Parameters of Sensor - Resolution
Resolution
A major consideration when choosing a sensor type is the definition of resolution capabilities.
Resolution in remote sensing refers to the ability of a sensor to distinguish or resolve objects that
are physically near or spectrally similar to other adjacent objects.
High resolution will allow a user to distinguish small, adjacent targets. Low or coarse resolution
indicates a broader averaging of radiation over a larger area (on the ground or spectrally). Objects
and their boundaries will be difficult to identify in images with coarse resolution.
Types of Resolution
Following four types of resolution are associated with satellite sensors:
• Spatial Resolution
• Spectral Resolution
• Radiometric Resolution
• Temporal Resolution
Spatial Resolution
Spatial resolution is a measure of the smallest angular or linear separation between two objects
that can be resolved by the [Link] detail discernible in an image is dependent on the spatial
resolution of the sensor and refers to the size of the smallest possible feature that can be
detected. Spatial resolution is directly related to image pixel size. In practical terms, the
’detectability’ of an object in an image involves consideration of spectral contrast as well as spatial
[Link] size is usually a function of the platform and sensor, while the detectability may
change from place to place and time to time.
Spatial Resolution
Landsat MSS has a nominal pixel size of 60 x 80 m, which produces a image at a scale of
1:100,000. More recent satellite scanners, such as the Landsat Thematic Mapper or SPOT, have
smaller pixels (30 m and 10/20 m respectively) giving fine detail for specific features, but
generating too much data to be used conveniently for large area studies. The following figure
presents satellite views of Canberra from remote sensing devices with differing spatial resolutions.
Figure:
(a)Landsat MSS-80m Pixel (b) SPOT MSS-20m Pixel
IFOV
Figure:
Spatial resolution of passive sensors dependsprimarily on their Instantaneous Field of View
(IFOV).The IFOV is the angular cone of visibility of the sensor (A) and determines the area on the
Earth’s surface which is "seen" from a given altitude at one particular moment in time (B). The
size of the area viewed is determined by multiplying the IFOV by the distance from the ground to
the sensor (C). This area on the ground is called the resolution cell and determines a sensor’s
maximum spatial resolution.
Effect of Pixel Size
Figure:
Pixel Size =10m
Figure:
Pixel Size = 20m
Effects of Pixel Size
Figure:
(a) Pixel Size = 40m (b) Pixel Size = 80 m
Spectral Resolution
• The dimension and the number of specific wavelength intervals in the EM spectrum to which a
sensor is sensitive, e.g. B, G, R NIR bands.
• More specific classes may not be easily distinguishable using either of these broad wavelength
ranges and would require comparison at much finer wavelength ranges to separate them. So a
sensor with higher spectral resolution is required.
• The finer the spectral resolution, the narrower the wavelength range for a particular band.
• Many remote sensing systems record energy over several separate wavelength ranges. These
are referred to as multi-spectral sensors.
• High spectral resolution are likely to provide a more accurate spectral signature fro discrete
objects othan than broad bandwidths.
Radiometric Resolution
• Defined as the sensitivity of a detector to differences in signal strength as it records the radiant
flux reflected or emitted from the terrain.
• It defines the number of just discriminable signal levels.
• The finer the radiometric resolution of a sensor, the more sensitive it is to detecting small
differences in reflected or emitted energy.
• The number of radiometric level (brightness level) is commonly expressed as in terms of the
number of binary digits (bits).
• If a sensor used 8 bits to record the data, there would be 28 =256 digital values available,
ranging from 0-255.
Radiometric Resolution
Figure:
(a) 8-bit (256 levels) (b) 4-bit(16 levels)
Radiometric Resolution
Figure:
(a)2-bit(4 levels) (b) 1-bit(2 levels)
Temporal Resolution
• Temporal resolution refers to how often a given sensor obtains imagery of a particular area,
e.g., 16 days, daily, monthly.
• Spectral characteristics of features may change over time and these changes can be detected
by collecting and comparing multi-temporal imagery. For instance, to monitor crop
growth/stress, image intervals of 10 days would be required, but to monitor urban growth
pattern, a large interval would be sufficient.
Temporal Resolution
The time factor is important when
• Persistent clouds offer limited clear views of the earth’s surface
• Short-lived phenomena (floods) need to be imaged
• Multi-temporal comparisons are required
• The changing appearance of a feature over time can be used to distinguish it from near-similar
features