We are living in an era where sensor technology has resulted in the capability to acquire increasing amounts of geo-spatial data, from a variety of sensors and platforms. Moreover, not just the quantity, but also the quality of the data is getting better and better. The geometric and the spectral resolution of the data is improving and also more frequent acquisitions are available. This results in the possibility to develop several important applications related to the monitoring of our planet and to study natural and urban environments at both global and local scale.
However, in order to seize such an opportunity, we need to be able to fully extract the information content from the available data to provide timely and accurate products for real application.