《IEEE應用地球觀測和遙感選題雜志》論述了地球觀測和遙感應用領域的日益擴大，并為由IEEE地球科學和遙感協會贊助的迅速擴大的特殊問題提供了一個場所。該雜志借鑒了“IEEE地球科學和遙感匯刊”的成功經驗，為應用地球觀測的廣泛主題提供了補充媒介。“應用”領域包括全球地球觀測系統（GEOS）項目的社會效益領域。通過兩年多的審議，來自50個國家的部長們同意確定9個地區，地球觀測可能對各自國家的生活質量和健康產生積極影響。其中一些領域傳統上不是在IEEE環境中解決的。這些包括生物多樣性、健康和氣候。然而，在諸如觀測、通信、計算機、信號處理、標準和海洋工程等領域，是IEEE成員的技能集構成了全球測地系統的技術基礎。因此，期刊吸引了廣泛的興趣，以新的方式服務于現有的會員，并擴大了IEEE對新領域的了解。

The IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing addresses the growing field of applications in Earth observations and remote sensing, and also provides a venue for the rapidly expanding special issues that are being sponsored by the IEEE Geosciences and Remote Sensing Society. The journal draws upon the experience of the highly successful “IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing” and provide a complementary medium for the wide range of topics in applied earth observations. The ‘Applications’ areas encompasses the societal benefit areas of the Global Earth Observations Systems of Systems (GEOSS) program. Through deliberations over two years, ministers from 50 countries agreed to identify nine areas where Earth observation could positively impact the quality of life and health of their respective countries. Some of these are areas not traditionally addressed in the IEEE context. These include biodiversity, health and climate. Yet it is the skill sets of IEEE members, in areas such as observations, communications, computers, signal processing, standards and ocean engineering, that form the technical underpinnings of GEOSS. Thus, the Journal attracts a broad range of interests that serves both present members in new ways and expands the IEEE visibility into new areas.