We are pleased to offer this fourth edition of Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization published by CRC Press. We deem a fourth edition particularly appropriate given the extensive developments that have taken place in cartography and GIScience since the third edition was first published in 2009. One development is the continued evolution of the Internet and the associated World Wide Web, which is commonly referred to as Web 2.0. One characteristic of Web 2.0 is the ability to harness the collective intelligence of Web users. In the case of geography, we often refer to this collective intelligence as “volunteered geographic information” or VGI;

This book presents over twenty-five years of research dedicated to the application of spectralelement and adjoint-state methods in seismology. If someone had told me, upon completing my PhD in 1992, that we would be able to simulate global seismic wave propagation in fully three-dimensional Earth models within ten years, I would have been skeptical.

Preferring to leave history to the historians of science, we will not present here a historical survey, but rather will only cite some examples of priorities during the course of the book. We will just note that separating geophysical fluid dynamics from general fluid dynamics was a risky step to take, since it could well have cut the field off from general science by creating a specialized jargon that was incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Pseudosciences can thrive and flourish on such soil over an area which is vast but which fails to reach any heights. This has occurred, for instance, in meteorology (here we do not include atmospheric physics), in which interest in astrological techniques for weather forecasting periodically rears its head (even now unverifiable forecasting methods 'for the season' are still used), in the agricultural sciences, in pedagogy, etc. However, things are quite different if, in an important sphere of knowledge, there is a solid nugget of seriousness, requiring a special study of the material and the creation of new concepts (the creation of new concepts goes deeper than just the recognition of patterns; it is the very basis of scientific creativity, distinguishing the investigator from the computers of the foreseeable future), and if, basing itself on these concepts, the new science contacts and interacts with other branches of knowledge and becomes generally used. <...>

Numerous articles and a few books have been written about sampling of particulate materials before this third edition. Then, why select Pierre Gy’s theory, Visman and Ingamells’s works? As a Pierre Gy’s Gold Medalist I want to bring my knowledge and experience on the Theory of Sampling (TOS) and contribute to making sure TOS grows in a rational way, in spite of its many detractors. Looking at comments made around the world, it is clear that many statisticians and empiricists promoting “Measurement of Uncertainty” (MU) strongly believe that TOS is something they can live without. Such antagonism is misplaced, unjustified and very unfair. I also strongly believe the MU promoters, who most of the time, are more comfortable with J. Visman’s work, need TOS, and vice versa. In this third edition of my book a special effort is made to integrate J. Visman and C. O. Ingamells’s works into the TOS and create a unified foundation that may help to create better sampling standards. <...>