EECI 3132: GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES

LESSON 4: REMOTE SENSING

NELLY C. MULWA

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 Introduction
Definition:
❖ Several researchers have defined remote sensing i.e
➢Linz and Simonett (1976) defined remote sensing as the acquisition of data of an object without
touch or contact,
➢ Lillesand and Kiefer (1979) defined remote sensing as the science and art of obtaining
information about an object, area or phenomenon through analysis of data acquired by a devise
that is not in contact with the object, area or phenomenon under investigation,
➢Barret and Curtis(1982) defined remote sensing as the observation of a target by a devise some
distance away from it and
➢Sabins (1987) defined remote sensing as collecting and interpreting information about target
without being in physical contact with object etc.
➢In conclusion, remote sensing can be defined as the art, science and technology of obtaining
reliable information about an object, area and phenomenon (occurrence, incident, appearance)
of earth’s resources and environment through the process of recording, measuring and
interpreting imagery and digital representations of energy patterns derived from non-contact
sensor system.

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Remote sensing process
❖Remote sensing is done by sensing and recording reflected or emitted
energy and processing, analyzing, and applying that information to
solve real life problems.
❖ In much of remote sensing, the process involves an interaction
between incident radiation and the targets of interest.
❖This is exemplified by the use of imaging involving seven elements.
❖ Furthermore remote sensing also involves the sensing of emitted
energy and the use of non-imaging sensors i.e. microwave radiometer
which measures energy emitted and a spectrometer which is used to
measure light intensity.

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Elements of Remote sensing
❖The following seven elements are involved in the
remote sensing process;
A) Energy source or illumination- The first
requirement for remote sensing is to have an
energy source which illuminates or provides
electromagnetic energy to the target of interest.

B) Radiation and the atmosphere- As the EMR travels

from its source to the target, it will come in
contact with and interact with the atmosphere it
passes through. This interaction may take place a
second time as the energy travels from the target
to the sensor.

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Elements of Remote sensing
❖C) Interaction with the target- once the energy

makes its way to the target through the

atmosphere, it interacts with the target

depending on the properties of both the target

and the radiation.

❖D) Recording of energy by the sensor- after the

energy has been reflected by, or emitted from the

target, a sensor is required (remote- not in

contact with the target) to collect and record the

electromagnetic radiation.

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Elements of Remote sensing
❖E) Transmission, reception and processing- the energy
recorded by the sensor has to be transmitted, often in
electronic form, to a receiving and processing station where
the data is processed into an image (hardcopy and/or
digital).

❖F) Interpretation and analysis- the processed image is

interpreted, visually and/or digitally or electronically, to
extract information about the target which was illuminated.

❖G) Application – the final element of remote sensing

process is application i.e. after extracting the information
from the image, it is then used to solve a particular problem.

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Electromagnetic Radiation(EMR)
❖The first requirement for remote sensing is to have an energy source to
illuminate the target (unless the sensed energy is being emitted by the target).
❖This energy is in the form of electromagnetic radiation.
❖All electromagnetic radiation has fundamental properties and behaves in
predictable ways according to the basics of wave theory.
❖Electromagnetic radiation is one of the many ways that energy travels through
space.
❖The heat from a burning fire, the light from the sun, the X-rays used by doctors,
as well as the energy used to cook food in a microwave are all forms of
electromagnetic radiation.
❖While these forms of energy might seem quite different from one another, they
are related in that they all exhibit wavelike properties.

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 ❖Electromagnetic radiation consists of an electrical field (E) which
varies in magnitude in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which
the radiation is traveling, and a magnetic field (M) oriented at right angles
to the electrical field.
❖Both these fields travel at the speed of light (c) which is 3x108 meters
per second .

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 Characteristics of EMR
❖Two characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are particularly important to understand
remote sensing. These are the wavelength and frequency.
❖A wave has a trough (lowest point) and a crest (highest point). The vertical distance
between the tip of a crest and the wave’s central axis is known as its amplitude.
❖This is the property associated with the brightness, or intensity, of the wave.
❖The horizontal distance between two consecutive troughs or crests is known as the
wavelength of the wave.

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❖Some waves (including electromagnetic waves) also oscillate in space, and
therefore they are oscillating at a given position as time passes.
❖The quantity known as the wave’s frequency refers to the number of full
wavelengths that pass by a given point in space every second; the SI unit for
frequency is Hertz (Hz), which is equivalent to “per seconds” written as 1/s
or s-1.
❖Wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional: that is, the shorter
the wavelength, the higher the frequency, and vice versa. This relationship is
given by the following equation

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Electromagnetic Spectrum
❖The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all electromagnetic waves
arranged according to frequency and wavelength.
❖The sun, the earth, and other bodies radiate electromagnetic energy of varying
wavelengths.
❖This electromagnetic energy passes through space at the speed of light in the
form of sinusoidal waves.
❖Light is a particular type of electromagnetic radiation that can be seen and
sensed by the human eye, but this energy exists at a wide range of wavelengths.
❖The micron is the basic unit for measuring the wavelength of electromagnetic
waves.

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❖ The spectrum of waves is divided into sections based on wavelength. The shortest
waves are gamma rays, which have wavelengths of 10e-6 microns or less (e,Euler's
Number, is the exponent of 10 i.e 10x10-6). The longest waves are radio waves, which
have wavelengths of many kilometers. The range of visible light consists of the narrow
portion of the spectrum, from 0.4 microns (blue) to 0.7 microns (red).

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 Wavelength Regions
γ-rays, X-rays, and part of UV rays Region

❖ The earth's atmosphere absorbs energy at less than 0.3 µm, which includes the entire γ-ray and

X-ray regions and part of the UV region.

❖ These regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are therefore not used for remote sensing.

❖ However, some earth surface materials fluoresce or emit visible light when illuminated by

longer wave UV radiation.

❖ Wavelength regions used for remote sensing therefore include the visible & near infrared,

reflected infrared, thermal infrared and microwave regions.

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 The Ultraviolet Spectrum
❖ Ultraviolet radiation can be split into the shorter wavelength far ultraviolet and the longer wavelength

near ultraviolet (the boundary between the two being at approximately 200nm;1nm=10-9). The extreme

ultraviolet range overlaps with the far ultraviolet at wavelengths of between 1 and 100 nm.

❖ Ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by Ozone at an altitude of between 20 and 40 km.

❖ For the most purposes shortest wavelength ultraviolet or UV region of the spectrum are practical for

remote sensing. This is the wavelength beyond the violet portion of the visible wavelengths hence it

name.

❖ Some earth surface materials primary rocks and materials, emit visible radiation when illuminated by

UV radiation.

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 Visible Spectrum
❖The light which our eyes - our "remote sensors" - can detect is part of the
visible spectrum.
❖It is important to recognize how small the visible portion is relative to the rest
of the spectrum.
❖There is a lot of radiation around us which is "invisible" to our eyes, but can be
detected by other remote sensing instruments and used to our advantage.
❖The visible wavelengths cover a range from approximately 0.4 to 0.7 μm. The
longest visible wavelength is red and the shortest is violet.
❖It is important to note that this is the only portion of the spectrum which we can
associate with the concept of colors.

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❖Common wavelengths of what we perceive as particular colors from the visible portion of the
spectrum are listed below.
▪Violet: 0.4 -0.446 μm

▪Blue: 0.446 -0.500 μm

▪Green: 0.500 -0.578 μm

▪Yellow: 0.578 -0.592 μm

▪Orange: 0.592 -0.620 μm

▪Red: 0.620 -0.7 μm

❖ Blue, green, and red are the primary colours or wavelengths of the visible spectrum.
❖ They are defined as such because no single primary colour can be created from the other two,
but all other colours can be formed by combining blue, green, and red in various proportions.
❖ Although we see sunlight as a uniform or homogeneous colour, it is actually composed of
various wavelengths of radiation in primarily the ultraviolet, visible and infrared portions of the
spectrum.
❖ The visible portion of this radiation can be shown in its component colours when sunlight is
passed through a prism, which bends the light in differing amounts according to wavelength.

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 Infrared (IR)
❖The next portion of the spectrum of interest is the infrared (IR) region which
covers the wavelength range from approximately 0.7 μm to 100 μm more than
100 times as wide as the visible portion.
❖The infrared can be divided into 3 categories based on their radiation
properties-the reflected near- IR middle IR and thermal IR.
❖The reflected near IR covers wavelengths from approximately 0.7 μm to 1.3 μm
is commonly used to expose black and white and color-infrared sensitive film.
❖The middle-infrared region includes energy with a wavelength of 1.3 to 3.0 μm.
❖The thermal IR region is quite different than the visible and reflected IR
portions, as this energy is essentially the radiation that is emitted from the Earth's
surface in the form of heat.
❖The thermal IR covers wavelengths from approximately 3.0 μm to 100 μm.

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 Microwave
❖The wavelength (or frequency) interval in the electromagnetic spectrum is commonly referred to as a band,
channel or region.
❖The portion of the spectrum of more recent interest to remote sensing is the microwave region from about 1
mm to 1 m.
❖This covers the longest wavelengths used for remote sensing.
❖The shorter wavelengths have properties similar to the thermal infrared region while the longer wavelengths
approach the wavelengths used for radio broadcasts.
❖Microwave sensors can be operated day or night and in all weather conditions.
❖Microwave radiation has long wavelengths that are able to penetrate through cloud cover, haze, dust,
and even rain.
❖Longer wavelengths are not susceptible to atmospheric scattering which primarily affects shorter
wavelengths (visible, NIR).
❖Active microwave sensors send pulses of microwave energy to the Earth's surface and record the time
it takes for the pulse to return. These are sometimes referred to as active microwave radiometers and are
more commonly known as radar system.
❖The same radar technology that is used in remote sensing is used to track aircraft and the speeds of
vehicles.

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 Passive/ Active Remote Sensing
❖Depending on the source of electromagnetic energy, remote sensing can be classified as passive or
active.
❖In the case of passive remote sensing, source of energy is that naturally available such as the Sun.
❖ Most of the remote sensing systems work in passive mode using solar energy as the source of EMR.
❖Solar energy reflected by the targets at specific wavelength bands are recorded using sensors on board
air-borne or space borne platforms.
❖In order to ensure ample signal strength received at the sensor, wavelength / energy bands capable of
traversing through the atmosphere, without significant loss through atmospheric interactions, are
generally used in remote sensing.
❖ In the case of active remote sensing, energy is generated and sent from the remote sensing platform
towards the targets.
❖The energy reflected back from the targets are recorded using sensors on board the remote sensing
platform.
❖Most of the microwave remote sensing is done through active remote sensing.
❖As a simple analogy, passive remote sensing is similar to taking a picture with an ordinary camera
whereas active remote sensing is analogous to taking a picture with camera having built-in flash

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Energy Interactions with the Atmosphere

❖Before radiation used for remote

sensing reaches the Earth's surface it
has to travel through some distance of
the Earth's atmosphere. Particles and
gases in the atmosphere can affect the
incoming light and radiation.
❖The interaction of the electromagnetic
radiation with the atmospheric
particles may be a surface
phenomenon (e.g., scattering) or
volume phenomenon (e.g., absorption).

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 Scattering
❖Scattering occurs when particles or large gas molecules present in the
atmosphere interact with and cause the electromagnetic radiation to be redirected
from its original path.
❖How much scattering takes place depends on several factors including the
wavelength of the radiation, the abundance of particles or gases, and the distance
the radiation travels through the atmosphere.
❖There are three different types of scattering:
• Rayleigh scattering
• Mie scattering
• Non-selective scattering

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 Rayleigh Scattering
❖Rayleigh scattering occurs when particles are very small
compared to the wavelength of the radiation. These could
be particles such as small specks of dust or nitrogen and
oxygen molecules.
❖Rayleigh scattering causes shorter wavelengths of
energy to be scattered much more than longer
wavelengths. Rayleigh scattering is the dominant
scattering mechanism in the upper atmosphere.
❖The fact that the sky appears "blue" during the day is
because of this phenomenon. As sunlight passes through
the atmosphere, the shorter wavelengths (i.e. blue) of the
visible spectrum are scattered more than the other
(longer) visible wavelengths.
❖At sunrise and sunset the light has to travel farther
through the atmosphere than at midday and the scattering
of the shorter wavelengths is more complete; this leaves a
greater proportion of the longer wavelengths to penetrate
the atmosphere.

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Mie Scattering
❖Mie scattering occurs when the particles are just about the same size as the
wavelength of the radiation.
❖Dust, pollen, smoke and water vapour are common causes of Mie scattering
which tends to affect longer wavelengths than those affected by Rayleigh
scattering.
❖Mie scattering occurs mostly in the lower portions of the atmosphere where
larger particles are more abundant, and dominates when cloud conditions are
overcast.

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 Non-selective scattering
❖The final scattering mechanism of importance is called nonselective scattering.
❖This occurs when the particles are much larger than the wavelength of the
radiation.
❖Water droplets and large dust particles can cause this type of scattering.
❖Nonselective scattering gets its name from the fact that all wavelengths are
scattered about equally.
❖This type of scattering causes fog and clouds to appear white to our eyes
because blue, green, and red light are all scattered in approximately equal
quantities (blue+green+red light = white light).

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Absorption
❖Absorption is the process in which incident energy is retained by
particles in the atmosphere at a given wavelength.
❖Unlike scattering, atmospheric absorption causes an effective loss of
energy to atmospheric constituents.
❖The absorbing medium will not only absorb a portion of the total
energy, but will also reflect, refract or scatter the energy.
❖The absorbed energy may also be transmitted back to the atmosphere.
❖The most efficient absorbers of solar radiation are water vapor, carbon
dioxide, and ozone. Gaseous components of the atmosphere are selective
absorbers of the electromagnetic radiation, i.e., these gases absorb
electromagnetic energy in specific wavelength bands.

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Cont’
❖Since the atmosphere contains many different gases and particles, it
absorbs and transmits many different wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation.
❖Even though all the wavelengths from the Sun reach the top of the
atmosphere, due to the atmospheric absorption, only limited wavelengths
can pass through the atmosphere.
❖The ranges of wavelength that are partially or wholly transmitted
through the atmosphere are known as "atmospheric windows." Remote
sensing data acquisition is limited through these atmospheric windows.

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 Atmospheric Windows
❖When EMR is released from the sun to the surface of the earth, it passes through the
atmosphere.
❖Here, electromagnetic radiation is scattered and absorbed by gases and dust particles.
❖Besides the major atmospheric gaseous components like molecular nitrogen and
oxygen, other constituents like water vapour, methane, hydrogen, helium and nitrogen
compounds play important role in modifying electro magnetic radiation.
❖This affects image quality.
❖Regions of the electromagnetic spectrum in which the atmosphere is transparent are
called atmospheric windows. In other words, certain spectral regions of the
electromagnetic radiation pass through the atmosphere without much attenuation.
❖ The atmosphere is practically transparent in the visible region of the
electromagnetic spectrum and therefore, many of the satellite based remote sensing
sensors are designed to collect data in this region.

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 ❖ Some of the commonly used atmospheric windows are shown in the
figure.
❖ They are: 0.38-0.72 microns (visible), 0.72-3.00 microns (near infra-
red and middle infra-red), and 8.00-14.00 microns (thermal infra-red).

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Interaction with Earth Surface
❖Energy incident on the Earth’s surface is absorbed, transmitted or reflected
depending on the wavelength and characteristics of the surface features
(such as barren soil, vegetation, water body).
❖Interaction of the electromagnetic radiation with the surface features is
dependent on the characteristics of the incident radiation and the feature
characteristics.
❖After interaction with the surface features, energy that is reflected or re-
emitted from the features is recorded at the sensors and are analyzed to
identify the target features, interpret the distance of the object, and /or its
characteristics.
❖The incident electromagnetic energy may interact with the earth surface
features in three possible ways: Reflection, Absorption and Transmission.
These three interactions are illustrated in Fig. 1.

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11/27/2024 31
❖ Reflection occurs when radiation is redirected after hitting the target.
❖ According to the law of reflection, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of
reflection.
❖ Absorption occurs when radiation is absorbed by the target. The portion of the EM
energy which is absorbed by the Earth’s surface is available for emission as thermal
radiation at longer wavelengths.
❖ Transmission occurs when radiation is allowed to pass through the target.
❖ Depending upon the characteristics of the medium, during the transmission velocity and
wavelength of the radiation changes, whereas the frequency remains same.
❖ The transmitted energy may further get scattered and / or absorbed in the medium.
❖ These three processes are not mutually exclusive.
❖ Energy incident on a surface may be partially reflected, absorbed or transmitted.
❖ Which process takes place on a surface depends on the following factors:
• Wavelength of the radiation
• Angle at which the radiation intersects the surface
• Composition and physical properties of the surface

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 Relationship?
❖The relationship between reflection, absorption and transmission can be
expressed through the principle of conservation of energy.
❖Let EI denotes the incident energy, ER denotes the reflected energy, EA denotes
the absorbed energy and ET denotes the transmitted energy.
❖Then the principle of conservation of energy (as a function of wavelength λ)
can be expressed as
EI (λ) = ER (λ) + EA (λ) + ET (λ) (1)
❖Since most remote sensing systems use reflected energy, the energy balance
relationship can be better expressed in the form
ER (λ) = EI (λ) - EA (λ) - ET (λ) (2)
❖The reflected energy is equal to the total energy incident on any given feature
reduced by the energy absorbed or transmitted by that feature.

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 Reflection
❖Reflection is the process in which the incident energy is redirected in such a way that the
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. The reflected radiation leaves the
surface at the same angle as it approached.
❖Scattering is a special type of reflection wherein the incident energy is diffused in many
directions and is sometimes called diffuse reflection.
❖When electromagnetic energy is incident on the surface, it may get reflected or scattered
depending upon the roughness of the surface relative to the wavelength of the incident
energy.
❖If the roughness of the surface is less than the wavelength of the radiation or the ratio of
roughness to wavelength is less than 1, the radiation is reflected. When the ratio is more
than 1 or if the roughness is more than the wavelength, the radiation is scattered.
❖Fraction of energy that is reflected / scattered is unique for each material.
❖This will aid in distinguishing different features on an image.

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❖Variations in the spectral reflectance within the visible spectrum gives the colour
effect to the features.
❖For example, blue colour is the result of more reflection of blue light.
❖An object appears as ―green‖ when it reflects highly in the green portion of the
visible spectrum.
❖Leaves appear green since its chlorophyll pigment absorbs radiation in the red and
blue wavelengths but reflects green wavelengths.
❖Similarly, water looks blue-green or blue or green if viewed through visible band
because it reflects the shorter wavelengths and absorbs the longer wavelengths in the
visible band.
❖Water also absorbs the near infrared wavelengths and hence appears darker when
viewed through red or near infrared wavelengths.
❖Human eye uses reflected energy variations in the visible spectrum to discriminate
between various features.
❖Reflectance of surface features such as water, vegetation and fallow lands are
different in different wavelength bands.
❖A combination of more than one spectral band helps to attain better differentiation
of these features.

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 Specular Reflection
❖Energy reflection from a surface depends on the wavelength of the radiation,
angle of incidence and the composition and physical properties of the surface.
❖Roughness of the target surface controls how the energy is reflected by the
surface.
❖Based on the roughness of the surface, reflection occurs in mainly two ways
specular and diffuse.
1. Specular reflection: It occurs when the surface is smooth and flat.
❖A mirror-like or smooth reflection is obtained where complete or nearly
complete incident energy is reflected in one direction.
❖The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. Reflection from the
surface is the maximum along the angle of reflection, whereas in any other
direction it is negligible.

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 Diffuse Reflection
❖Diffuse (Lambertian) reflection: It occurs when the surface is rough. The energy is
reflected uniformly in all directions.
❖ Since all the wavelengths are reflected uniformly in all directions, diffuse reflection
contains spectral information on the "color" of the reflecting surface.
❖Hence, in remote sensing diffuse reflectance properties of terrain features are
measured. Since the reflection is uniform in all direction, sensors located at any
direction record the same reflectance and hence it is easy to differentiate the features.
❖Most surface features of the earth are neither perfectly specular nor perfectly diffuse
reflectors. They can only be near specular or near diffuse.
❖In near specular reflection, though the reflection is the maximum along the angle of
reflection, a fraction of the energy also gets reflected in some other angles as well.
❖In near Lambertian reflector, the reflection is not perfectly uniform in all the
directions.

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Cont’
❖Diffuse/Lambertian reflectors are considered ideal for remote sensing. The
reflection from an ideal Lambertian surface will be the same irrespective of
the location of the sensor.
❖On the other hand, in case of an ideal specular reflector, maximum
brightness will be obtained only at one location and for the other locations
dark tones will be obtained from the same target.
❖This variation in the spectral signature for the same feature affects the
interpretation of the remote sensing data.
❖Most natural surfaces observed using remote sensing are approximately
Lambertian at visible and IR wavelengths.
❖However, water provides specular reflection. Water generally gives a dark
tone in the image.
❖However due to the specular reflection, it gives a pale tone when the sensor
is located in the direction of the reflected energy.

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 Spectral Reflectance
❖The reflectance characteristics of earth surface features are expressed as the
ratio of energy reflected by the surface to the energy incident on the surface.
❖This is measured as a function of wavelength and is called spectral reflectance,
Rλ.
❖It is also known as albedo of the surface.
❖Spectral reflectance or albedo can be mathematically defined as;

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 Spectral Reflectance Curves
❖The energy that is reflected by features on the earth's surface over a variety of
different wavelengths will give their spectral responses.
❖The graphical representation of the spectral response of an object over different
wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum is termed as spectral reflectance
curve.
❖These curves give an insight into the spectral characteristics of different objects,
hence used in the selection of a particular wavelength band for remote sensing
data acquisition.
❖In remote sensing, the spectral reflectance characteristics of the surface features
have been used to identify the surface features and to study their characteristics.
❖This requires basic understanding of the general reflectance characteristics of
different feature. Sample spectral reflectance curves of some of the natural
features like vegetation, dry soil, and water are given in the following figure;

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 Spectral Reflectance of Earth Surface
Features
1. Vegetation
❖In general, healthy vegetation is a very good absorber of electromagnetic energy in the visible
region.
❖Chlorophyll strongly absorbs light at wavelengths around 0.45 (blue) and 0.67 μm (red) and
reflects strongly in green light, therefore our eyes perceive healthy vegetation as green.
❖Healthy plants have a high reflectance in the near-infrared between 0.7 and 1.3 μm. This is
primarily due to healthy internal structure of plant leaves. As this internal structure varies
amongst different plant species, the near infrared wavelengths can be used to discriminate
between different plant species.
2. Water
❖In its liquid state, water has relatively low reflectance, with clear water having the
greatest reflectance in the blue portion of the visible part of the spectrum.
❖Water has high absorption and virtually no reflectance in near infrared wavelengths
range and beyond. Turbid water has a higher reflectance in the visible region than
clear water. This is also true for waters containing high chlorophyll concentrations.

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 Cont’
3. Ice and Snow
❖Ice and snow generally have high reflectance across all visible wavelengths, hence their bright
white appearance. Reflectance decreases in the near infrared portion and there is very low
reflectance in the SWIR (shortwave infrared). The low reflection of ice and snow in the SWIR is
related to their microscopic liquid water content. Reflectance differs for snow and ice depending
on the actual composition of the material including impurities and grain size.
4. Soil
❖Bare soil generally has an increasing reflectance, with greater reflectance in near-infrared and
shortwave infrared. Some of the factors affecting soil reflectance are:
• Moisture content
• Soil texture (proportion of sand, silt, and clay)
• Surface roughness
• Presence of iron oxide
• Organic matter content

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 Sensors
❖Sensor is a device that gathers energy (EMR or other), converts it into a signal and presents it in
a form suitable for obtaining information about the target under investigation.
❖These may be active or passive depending on the source of energy.
❖Sensors used for remote sensing can be broadly classified as those operating in Optical-Infrared
(OIR) region and those operating in the microwave region.
❖OIR and microwave sensors can further be subdivided into passive and active.
❖Active sensors use their own source of energy. Earth surface is illuminated through energy
emitted by its own source, a part of it is reflected by the surface in the direction of the sensor,
which is received to gather the information.
❖Passive sensors receive solar electromagnetic energy reflected from the surface or energy
emitted by the surface itself. These sensors do not have their own source of energy and can not be
used at nighttime, except thermal sensors.
❖Again, sensors (active or passive) could either be imaging, like camera or sensor, which acquire
images of the area and non-imaging types like non-scanning radiometer or atmospheric sounders.

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Categories of Sensors

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Scanning vs. non-scanning sensors

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Imaging vs. non-imaging sensors

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Sensor Systems

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 Multispectral Scanning
❖A scanning system used to collect data over a variety of different wavelength ranges
is called a multispectral scanner (MSS), and is the most commonly used scanning
system. There are two main modes or methods of scanning employed to acquire
multispectral image data - across-track scanning, and along-track scanning.
❖Across-track scanners scan the Earth in a series of lines. The lines are oriented
perpendicular to the direction of motion of the sensor platform (i.e. across the swath).
Each line is scanned from one side of the sensor to the other, using a rotating mirror.
❖As the platform moves forward over the Earth, successive scans build up a two-
dimensional image of the Earth’s surface. So, the Earth is scanned point by point and
line after line. These systems are referred to as whiskbroom scanners. The incoming
reflected or emitted radiation is separated into several spectral components that are
detected independently. A bank of internal detectors, each sensitive to a specific range
of wavelengths, detects and measures the energy for each spectral band and then, as
an electrical signal, they are converted to digital data and recorded for subsequent
computer processing.

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 Along Track
❖Along-track scanners also use the forward motion of the platform to record
successive scan lines and build up a two-dimensional image, perpendicular to the
flight direction.
❖However, instead of a scanning mirror, they use a linear array of detectors (so-called
charge-coupled devices, CCDs) located at the focal plane of the image formed by lens
systems, which are “pushed” along in the flight track direction (i.e. along track).
These systems are also referred to as push broom scanners, as the motion of the
detector array is analogous to a broom being pushed along a floor.
❖A separate linear array is required to measure each spectral band or channel. For
each scan line, the energy detected by each detector of each linear array is sampled
electronically and digitally recorded.
❖Regardless of whether the scanning system used is either of these two types, it has
several advantages over photographic systems. The spectral range of photographic
systems is restricted to the visible and near-infrared regions while MSS systems can
extend this range into the thermal infrared. They are also capable of much higher
spectral resolution than photographic systems.

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 Thermal Scanner
❖Many multispectral (MSS) systems sense radiation in the thermal infrared as well as the visible
and reflected infrared portions of the spectrum.
❖However, remote sensing of energy emitted from the Earth’s surface in the thermal infrared (3
μm to 15 μm) is different from the sensing of reflected energy.
❖Thermal sensors use photo detectors sensitive to the direct contact of photons on their surface, to
detect emitted thermal radiation. The detectors are cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero
in order to limit their own thermal emissions. Thermal sensors essentially measure the surface
temperature and thermal properties of targets.
❖Thermal Imagers are typically across-track scanners that detect emitted radiation in only the
thermal portion of the spectrum. Thermal sensors employ one or more internal temperature
references for comparison with the detected radiation, so they can be related to absolute radiant
temperature. The data are generally recorded on film and/or magnetic tape and the temperature
resolution of current sensors can reach 0.1 °C.
❖ For analysis, an image of relative radiant temperatures is depicted in grey levels, with warmer
temperatures shown in light tones, and cooler temperatures in dark tones.

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Microwave Imaging Systems
❖The microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum includes radiation with
wavelengths ranging from 1mm to 1m.
❖Microwave instruments do not, however, rely on the detection of solar or
terrestrial emissions.

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 Sensor Resolution
❖In Remote Sensing, the image resolution refers to the amount of information
available in a satellite imagery.

❖There are four types of resolution in satellite imageries i.e. Spatial, Spectral,
Radiometric and Temporal resolutions.

❖These four types of resolution determine the amount and quality of information in
an imagery in terms of distance (spatial), wavelength band of EMR (spectral), time
(temporal) and/or radiation quantity (radiometric).

1. Spatial Resolution

❖Spatial Resolution refers to the size of the smallest feature that can be detected
by a satellite sensor or displayed in a satellite image.

❖It is usually presented as a single value representing the length of one side of a
square. For example, a spatial resolution of 250m means that one pixel represents
an area 250 by 250 meters on the ground.

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2. Spectral Resolution
❖ Spectral resolution is the number and size of bands in the electromagnetic spectrum that
a remote sensing platform can capture.
❖ Therefore, if a sensor is able to sense greater number wavelengths of electromagnetic
spectrum, it will capture greater details of land-use and land cover.
❖ In simple words, greater the number of spectrums in a satellite imagery means greater
spectral resolution and vice-versa.
❖ There are three Types of Imageries in Remote Sensing based on Spectral Resolution i.e.
Mono-spectral, Multi-spectral and Hyper-spectral imageries.
3. Radiometric Resolution
❖ Radiometric resolution is the sensitivity of a remote sensing platform to detect slight
differences in energy.
❖ Radiometric resolution refers to the ability of a sensor to capture the minute differences
in the radiated energy from the earth surface.
❖ In other words, it is the number of shades of a grayscale in the pixels of a given satellite
imagery.
❖ The number of shades of grayscale in a given pixel is measured in bits. The satellite
imageries are available in 1 bit, 2 bits, 4 bits, 8 bits data and so on.
❖ A 1 bit imagery means that the number of colors in the imagery may be 2^1 = 2 i.e. black
and white. Similarly, a 4 bit data means that the number of shades in a pixel of the
imagery may be 2^4 = 16. Similarly, 8 bits means 256 digital values or shades.

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 4. Temporal Resolution
❖It is the revisit time of a satellite over a certain area. In other words, temporal
resolution means the frequency of capturing images of a certain area by the
satellite in a given time period.
❖The availability of information over a given time period depends on the
frequency of rotation of a satellite around earth.
❖If a satellite comes over a specific area 2 times a day, its temporal resolution
will be 12 hours. Similarly, if the satellite revisits a specific area every hour, its
temporal resolution will be 1 hour.
❖Temporal resolution is important to understand the direction and amount of
change of phenomena in the study area.
❖Land-use analysis needs monthly or yearly temporal resolution because land
use changes slowly whereas disaster management needs hourly temporal
resolution because disasters occur very fast and need regular monitoring.

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 Reading Assignment: Examples of Sensors
1) Briefly describe the following examples of sensors giving their spatial, temporal, spectral and

radiometric resolutions:

a) LANDSAT MSS, LANDSAT TM & LANDSAT ETM+

b) MODIS

c) QuickBird

d) GEOEYE

e) IKONOS

f) SPOT

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Remote Sensing Platforms
❖Platform is a stage where sensor or camera is mounted to acquire information
about a target under investigation.
❖According to Lillesand and Kiefer (2000), a platform is a vehicle, from which a
sensor can be operated.
❖For remote sensing applications, sensors should be mounted on suitable stable
platforms
❖As the platform height increases the spatial resolution and observational area
increases.
❖The types or characteristics of platform depend on the type of sensor to be
attached and its application.

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 Type of Platforms
❖Platforms can vary from stepladders to satellites.
❖There are different types of platforms and based on its altitude above earth
surface.
❖Three types of platforms are used to mount the remote sensors
1.Ground based Platform
2. Air - borne Platform, and
3. Space-borne Platform

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 Ground based Platforms
❖Ground based platforms are used to record detailed information about the
objects or features of the earth’s surface.
❖These are developed for the scientific understanding on the signal-object and
signal-sensor interactions.
❖It includes both the laboratory and field study, used for both in designing
sensors and identification and characterization of land features.
❖Example: Handheld platform, cherry picker, towers, portable masts and
vehicles etc.
❖Portable handheld photographic cameras and spectroradiometers are largely
used in laboratory and field experiments as a reference data and ground truth
verification.
❖Crane, Ground based platform (cherry Picker Platform extend up to approx.
15m. )

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Air- borne/ based Platforms
❖Airborne platforms were the sole non-ground-based platforms for early remote
sensing work.
❖Aircraft remote sensing system may also be referred to as sub-orbital or
airborne, or aerial remote sensing system.
❖At present, airplanes are the most common airborne platform.
❖Observation platforms include balloons, drones (short sky spy) and high
altitude sounding rockets.
❖Helicopters are occasionally used.

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 Balloons
❖Balloons are used for remote sensing observation (aerial photography).
❖The first aerial images were acquired with a camera carried aloft by a balloon in
1859.
❖Balloon floats at a constant height of about 30 km. This altitude being high,
compared to normal aircraft height used for aerial survey, provides larger synoptic
views.
❖Balloons as platforms are not very expensive like aircrafts. They have a great variety
of shapes, sizes and performance capabilities.
❖The balloons have low acceleration, require no power and exhibit low vibrations.
The balloon is governed by the wind at the floating altitude.
❖There are three main types of balloon systems, viz. free balloons, Tethered balloons
and Powered Balloons.
❖Free balloons can reach almost top of the atmosphere; hence, they can provide a
platform at intermediate altitude between those of aircraft and spacecraft. Have
altitude range of 22-40 km and can be used to a limited extent as a platform.

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 Drone
❖Drone is a miniature remotely piloted aircraft.
❖ It is designed to fulfill requirements for a low cost platform, with long
endurance, moderate payload capacity and capability to operate without a
runway or small runway.
❖Drone includes equipment of photography, infrared detection, radar observation
and TV surveillance.
❖It uses satellite communication link.
❖An onboard computer controls the payload and stores data from different
sensors and instruments.

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 Aircraft Platform
❖ Aircrafts are used to collect very detailed images.
❖Helicopters can be used for pinpointing locations but vibrate and lack stability.
Special aircraft with cameras and sensors on vibration less platforms are traditionally
used to acquire aerial photographs and images of land surface features.
❖While low altitude aerial photography results in large scale images providing
detailed information on the terrain, the high altitude smaller scale images offer
advantage to cover a larger study area with low spatial resolution.
❖Aircraft platforms offer an economical method of remote sensing data collection for
small to large study areas with cameras, electronic imagers, across- track and along-
track scanners, and radar and microwave scanners.
❖Low Altitude Aircraft: It is most widely used and generally operates below 30,000 ft.
It is suitable for obtaining image data for small areas having large scale.
❖ High altitude aircraft: It includes jet aircraft with good rate of climb, maximum
speed, and high operating ceiling. It acquires imagery for large areas

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 Rockets
❖High altitude sounding rocket platforms are useful in assessing the reliability of
the remote sensing techniques as regards their dependence on the distance from
the target.
❖Balloons have a maximum altitude of approximately 37 km, while satellites
cannot orbit below 120 km. High altitude sounding rockets can be used to a
moderate altitude above terrain.
❖Synoptic imagery can be obtained from rockets for areas of some 500,000
square km.

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 Space-borne/ based Platforms
❖In space-borne remote sensing, sensors are mounted on-board a spacecraft (space
shuttle or satellite) orbiting the earth.
❖Space-borne or satellite platform are onetime cost effected but relatively lower cost
per unit area of coverage, can acquire imagery of entire earth without taking
permission.
❖Space-borne imaging ranges from altitude 250 km to 36000 km.
❖Space-borne remote sensing provides the following advantages:
i. Large area coverage;
ii. Frequent and repetitive coverage of an area of interest;
iii. Quantitative measurement of ground features using radiometrically calibrated
sensors;
iv. Semi-automated computerized processing and analysis;
v. Relatively lower cost per unit area of coverage.

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 Spacecrafts
❖Remote sensing is also conducted from the space shuttle or artificial satellites.
Artificial satellites are manmade objects, which revolve around another object.
❖Satellite can cover much more land space than planes and can monitor areas on
a regular basis.
❖Later on with LANDSAT and SPOT satellites program, space photography
received a higher impetus

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Data Reception
❖Most remote sensing satellites have been designed to transmit data to
ground receiving stations located throughout the world.
❖To receive data directly from a satellite, the receiving station must
have a line of sight to the satellite. If there are not sufficient designated
receiving stations around the world, any given satellite may not readily
get a direct view to a station, leading to potential problems of data
discontinuity. To work around this problem, data can be temporarily
stored on-board the satellite and then later downloaded upon acquiring
contact with the receiving station.
❖Another alternative is to relay data through TDRSS (Tracking and Data
Relay Satellite System), a network of geosynchronous (geostationary)
communications satellites deployed to relay data from satellites to
ground stations. There are also often devices for recording, pre-
processing and transmitting the data.

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Assignment
Group Work
❖Discuss the applications of remote sensing in Civil Engineering
▪Pages- maximum of two(600 words)
▪Submit a soft copy to email
▪Use times new romans, font 12 and double line spacing
▪Submission

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