REMOTE SENSING

SUDARTO/ADITYA NUGRAHA P./CHRISTANTI AGUSTINA/YOSI ANDIKA

Laboratorium Pedologi dan Sistem Informasi Sumberdaya Lahan
Jurusan Tanah FP-UB
Definition and History Remote Sensing

Principles of Radiation and Radiation-Target Interaction

Spectral Signatures

Resolution

Satellite Orbit

Applications of Remote
Science and art of obtaining information about an object, area or
phenomenon through an analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in
direct contact with the area, object or phenomenon under investigation
(Lillesand, Thomas M. and Ralph W. Kiefer, “Remote Sensing and Image
Interpretation” John Wiley and Sons, Inc, 1979, p. 1)

Remote sensing is a technology foe sampling electromagnetic radiation to

acquire and read non-immediate geospatial data from which to pull info more
or less features and objects on his Earths land surface, seas, and air (Dr.
Nicholas Short)

“Remote sensing is a method for getting information

about of different objects on the planet, without any
physical contacts with it”.
 Galileo

1862 - US Army balloon corp

Gaspard Felix 1859 - First aerial photographer

Tournachon, also
known as Nadar
Kite photography (1890)
1609 - Invention of the telescope
 1908 - First photos from an airplane
1914-1918 - World War I

1903 - The Bavarian Space (1947)

Pigeon Corps

1909 - Dresden International

Photographic Exhibition
 Large amounts of data needed, and Remote Sensing can provide it
 Reduces manual field work dramatically
 Allows retrieval of data for regions difficult or impossible to reach:
 Open ocean
 Hazardous terrain (high mountains, extreme weather areas, etc.)
 Ocean depths
 Atmosphere
 Allows for the collection of much more data in a shorter amount of
time
 Leads to increased land coverage AND
 Increase ground resolution of a GIS
 Digital Imagery greatly enhances a GIS
 DIRECTLY: Imagery can serve as a visual aid
 INDIRECTLY: Can serves as a source to derive information such as…
▪ Land use/land cover
▪ Atmospheric emissions
▪ Vegetation
▪ Water bodies
▪ Cloud cover
▪ Change detection (including sea ice, coastlines, sea levels, etc.)
 Provides a view for the large region
 Offers Geo-referenced information and digital information
 Most of the remote sensors operate in every season, every day, every time and even in
real tough weather
 Cheapest way to repeatedly view the entire Earth
 Digital data (easy to manipulate)
 Remote sensing has various issues
 Can be expensive
 Can be technically difficult
 NOT direct
▪ measure surrogate variables
▪ e.g. reflectance (%), brightness temperature (Wm-2  oK),
▪ backscatter (dB)
▪ RELATE to other, more direct properties.
 Energy Source or Illumination (A)

Radiation and the Atmosphere (B)

Interaction with the Target (C)

Recording of Energy by the Sensor (D)

Transmission, Reception, and

Processing (E)

Interpretation and Analysis (F)

Source: Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing
Application (G)
 Radiation - Target Interactions

• Spectral response depends on target

• Leaves reflect green and near IR

• Water reflects at lower end of visible

range
Remote Sensing Systems

Human eye
• Passive
{ Camera
Radiometer
Radar
• Active
{ Sonar
Laser
 Radiation
Electromagnetic energy is emitted in waves

Amount of radiation emitted from

an object depends on its temperature

Planck Curve
Remote Sensing Platforms

- Ground based
- Aircraft
- Space shuttle
- Satellite

Image Source: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu

Spaceborne

Airborne

Groundbased
 αs
αv

elevation angle ( α) = 90-θ, some time, elevation angle is also called altitude
Components of a Remote Sensing System
Remotely Sensed Data

Landsat/Ikonos/Quickbard/Aster
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Remote Sensing

Four Fundamental Properties For Design

• Image depends on the wavelength response of the sensing
instrument (radiometric and spectral resolution) and the emission or
reflection spectra of the target (the signal).
- Radiometric resolution
- Spectral resolution
• Image depends on the size of objects (spatial resolution) that can
be discerned
- Spatial resolution
• Knowledge of the changes in the target depends on how often
(temporal resolution) the target is observed
- Temporal resolution
 Radiometric Resolution

• Number of Shades
or brightness levels at
a given wavelength

• Smallest change in
intensity level that can
be detected by the
sensing system
 Spatial
Resolution

Jensen, 2000
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© Infoterra Gmbh 2009: 12/1/09 1m resolution
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© Digital globe 12/1/10 0.5m resolution
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© Digital globe 12/1/10 0.5m resolution
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© Digital globe 12/1/10 0.5m resolution
Spectral Response Differences

TM Band 3 (Red) TM Band 4 (NIR)

Pixels
 Spatial Resolution

80 x 80 40 x 40

320 x 320
Application of Temporal Data: Urban Sprawl

Atlanta, GA
1973 1987
 Spectral Resolution

• Example: Black and

white image
- Single sensing device
- Intensity is sum of
intensity of all
visible wavelengths
0.4 mm 0.7 mm

Black &
White
Blue + Green + Red
Images

Can you tell the color of the

platform top?
How about her sash?
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Remote Sensing & GIS Applications Directorate

 Spectral Resolution (Con’t)
• Example: Color image
- Color images need
least three sensing
devices, e.g., red, green,
and blue; RGB

0.4 mm 0.7 mm

Color
Images
Blue Green Red

Using increased spectral

resolution (three sensing
wavelengths) adds
information
In this case by “sensing”
RGB can combine to
get full color rendition
 Spectral Resolution (Con’t)
• Example
- What do you believe the
image would look like if you
used a blue only sensitive film?
- What do you believe the
image would look like if you
used a green only sensitive film?
- What do you believe the
image would look like if you
used a red only sensitive film?
Spectral Resolution (Con’t)
• Example

- Blue only sensitive film

- Green only sensitive film
- Red only sensitive film
 Spectral Resolution (Con’t)
• Example
- What do you believe the
image would look like if you
used near and middle
infrared sensitive film?
 Spectral Resolution (Con’t)
• Example
- What do you believe the
image would look like if you
used a thermal infrared
sensitive film?

Blinded in the darkness, he extended his arms, felt around for obstacles, both
to avoid and to hide behind. The men wearing infrared monocular night-vision
units, the lenses strapped against their eyes by means of a head harness and
helmet mount, were doubtless also carrying handguns. The others had rifles
fitted with advanced infrared weapon sights. Both allowed the user to see in
total darkness by detecting the differentials in thermal patterns given off by
animate and inanimate objects.

Ludlum, Robert, 2000: The Prometheus Deception, p. 96.

 Spectral Resolution (Con’t)

• Example (Con’t)
- What do you believe the
image would look like if you
used a thermal infrared
sensitive film?
Heat - Energy Transfer
• Example - Thermal infrared view
Note warmer objects are brighter
Spectral Resolution (Con’t)
Example of sampling wavelengths
Applications of bands
• Visible blue: greatest water penetration, also
vegetation, geology, culture
• Visible green: vegetation, geology, culture, water
quality
• Visible red: vegetation health, geology, culture
• Panchromatic (wide range of wavelengths
• Near-infrared: vegetation health
• Thermal Infrared: detecting heat in buildings, soil
moisture
 Applications of Remote Sensing

• Images serve as base maps

• Observe or measure properties or conditions

of the land, oceans, and atmosphere

• Map spatial distribution of “features”

• Record spatial changes

 Application of Remote Sensing

Urbanization & Transportation

• Urban planning
• Roads network and transportation
planning Image source: www.ldeo.columbia.edu

• City expansion
• City boundaries by time
• Wetland delineation

Image source: www.geospectra.net

 Application of Remote Sensing
Agriculture
The application of remote sensing in
agriculture include:
- Soil sensing
- Farm classification
- Farm condition assessment
- Agriculture estimation
- Mapping of farm and agricultural
land characteristics
- Mapping of land management
practices
- Compliance monitoring

 Wageningen UR 2002
 Application of Remote Sensing
Natural resource Management

• Forestry: biodiversity, forest, deforestation

• Water source management
• Habitat analysis
• Environmental assessment
• Pest/disease outbreaks
• Impervious surface mapping
Md. Bodruddoza Mia
• Hydrology
• Mineral province
• Geomorphology
Satellite image of deforestation

Comparison of an aerial photograph (bottom) with a

radar image (top) of deforestation along a road

 Wageningen UR 2002
Change Detection - Flooding

Landsat imagery of the 1993 Mississippi flood

Quantifying Urban Sprawl

San Francisco Bay

Change Detection - Urban Sprawl
Monitoring Weather

GOES-8 Water Vapor

Detecting and Monitoring Wildland Fires

Borneo

Arizona, June 2002

Monitoring Sea Surface Temperature
 GOES and MODIS Spatial and
Temporal Resolution
• GOES sounder – temporal resolution every hour; spatial resolution
(10 km)

• MODIS instrument on the polar orbiting platforms - up to four

passes a day, two daytime and two nighttime; spatial resolution
(1 km)

AQUA MODIS 24 JAN 2004 GOES LST 2 AM CST

 GOES and MODIS Spectral Resolution

MODIS observes 36 separate frequencies of

radiation, ranging from visible to infrared. GOES
detects only five frequencies.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/09jan_sport.htm
Some Image Processing Software
• ERDAS Imagine
• ENVI
• ILWIS
• ArcGIS

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