—ideally with further explanation provided in the cover letter.

In Scope

• Terrestrial Laser Scanning – when used for terrain modeling, landslide analysis, etc.
• Sonar – when used for seafloor mapping, bathymetry, or oceanographic studies.
• Ground Penetrating Radar – when used for subsurface geoscientific exploration.
• Seismic processing – when used to infer geophysical properties.
• Radio-frequency interference – when it affects data quality relevant to geoscientific analysis.
• Inverse SAR – if used for geoscientific analysis (and seeing satellites in space as part of the Earth system).
• Extra-terrestrial objects (moon, other planets, sun) – as part of comparative planetology, from spacecraft or telescopes observing planetary bodies.

Borderline

• Surveillance cameras (e.g. wildfire detection) – in scope if used for geoscience-related environmental monitoring from a fixed external position.
• Detection of persons and cars in UAV images – in scope only when remote sensing (i.e. not very low altitude) and used to analyze land use, urbanization, or disaster response as part of geoscientific analysis.
• Underwater imagery – if based on spaceborne, aerial, or boat-mounted sensors (i.e. not direct diver-based inspection) and if used for marine geology, coral reef monitoring, etc.
• Wall-penetrating radar – if used for geotechnical or archaeological site analysis from above.
• Tracking of objects from the ground (e.g. UAVs) – only relevant if studying atmospheric conditions or airspace as part of environmental monitoring.
• Design of antennas/waveforms, telescopes, or cameras – only if developed specifically for geoscience-focused remote sensing.
• Jamming of SAR and radar – in scope only if it affects geoscientific remote sensing systems or operations.

Out of Scope

• Close-range data such as images of daily objects (chairs, persons) – not geoscience, not remote sensing.
• Radar not used for geoscience (e.g. autonomous driving, ship radar, human action recognition, security scans, etc.) – fails both criteria.
• Military applications (e.g. target detection and recognition explicitly and exclusively tailored to military targets) – use cases are not related to geoscience.
• Indoor scenes – not observing natural environments.
• Generic data processing methods – out of scope unless explicitly tailored to geoscience-related remote sensing data.
• Autonomous driving (radar, lidar, GPS) – use cases are not related to geoscience.
• Microscopic images in geoscience – violates remote sensing criterion (sample not observed in its environment).
• Lab experiments in geoscience – unless used together with remote sensing; violates remote sensing criterion (samples are not observed within their environment).
• In-situ measurements (e.g. plant health sensors, buoys, sensor networks) – unless used together with remote sensing; violates remote sensing criterion (data is collected from within the environment).
• Well logging – in-situ geophysical sensing rather than remote sensing.
• Satellite positioning – only a supporting technology; not itself a form of remote sensing unless used for scientific Earth observation.
• GNSS-based positioning – not remote sensing unless explicitly used for Earth science (e.g. water vapor retrieval using GNSS delay is in scope; positioning improvement alone is out of scope)