 Remote Sensing is the collection of data about an

object without coming into direct contact with the

object. Generally, Remote sensing refers to the
activities of recording/observing/perceiving
(sensing) objects or events at far away (remote)
places

 Remote sensing is the art and science of obtaining

information about an object, area or phenomenon
through analysis of data acquired by a device that
is not in contact with the object, area or
phenomenon under investigation
 Or In a more restricted
sense, remote sensing
usually refers to the
technology of acquiring
information about the earth's
surface (land and ocean) and
atmosphere using sensors
onboard airborne (aircraft,
balloons) or space borne
(satellites, space shuttles)
platforms
 In remote sensing, the sensors are not in
direct contact with the objects or events being
observed.

 The information needs a physical carrier

(Electromagnetic waves) to travel from the
objects/events to the sensors through an
intervening medium.
 The output of a remote sensing system is usually
an image representing the scene being observed.
A further step ofimage analysis and
interpretation is required in order to extract useful
information from the image.
 The human visual system is an example of a
remote sensing system in this general sense
 Electromagnetic waves are energy transported through space in
the form of periodic disturbances of electric and magnetic fields.
 All electromagnetic waves travel through space at the same speed,
c = 2.99792458 x 108 m/s, (the speed of light).
 An electromagnetic wave is characterized by a frequency and a
wavelength. These two quantities are related to the speed of light
by the equation
 Speed of light = Frequency x Wavelength
 They can be reflected and refracted
 Remote sensing systems may capture data in one
part of the spectrum (Single band) or
Simultaneously from several parts of the
spectrum (multi band/multi-spectral)

 Within IR potion only thermal IR is directly

related to the sensation of heat, near & mid-IR are
not
 The atmospheric constituents (particles)
sometimes absorb and scatter the electromagnetic
wave/radiation

 These effects degrade the quality of images

 Some of the atmospheric effects can be

corrected before the images are subjected to
further analysis and interpretation.
 A consequence of atmospheric absorption is that certain
wavelength bands in the electromagnetic spectrum are
strongly absorbed and effectively blocked by the
atmosphere.

 The wavelength regions in the electromagnetic spectrum

usable for remote sensing are known as the atmospheric
transmission windows.

 Remote sensing systems are often designed to operate

within one or more of the atmospheric windows.
 These windows exist in the microwave region,
some in the infrared, the entire visible region and
part of the near ultraviolet regions.

 Although the atmosphere is practically

transparent to x-rays and gamma rays, these
radiations are not normally used in remote sensing
of the earth.
 Primary method of data capture
 Information is derived from measurements of the amount of
reflected electromagnetic radiation reflected, emitted or
scattered from objects
 For GIS resolution (spatial, temporal or spectral – parts
of the electromagnetic spectrum that may be measured &
this is critical for certain applications. Single band = one
part of the spectrum, multi-band or multi-spectral = many
parts of the spectrum) is the primary physical characteristic
of remote sensing
 Important in mapping inaccessible places
 RS used as backdrop or background for other data & this
gives that data some spatial context & aids in
interpretation
 Successful application of remote sensing depend on
integration of multiple, interrelated data sources and
analysis procedures
 Successful remote sensing efforts requires:
 Clear definition of the problem at hand
 Evaluation of the potential to address the problem with remote
sensing
 Identification of remote sensing data acquisition with
appropriate techniques
 Determination of data interpretation procedures to be
employed
 Identification of criteria by which the quality of the information
collected can be judged
 Combining the DBMS power with remote sensing
 Coordinate systems
 Land use-land cover
 Geologic & soil mapping
 Agriculture
 Forestry – management of forests for wood, hunting, water wildlife
& recreation
 Rangeland
 Water resources – water pollution detection, lake eutrophication
assessment, flood assessment
 Urban & regional planning
 Wetland mapping
 Wildlife ecology
 Archaeology
 Environmental assessment
 Disaster management
 Landform identification & evaluation &
 Low cost relative to other methods of collecting
data
 Currency of images – up to date topographic
information or areas is possible
 Accuracy
 Large amounts of information can be extracted
from the images
 Acquisition of images may be very expensive, even
though when compared to other methods of data
capture this may be considered cheaper
 Resolution of many images may not be sufficient for
different purposes, whether, temporal, spectral or
spatial, so the higher the resolution the higher the cost
 Cloud & vegetation cover may restrict image
identification
 Low contrast between features may make
identification difficult e.g. gravel & dirt roads
 Image processing requires a large amount of expertise
Thank you