RECAP – GEE 4331

What is Remote Sensing?

Technology of acquiring information about the earths surface without coming into
contact with it.
 This is done by taking images of portions of the earth’s
 Analysing and interpretation of the recorded images

Fig 1.1. Principle of remote sensing

1 Components of Remote Sensing

Fig 1.2. Illustration of the main components associated with remote sensing activities ( adapted from : Chuvieco, 2016)
 Components of Remote Sensing

1) Energy Source
 Source of the electromagnetic radiation that interacts between the sensor
and the surface
 The main source of energy is the sun
2) Radiation and Atmosphere
 The energy interacts with the atmosphere
3) Earths Surface
 Consists of vegetation, soil, water, rocks, snow, ice, and human structures
 Energy interacts with the surface depending on properties of both target and
the radiation
4) Sensor and Platform
 Sensor measures and records the incoming energy from the sun
 Platform is a carrier
 Platform provides communication to the ground receiving system
 An Earth observation Satellite will normally include different sensors
Components of Remote Sensing

Humidity

Temperature
Meteorological
Satellite Ozone

Aerosol
Concentration

Fig 1.3 . An Example of an EO satellite with multiple sensors

5) Ground Receiving System

 Collects raw digital data from the satellite
 Provides storage for the data in different formats
 Basic pre-processing corrections are performed by the ground system,
before distribution of the imagery
Components of Remote Sensing

6) Analyst
 Responsible for converting processed image data into thematic information
(using visual and/ or digital techniques)
 Provides storage for the data in different formats
 Basic pre-processing corrections are performed by the ground system,
before distribution of the imagery
 The primary purpose is to extract information about the target being
illuminated

7) User Community
 Utilises the information extracted from the original data for various
applications
 1.1 ENERGY SOURCES AND RADIATION PRINCIPLES
A primary requirement for remote sensing is an energy source

Main Radiation Processes in Remote Sensing

Remote sensing works by detecting energy reflected or emitted from the earth as EM
radiation

Fig 1.4 Main types of radiation processes in remote sensing: (i) reflection, (ii) emission,
and (iii) emission–reflection by an artificial source
Components of Remote Sensing

There are 3 ways of sensing information about an object in remote sensing:

I. Reflection

- This is the most common

- Depends on the sun as the main source of energy

II. Emission

- Sensor detects energy coming from the surface itself and not coming
directly from the sun
- Observations can be performed independent of time of day

III. Emission and Reflection

- The Sensor emits a signal which is then reflected back by the surface
 Passive vs Active Remote Sensing

Two types of remote sensing based on energy source

Fig 1.5 The two (2) categories of remote sensing based on energy source Passive and Active remote sensing

1. Passive:
 Sensors detect reflected or emitted energy from an object or
phenomenon
 Suffers from variable illumination conditions of sun and influence of
atmospheric conditions

Example:
Thermal –
Optical –
Passive Microwave (PMW) Remote sensing
Active:
 Has its own source of energy
 Active Sensors emit a controlled beam of energy and measure the amount
of energy reflected back to the sensor
 Controlled illumination signal

Example:

Radar –
GPS –
Lidar –
 Electromagnetic Radiation
Characteristics of Electromagnetic Radiation

 The first requirement for remote sensing is an energy source for illumination of
the target
 Electromagnetic radiation exists in different forms, e.g. Visible, Ultraviolet, Radiant
heat, X-rays, etc.
 Electromagnetic radiation has characteristics of both wave and Particle Motion
 Two characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are particularly important for
understanding remote sensing viz. wavelength and frequency

Fig 1.6. Wavelengths That Can Be Used In Remote Sensing

 Wave Theory
 EM Radiation consists of an Electrical
field and a Magnetic field oriented at
right angles to the electrical field
 Radiation travels at the speed of right

Fig 1.7 Animation of electromagnetic waves traveling through a vacuum

1.8 Illustration of an electromagnetic wave

C=λ*v…. Wave general equation

Where: λ = Wavelength, C = speed of light and,

v = frequency
Characteristics of Electromagnetic Radiation

 Wavelength (l) is the length of one wave

cycle, i.e., the distance between two
successive wave crests, measured in metre
or some factor of metres, e.g. micrometres
 Frequency refers to the number of cycles of a
wave passing a fixed point per unit time,
measured in hertz (cycles per second).

a)

b)

Fig 1.9. Relationship between Wavelength and frequency

 Particle theory

 The particle theory—suggests that electromagnetic radiation is composed of

many discrete units called photons or quanta

Q = h*v …. energy of a quantum equation

Where: Q = energy of a quantum, h = planks constant ,v = frequency
=> Q=

 The energy of a quantum is inversely proportional to its wavelength.

 The longer the wavelength involved, the lower its energy content
 It is easier to sense emitted long wave radiation than to measure longer wavelength
radiation
Energy Interaction with the Atmosphere

Fig 1.10 Atmosphere lies between the incident energy and the target and also between the
reflected energy and the sensor
Energy Interaction with the Atmosphere

 The effect of the atmosphere is different at different wavelengths

 We need to understand if radiation can always pass through the
atmosphere

Atmospheric Scattering and absorption

 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. These effects are caused by the mechanisms of
scattering and absorption.
 1. Scattering

Atmospheric scattering is the unpredictable diffusion of radiation

by particles in the atmosphere

Amount of scattering taking place depends on several

factors, e.g.;
i. including the wavelength of the radiation,
ii. the abundance of particles or gases, and
iii. The distance the radiation travels through the atmosphere.

Types of scattering
1. Rayleigh
 Occurs when radiation interacts with atmospheric molecules and other tiny particles that are
much smaller in diameter than the wavelength of the interacting radiation.
 The effect of Rayleigh scatter is inversely proportional to the fourth power of wavelength, i.e.
short wavelengths tend to be scattered by this mechanism than long wavelengths
2. Mie Scattering
 Occurs when atmospheric particle diameters essentially equal the wavelengths of
the energy being sensed.
 Water vapor and dust are major causes of Mie scatter.
 This type of scatter tends to influence longer wavelengths compared to Rayleigh
scatter

3. Non- selective Scattering

 Comes about when the diameters of the particles causing scatter are much larger
than the wavelengths of the energy being sensed, e.g.,
 Water droplets, usually with a diameter range of between 5 - 100 scatters all
visible and near- to mid-IR wavelengths about equally
2. Absorption

Fig1.11 The electromagnetic spectrum and the transmittance of the earth’s

atmosphere, showing the positions of the atmospheric windows used in optical
remote sensing
2. Absorption

 Absorption is the other main mechanism at work when electromagnetic radiation

interacts with the atmosphere
 Results in the effective loss of energy to atmospheric constituents. Causes include;
Water vapour, carbon dioxide and ozone.
 These gases tend to absorb electromagnetic energy in specific wavelength bands
 Ozone serves to absorb the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun
 Carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) absorbs radiation strongly in the far infrared
portion of the spectrum – the area associated with thermal heating
 This serves to trap heat in the atmosphere
 Water vapour absorbs much of the incoming and outgoing shortwave infrared and
longwave microwave radiation (between 22mm and 1m)
 The wavelength ranges in which the atmosphere is particularly transmissive of
energy are referred to as Atmospheric windows.
 Remote sensing data acquisition is limited to these nonblocked spectral regions
(Atmospheric windows)
Fig 1.12. Spectral characteristics of (a) energy sources, (b) atmospheric transmittance, and
(c) common remote sensing systems
 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

 The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from the

shorter wavelengths (including gamma and x-rays)
to the longer wavelengths (including microwaves
and broadcast radio waves)

 Two of the most relevant parts of the EM spectrum

for remote sensing are the visible and IR parts
 *The ultraviolet or UV portion of the spectrum has
the shortest wavelengths which are practical for
remote sensing.

 Uses include primarily rocks and mineral discrimination

 The light which our eyes can detect is part of the visible spectrum.

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
 The next portion of the spectrum of interest
is the infrared (IR) region which covers the
wavelength range from approximately 0.7
μm to 1000 μm

 Infrared region can also be divided into two

categories based on their radiation
properties – the reflected IR and the emitted
IR
 Within the IR part of the EM spectrum, the
first region is the NIR with wavelengths
greater than 0.7 μm,

 Followed by shortwave IR, which can be

classed as being from 0.9 to 1.7 μm, and
then thermal IR, which is from 3 to 100 μm
for the remote sensing of temperature
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

 Another region of interest to remote sensing is the

microwave region from about 1 mm to 1 m.

 The microwave region is described in terms

of frequencies rather than wavelengths

 Main bands in the Microwave region

Ku (12–18 GHz)
X (8–12 GHz)
C (4–8 GHz)
S (2–4 GHz)
L (1–2 GHz) and
P (0.25–0.5 GHz
 Energy Interactions With Earth Surface Features

 Radiation that is not absorbed or scattered in the atmosphere can reach and interact
with the Earth's surface.
Three fundamental energy interactions with the feature are possible;
 The various fractions of the energy incident on the element are reflected, absorbed,
and/or transmitted.

Basic interactions between electromagnetic energy and an earth surface

 Applying the principle of conservation of energy, we can state the
interrelationship among these three energy interactions as:

(λ)

Where:
incident energy
reflected energy
absorbed energy
transmitted energy

 The proportions of energy reflected, absorbed, and transmitted will vary for
different earth features, depending on their material type and condition
 Within a given feature, the proportions of reflected, absorbed, and transmitted
energy will vary at different wavelengths. Thus, two features may be
indistinguishable in one spectral range and be very different in another
wavelength Band.
 This is measured as a function of wavelength and is called spectral reflectance, λ. It
is mathematically defined as:

𝐸 𝑅 ( λ)
𝜌 λ=
𝐸𝐼 (λ )

E nergy of wavelength λ reflected from the object

𝜌 λ= ∗ 100
E nergy of wavelength λ incident upon the object

A graph of the spectral reflectance of an object as a function of wavelength is

termed a spectral reflectance curve.
 How do we choose the wavelength in reflected sunlight to sample?

Fig Spectral Reflectance Curves of 3 basic cover types viz: Soil , Water, Vegetation
 How do we choose the wavelength in reflected sunlight to sample?

Fig Spectral reflectance characteristics in the visible and reflective infrared range for three common cover types. shown
also are the locations of the spectral bands of a number of common sensors, some of which also have panchromatic bands and bands further into
the infrared that are not shown here
 Assignment 1 - Due : 15th August 2022
1. Do a study on the following satellite missions, describing the following:

i. Type of orbit, swath width, and revisit time

ii. Wave bands and spatial resolution
iii. Likely applications

a) Terra ASTER
b) Landsat ETM+
c) SPOT HRG
d) Worldview -2
e) Ikonos
f) EO1 – Hyperion
g) Sentinel 1, 2 and 3

2. How is stereoscopic imaging achieved in satellite remote sensing:

- Give 2 examples of systems capable of stereoscopic imaging

 Summary

 If we have to be aware that the atmosphere selectively absorbs some wavelengths

 Water Vapour and carbon dioxide are the main absorbers in optical remote sensing
 Some parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are blocked and cannot be used for
imaging the earth’s surface
 There is a large atmospheric window in the in the radio range of wavelengths, however,
very little natural energy emanates in this region, hence, the use of artificial sources of
energy
Spectral Properties and Principal Applications

Example in Landsat TM/ETM

Band Wavelength (m) Principal applications
B-1 0.45 - 0.52 (Blue) This band is useful for mapping coastal water areas,
differentiating between soil and vegetation, forest type mapping,
and detecting cultural features.
B-2 0.52 - 0.60 (Green) This band corresponds to the green reflectance of healthy
vegetation. Also useful for cultural feature identification.
B-3 0.63 - 0.69 (Red) This band is useful for discriminating between many plant
species. It is also useful for determining soil boundary and
geological boundary delineations as well as cultural features.
B-4 0.76 - 0.90 (Near-Infrared) This band is especially responsive to the amount of vegetation
biomass present in a scene. It is useful for crop identification
and emphasizes soil/crop and land/water contrasts.

B-5 1.55 - 1.75 (Mid-Infrared ) This band is sensitive to the amount of water in plants, which is
useful in crop drought studies and in plant health analyses. This
is also one of the few bands that can be used to discriminate
between clouds, snow, and ice.
B-6 10.4 - 12.5 (Thermal Infrared) This band is useful for vegetation and crop stress detection, heat
intensity, insecticide applications, and for locating thermal
pollution. It can also be used to locate geothermal activity.

B-7 2.08 - 2.35 (Mid-Infrared) This band is important for the discrimination of geologic rock
type and soil boundaries, as well as soil and vegetation moisture
content.
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 PART 2: Remote Sensing Platforms and Sensors

Fig. Primary platforms that are routinely used for remote sensing
 Remote Sensing Platforms
Satellites:

 Allows for global imaging in a given time

 Stable as they operate above the atmosphere
 Have to image through the atmospheric column, leading
to contrast and brightness errors (Radiometric errors)
 Expensive to build and launch
 Images meet need of many thousand users
 Sensors and their properties are specified in satellite
design and cannot be changed once satellite is in orbit
 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Aircraft:

 Do not allow global coverage: they are used for special

purposes
 Higher spatial resolution is possible since they fly closer
to the earth
 Imaging sensors can be reconfigured from flight to flight
depending on mission requirements
 They can be unstable as they fly through the
atmospheric column ( Geometrical errors)
 Atmospheric column through which images are
recorded is small
 Images are intended for a small group of users
 Cannot image across borders without permission
 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Drone:

 Can be unstable because of the atmosphere

 Images recorded are meant for small number of users
 Very high spatial resolution is possible
 Paths can be programmed when linked to a GNSS
receiver
 Relatively inexpensive
 Privacy is a major concern because of their low flying
altitude
 Satellite Orbits
Geostationary orbit (GEO) :

 Satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) circle Earth

above the equator from west to east following Earth’s
rotation
 GEO Satellites are at very high altitudes,
 View the same portion of the Earth's surface at all times
 Wide area coverage
 Especially designed for weather monitoring
 Satellite Orbits
Low Earth Orbits/Satellites (LEO) :

 A low Earth orbit (LEO) is relatively close to Earth’s

surface
 The orbit is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km
but could be as low as 160 km above Earth
 LEO satellites do not always have to follow a particular
path around Earth in the same way – their plane can be
tilted
Low Earth Orbits/Satellites (LEO) :

 Satellites in polar orbits usually travel past Earth from

north to south rather than from west to east, passing
roughly over Earth's poles.
 Polar orbits are a type of low Earth orbit, as they are at
low altitudes between 200 to 1000 km
 Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is a particular kind of
polar orbit
 They are synchronised to always be in the same
‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun
 A satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit would usually be
at an altitude of between 600 to 800 km
Mechanism for forming Images :
 Most Satellites use scanners
 These scanners build up an image bit by bit through scanning
 Two types of sensors are commonly used for passive, optical, satellite imaging:
push broom and whisk broom

Whiskbroom Scanner (Across –Track)

 Mirror scans across the platform direction

 Successive strips of scan lines are created by
synchronising the rate ate which strips are
recorded with the forward speed of the platform

 Swath : Size of the image recorded (FOV)

 Resolution : IFOV
 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Mechanism for forming Images :

 At any instant, the scanner sees the energy within the systems IFOV (b)
 All energy propagating toward the instrument within the IFOV contributes to the detector
response at any instant
 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Mechanism for forming Images :

 The size of the ground resolution cells are larger toward the age of the image than
near the middle
 The smaller the IFOV, the finer the spatial resolution
 The larger the IFOV the greater the quantity of energy being recorded by the
sensor
i.e. the larger the signal to noise ratio
 Broadening the wavelength band over which a detector operates improves the
*signal to noise ratio – this means a lower spectral resolution
 *A dispersion device (Prism) integrated within the sensor separates the received
signal into several spectral components that are sensed independently
(*Multispectral Scanner)
 Each detector is designed to peak spectral sensitivity in a specific wavelength
 Number of images = Number of detectors, thus number of wavebands
 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Mechanism for forming Images :

Fig 1.10 Multispectral Scanner

 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Push Broom Scanner:

 In this approach , a linear detector array images a whole line of pixels

 The number of pixels across the scan line is equal to the number of detectors in the array
 Pixel size is define the a detectors IFOV at the surface and the rate at which radiation is
sampled compared to the forward velocity of the platform
 PART 3: Remote Sensing Platforms
Push Broom Scanner:

 More time is spent scanning a pixel, leading to higher resolution

 A dispersion device is used in this case as well
 Hyperspectral Scanner

 Square detector array with one column of detectors per pixel across swath
 Each row samples a different wavelength
 The number of wavebands recorded simultaneously can be very large ( up to 200 or so)
 This allows for a great deal of information to be recorded over a landscape
 When the number of recorded wavebands is small (>20) , the instruments are referred to
as *multispectral scanners
 When wavebands recorded are 100 or so, the instruments are called *hyperspectral
scanners
Image Characteristics

Different sensors continuously scan the Earth’s surface to produce imagery

Each image is a matrix of pixels or picture elements defined by columns and rows

Each pixel records a numeric value representative of the brightness value

(BV) or intensity level of the reflected energy as

Basic matrix configuration of an image showing a pixel (picture element). Each pixel denotes an intensity
value (e.g., reflected energy, radar backscatter). Each pixel can have data values between 0 and 256 for 8-
bit (quantization) data, 0 and 4096 for 12-bit data, and so on.
1. Spectral Reflectance to DN (Digital Number)

Each spectral wavelength represents a single layer in remote sensing data called “Band”
or “Channel”. The more bands or channels present, the more spectral properties in
remote sensing data.

Low DN 
Darker

High DN 
Brighter
© 2008 Ko Ko Lwin

DN = 0 255

50
2. Structure of Remote Sensing Data (Example in Landsat TM)
Blue (0.45 ~ 0.52m) 30m x 30m 6167 pixels per line (approx. 185Km) 8-
bit(0~256)
Green (0.52 ~ 0.60m)

Red (0.63 ~ 0.69m)

Near-Infrared(0.76 ~ 0.90m)
5965
Mid-Infrared (1.55 ~ 1.75m)
lines
Thermal-Infrared (10.40 ~ 12.50m) Total 7 bands

Mid-Infrared (2.08 ~ 2.35m)

FOV Field Of View

15.4°

Altitude:

705Km Nadir-

point

Swath width: 185Km

Example in Landsat 51
TM
3 Resolutions in Remote Sensing

There are four types of resolutions in Remote Sensing.

(a) Spatial Resolution: The 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.

Example: Landsat TM Spatial resolution 30mx30m, QuickBird 67cm x 67cm

Landsat TM 30m x 30m QuickBird 67cm x 67cm

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(b) Spectral Resolution: Spectral resolution describes the ability of a sensor to
define fine wavelength intervals. The finer the spectral resolution, the
narrower the wavelength range for a particular channel or band.

Example: Landsat TM has 7 Bands, QuickBird/IKONOS Multispectral has 4 Bands, etc.

Wavelength in m 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.3 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0

band
VISIBLE NEAR IR MID - THERMAL IR
sensor IR

NOAA AVHRR
1 2 3 4 5

Landsat TM/ETM 123 4 5 7 6

QuickBird/IKONOS 12 3 4

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(c) Temporal Resolution: Also important to consider in a remote sensing system, refers
to the length of time it takes for a satellite to complete one entire orbit cycle. The revisit
period of a satellite sensor is usually several days except Geostationary satellites.

Example: Landsat TM 16 days, SPOT 26 days, etc.

16 days for
next orbit
at same
place

Landsat Landsat
ETM ETM

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 (d) Radiometric Resolution: The radiometric resolution of an imaging system
describes its ability to discriminate very slight differences in energy.

The finer the radiometric resolution of a sensor, the more sensitive it is to detecting
small differences in reflected or emitted energy.

Example: Landsat TM 8 bits, SPOT 8 bits, IKONOS 11 bits. However, most computer
programs do not support 11-bit, so it will convert to 16-bit.

8-bit : 28 = maximum 256 color levels or DN values (commonly used)

16-bit : 216 = maximum 65536 color levels or DN values (especially used in elevation
data, e.g. DEM, DSM, DTM, etc.)

16-bit

8-bit

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END