Remote Sensing and its Applications

Outline
1. Definition
2. History of remote sensing
3. Principles of radiation
4. Radiation-target interaction
5. Spectral signatures
6. Resolution
7. Satellite orbits
8. Applications
 Remote Sensing Systems:
the Human Eye

• Spectral Resolution: 0.4-0.7 µm

• Spatial Resolution: ~ 1-3 cm @ 20 m

• Radiometric Resolution: ~16-32 shades

B/W or ~100 colors
Some Remote
Sensors
 Remote Sensing: A Definition
"Remote sensing is the science (and to
some extent, art) of acquiring information
about the Earth's surface without actually
being in contact with it.”

This is done by sensing and recording

reflected or emitted energy and
processing, analyzing, and applying that
information.
• Remote Sensing:

– The art and science of obtaining information

about an object without physically
contact between the object and sensor
– The processes of collecting information about
Earth surfaces and phenomena using sensors
not in physical contact with the surfaces and
phenomena of interest.
– There is a medium of transmission involved
i.e. Earth’s Atmosphere.
• Remote sensing is a tool or technique similar to
mathematics using sophisticated sensors to measure
the amount of electromagnetic energy existing an
object or geographic area from a distance, and then
extracting valuable information from the data using
mathematically and statistically based algorithms is a
scientific activity.
• Scientists are concerned with observing nature,
making careful observations and measurements, and
then attempting to accept or reject hypothesis
concerning these phenomena.
• The data collection may take place directly in
the field, or at some remote distance from the
object or area of interest.
• Data that are collected directly in the field are
termed as In Situ Data, and the data collected
remotely called Remote Sensing Data.
Satellite view of BCKV
 History of Remote Sensing
1609 - Invention of the telescope

Galile
o
History of Remote Sensing
1859 - First aerial
photographer
Gaspard Felix Tournachon, also known as Nadar

1862 - US Army balloon corp

 History of Remote Sensing

1909 - Dresden International

Photographic Exhibition
1903 - The
Bavarian Pigeon
 History of Remote Sensing

First flight, Wright Bros., Dec. 1903

1914- 1918 - World War I 1908 - First photos

from an airplane
 History of remote sensing
• 1783: The Marquis d’Arlandes and Pilatre made a voyage near Paris using
a balloon.
• Photography using balloon, pigeon
• 1860: Aerial photos in Russia and the USA
• 1914-19: The first World War and the second World War (1939-45) had seen
tremendous development in photography
• 1927: Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket.
• 1955: Work began on the Baikonur launch site in central Asia.
• 1957: Sputnik 1 launched from Baikonur (first satellite)
• 1961: Yuri Gagarin launched in the Vostok 1 capsule, becoming the first
human in space.
• 1969: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the
Moon.
• 1971: The first Space Station in history, the Russian Salyut 1
• 1972: (US Landsat1) the concept of imaging from satellites is introduced
• 1986: France launched the first stereo-image satellite (SPOT1)
• 1992: The space year (the maturity of remote sensing - 20 years of
• operation)
1995 The Shuttle-Mir Program (1st phase of the International Space
• Station (ISS).
 Types of remote sensing

• Passive: source of • Active: source of

energy is either the Sun energy is part of the
or Earth/atmosphere remote sensor system
– Sun – Radar
- wavelengths: 0.4-5 - wavelengths: mm-
µm m
– Earth or its atmosphere – Lidar
- wavelengths: 3 µm -30 - wavelengths: UV,
cm Visible, and near
infrared

Camera takes photo as example, no flash and flash

 Active sensors provide their own
Active energy source for illumination.

Emit radiation

Radiation reflected is
detected and measured

LIDAR, RADAR, and

SONAR
Passive Remote sensing systems which measure
energy that is naturally available are
called passive sensors

Sun’s energy which is

reflected (visible) or

Absorbed and re-

emitted as thermal
infrared wavelengths

Landsat,
AVHRR
Passive
remote
sensing
 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

A.
Energy
Source or
Illumination

For photography, the source is light from the sun. Other types
of remote sensing, such as radar, supply their own energy source
 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

B.
Radiation &

Atmosphere

Remote sensing is affected by how well the illuminating energy

penetrates the atmosphere. This is especially important when the
distance involved is great, such as from a satellite
 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

C.
Interaction
with
Target

What the remote sensor is really measuring is how the

energy interacts with the target.
 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

D.
Recording of
Energy by the
Sensor

The sensor records the reflected energy it receives

 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

E.
Transmission,
Reception,
and
Processing

All remote sensing systems have some method of transmitting,

receiving, and processing the data. Some satellites actually drop film
canisters to Earth using parachutes. Most remote sensing is now
done digitally, and the data is transmitted using radio waves.
 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

F.
Interpretation
and
Analysis

Computers can do some analysis, but the final

interpretation is up to the human element.
 Seven Elements of Remote Sensing

G.
Application

Remotely sensed data isn’t much use unless it is

gathered for a purpose or application.
A. Energy Source or Illumination
Microwave region from about 1 mm to 1 m.
 EMR
• Modern physics acknowledges dual nature of
EMR
• The wave-particle duality refers to how EMR
of differing wavelengths behaves, not what it
is
• Low frequency EMR tends to act more like a
wave; higher frequency EMR tends to act
more like a particle
 The Nature of Light

• In the 1860s, the Scottish mathematician and physicist James

Clerk Maxwell succeeded in describing all the basic properties of
electricity and magnetism in four equations
• This mathematical achievement demonstrated that electric and
magnetic forces are really two aspects of the same phenomenon,
which we now call electromagnetism
 Wave Model
•EMR travels as a set of sinusoidal orthogonal harmonic
waves travelling at the speed of light, (c = 3.0x108ms-1)
● Wavelength and frequency are related to the speed
of light as follows: c = λv; λ = c/v; v = c/λ

Low frequency EMR tends

to act more like a wave;
higher frequency EMR tends
to act more like a particle
 Particle Model
• EMR is comprised of tiny particles (quanta) called
photons travelling in a wave-like pattern at the speed of
light
• Intensity is proportional to number of photons
• Total amount of energy is related to wavelength and
frequency by Planck’s constant (h):
Q = hv
Q = hc/λ
where : Q = energy of a quantum
 The Foundation of
RS
• Differences in how features interact with and
emit EMR allow us to distinguish between
objects based on their unique spectral
characteristics or signatures

• Variations are wavelength dependant; some

things may “look” the same at certain
wavelengths but different in others
 Classifications of Remote Sensing
• Remote sensing may be classified from many perspectives
like based on platform, source of energy, regions of
electromagnetic spectrum, number of bands, imaging media
etc.
• Classification based on Platform:
• Airborne remote sensing
• Space-borne remote sensing
• Classification based on energy
• source:
Active remote sensing
• Passive remote sensing
• Classification based on imaging media:
• Photographic imaging remote sensing
• Digital imaging remote sensing
• Classification based on region of electromagnetic
spectrum:
• Optical remote sensing
• Photographic remote sensing
• Thermal remote sensing
• Microwave remote sensing
• Classification based on number of bands:
• Panchromatic remote sensing
• Multi spectral remote sensing
• Hyper spectral remote sensing
 Advantages of Remote Sensing
• Provides a synoptic view, which is the ability to see large areas
at the same time. So it reduces the data acquisition time and
there by cost in comparison to the traditional surveying
methods.
• Remote sensing from satellite provides repetitive looks at the
same area at a regular time interval which helps in monitoring
several earth-surface features continuously.
• Remote sensing can be used for collecting data about areas
that are physically inaccessible.
• Remote sensors “see” over a broader portion of the spectrum
than the human eye. Some remote sensors operate in all
seasons, at night and in bad weather.
• Remote sensing science yields fundamental scientific
information or data systematically.
 Remote Sensing
Applications
• Land-use mapping
• Forest and agriculture applications
• Telecommunication Planning
• Environmental Application
• Hydrology and coastal mapping
• Urban planning
• Emergencies and Hazards
• Global change and Methodology
 Urbanization &
Transportation
• Urban planning
• Roads network and
transportation planning
• City expansion
• City boundaries by
time
• Wetland delineation
 Application

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
 Natural resource Management

• Forestry: biodiversity, forest, deforestation

• Water source management
• Habitat analysis
• Environmental assessment
• Pest/disease outbreaks
• Impervious surface mapping
• 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
 Flood Damage to Standing
Crops
Pre Flood – 17 July 2006 Post Flood – 09 Aug 2006

● Muhro Mari ● Muhro Mari

● Darapur ● Darapur
● Kot Shahgarch ● Kot Shahgarch

10098 acr

● Godhpur
● Godhpur
● Phulani
● Phulani
● Than Lake
● Than Lake
● Goth Lataran
● Goth Lataran
● Shahpur ● Shahpur
● Ural ● Ural

● Junno Dhand
● Junno Dhand

● Goth Raza Mahar

● Goth Raza Mahar
● Goth Azizpur
● Goth Azizpur

3516 acr

Sukkur
 Reading and browsing
• Web
• http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• http://earth.esa.int/applications/data_util/SARDOCS/spaceborne/

• Radar_Courses/
• http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/~research/tutorial/image.htm
• http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/resource/tutor/fundam/index_e.php
http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/satellites/index.html
• Glossary of alphabet soup acronyms!
http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/glossary/index_e.php
• Other resources
• NASA www.nasa.gov
• NASAs Visible Earth (source of data):
• http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/ European Space Agency
• earth.esa.int
• NOAA www.noaa.gov
• Remote sensing and Photogrammetry Society UK
• www.rspsoc.org IKONOS: http://www.spaceimaging.com/
QuickBird:
Lillesand, http://www.digitalglobe.com/
T. M., Kiefer, R. W. and Chipman, J. W. (2004, 5th ed.) Remote
Sensing and Image Interpretation, John Wiley, New York.
 Remote sensing web sites
• http:// www.esrin.esa.it - Eurpopean Space Agency
• http://geo.arc.nasa.gov h - NASA program
• ttp://www.spot.com
-
•
French satellite SPOT
• http://www.nasda.go.jp/ - Japan space agency
• http://www.rka.ru./ Russian Space Agency (RSA)
• http://www.coresw.com - Russian imagery source
• http://www.space.gc.ca/ Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
• http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ccrs/ -Canada Center for Remote
Sensing
• http://www.inpe.br/ National Institute for Space Research (Brazil)
• http://www.asprs.org - American Society
• http://www.man.ac.uk - Manshester Univ.
• http://www.idrisi.clarku.edu - Idrisi site
All alone in our neighborhood of space

Apollo 12’s Classic Earth Rise from Moon

I konos 1 m panchromatic imagery
2000
MODIS Land Reflectance and
Sea Surface Temperature
 Reading and browsing
• Web
• http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• http://earth.esa.int/applications/data_util/SARDOCS/spaceborne/

• Radar_Courses/
• http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/~research/tutorial/image.htm
• http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/resource/tutor/fundam/index_e.php
http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/satellites/index.html
• Glossary of alphabet soup acronyms!
http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/glossary/index_e.php
• Other resources
• NASA www.nasa.gov
• NASAs Visible Earth (source of data):
• http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/ European Space Agency
• earth.esa.int
• NOAA www.noaa.gov
• Remote sensing and Photogrammetry Society UK
• www.rspsoc.org IKONOS: http://www.spaceimaging.com/
QuickBird:
Lillesand, http://www.digitalglobe.com/
T. M., Kiefer, R. W. and Chipman, J. W. (2004, 5th ed.) Remote
Sensing and Image Interpretation, John Wiley, New York.
 Remote sensing web sites
• http:// www.esrin.esa.it - Eurpopean Space Agency
• http://geo.arc.nasa.gov h - NASA program
• ttp://www.spot.com
-
•
French satellite SPOT
• http://www.nasda.go.jp/ - Japan space agency
• http://www.rka.ru./ Russian Space Agency (RSA)
• http://www.coresw.com - Russian imagery source
• http://www.space.gc.ca/ Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
• http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ccrs/ -Canada Center for Remote
Sensing
• http://www.inpe.br/ National Institute for Space Research (Brazil)
• http://www.asprs.org - American Society
• http://www.man.ac.uk - Manshester Univ.
• http://www.idrisi.clarku.edu - Idrisi site
 Remote sensing literature -Books
• Askne, J. (1995). Sensors and Environmental
applications of remote sensing, Balkema, Rotterdam, NL
• Campbell, J. B. , 1996. Introduction to Remote Sensing.
2nd ed.,Taylor and Francis, London
• Dengre, J. (1994). Thematic Mapping from satellite
imagery: Guide book, Elsevier ltd, Boulevard
• Lillesand, T. M. and R. W. Kiefer, 2000. Remote Sensing
and Image Interpretation. 4th ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
New York
• Simonette, D. S. (ed) (1983) Manual of remote sensing,
the Sheridan Press, Falls church