Remote Sensing and Image

Processing

Dr. Avik Bhattacharya

Centre for Studies in Resources
Engineering (CSRE), IITB
 Course Structure
 NR401: Remote Sensing and Image processing

 50% Remote Sensing (Prof. A. Bhattacharya)

 50% Image Processing (Prof. S. Mukherjee)

 30 marks Mid-Semester Exam

 + 10 marks Quiz + 10 marks Assignment

 50 marks End-Semester (As per Prof. S. Mukherjee)

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 2
Remote Sensing: Perspectives
 Concept:
 What do we understand by Remote
Sensing/Proximal Sensing ?

 “Remote” sensing involves making

measurements and collecting data for (and
from) objects, classes, and materials that are
not in contact with the sensor (sensing device)
whereas the “Proximal” sensing includes
making direct contact with these targets”

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 3

Why Remote Sensing?

 To recognize macro-patterns which may not

be visible from ground
 To gain an OVERVIEW of an area
 To gather information on large areas in short
time
 To gather information cost-effectively
 To gather information on inaccessible places
 To replace conventional sources of
information (topo sheets, census data etc.)

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 4

Principles of RS: EMR

 The definition of RS implies the use of

medium which carries the information from
the object to the sensor
 Usually, electro-magnetic radiation (EMR) is
being used as medium
 In passive RS, the radiation emitted by some
other source is being used
 In active RS, the radiation is being emitted by
the system itself

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 5

Remote Sensing: Perspectives

 Importance: Is it just pretty pictures or

serious science?

 Does it add to our understanding of

natural systems and resources ?

 Applications to natural resources studies

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 6

Remote Sensing: Concepts

 Remote sensing is the science of making

inferences about objects from measurements
made at a distance, without coming into physical
contact with the object under study.

 Remotely sensed data

 Variation in force field distribution

 Acoustics wave distribution

 Electromagnetic wave distribution

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 7

Remote Sensing: Concepts

Earth’s surface,
Atmosphere,
Hydrosphere,
Cryosphere,
planets, sun, stars, galaxies etc

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 8

Remote Sensing: Concepts

 Currently the term “Remote Sensing” is

used commonly to denote identification of
the Earth’s surface.

 Characterizing the Electromagnetic (EM)

radiation that is reflected/emitted by the
earth system.

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 9

Remote Sensing: Concepts

 Application of remote sensing for resources

management: United Nation
 “Remote sensing means sensing of the earth’s
surface from space by making use of the
properties of EM wave emitted, reflected or
diffracted by the sensed object, for the purpose of
improving natural resources management, land
use and the protection of the environment”

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 10

The Electro-Magnetic Spectrum

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 11

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 12
 Remote Sensing Concepts

Most widely used remote

sensors: human eyes
• Motivation for remote
sensing systems
• Collection (eye),
transmission (optic nerve) and
storage (brain)
• Cannot distribute the data
though.

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 13

Remote Sensing: Concepts

 Apart from visible light, EM radiation extend

 Ultraviolet  Visible  Infrared  Microwave
 High frequency  Low frequency

 If observation is made based on EM radiation

FROM the Sun  Passive remote sensing
 If observation is made based on EM radiation
from a source  Active remote sensing

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 14

Basic process of RS

 Interaction (or emission) of EM radiation with

(from) matter.
 EM radiation  Electric + Magnetic fields
 Spans a large spectrum of wavelengths
 Gamma waves (10-10m) ------ Radio waves
(106m)

 Visible light occupies (0.4 µm) – (0.7µm)

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 15

A System View of Remote Sensing

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 16

Remote Sensing Process

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 17

Active/Passive Sensors

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 18

Relationship among sciences with
regard to Mapping Sciences

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 19

Advantages of Remote Sensing

 Data can be gathered from a large area of the

Earth’s surface or atmosphere in short space of
time.
 In situ measurements are time consuming and
costly over large areas. Remote Sensing is
considered as cost effective.
 No sampling bias - consistent coverage of the
entire area
 Response of objects collected in different
wavelengths
 It has many applications in wide of areas.

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 20

Limitations of Remote Sensing
 It is often oversold. It is not a panacea that can be used to collect
all types of information for all natural, physical and cultural
studies.
 It provides information only about the spectral properties of
objects on the earth’s surface (and their variation in time and
space). We hope that the spectral properties are proxies for the
property we are interested in.

 Noise – atmopheric effects, topographic effects, soil/vegetation

cover (depending on the application)

 It is often considered an end in it self (the pretty picture

syndrome!) Remote sensing should enhance scientific
understanding of the system under study.

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 21

Applications of Remote Sensing

 Military Reconnaissance
 Atmosphere (temperature, precipitation, clouds,
wind velocities, concentration of gases such as
water vapor, Co2, ozone, etc.)
 Land (tectonics, topography, temperature, soil
moisture content.
 Land cover (nature of cover characterising the type
of vegetation, state of its health, mapping man made
features such roads, buildings, etc.)
 Ocean (temperature, topography, wind velocity,
wave energy spectra and colour)
 Cryosphere ( snow and ice )

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 22

History of Remote Sensing
 Ca. 1030 AD - Al Hazen develops Camera Obscura to
observe solar eclipse.
 1614 - Angelo Sala, an Italian chemist, discovers that
silver nitrate darkens when exposed to sunlight.

 1666 - Issac Newton disperses white light using a

prism; discovers the optical spectrum.

 1777 - Carl Wilhelm Scheele, a Swedish chemist,

found that silver chromate darkened by exposure to
sunlight could be rinsed off with ammonia. The
unexposed silver chromate crystals are left behind
to form a fixed image, a precursor to modern
photographic film.
NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 23
1827 - The first photograph (Joseph
Niepce)

A window view of the French countryside

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 24

History of Remote Sensing

 1839 – Daguerre, a French photochemist, invents

Daguerrotype (polished silver plate, mercury vapors
and sodium thiosulfate or hypo) to fix the image and
make it permanent.

 1839 -- William Henry Fox Talbot, an English

scientist, invents a new system of imaging on
Ag2CrO4-treated paper and using a fixative solution
of NaCl. He was the first person to employ a
negative positive process.

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 25

History of Remote Sensing

 1855 -- James Clerk Maxwell, a scottish

physicist, describes color additive theory for the
producing color photographs

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 26

 1858 -- The first aerial
photograph

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 27

(Copyright Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.)

1862 – Balloon-based observations

Civil war (Union Army Balloon
Corps commander Thaddeus S. C.
Lowe in the Battle of Fair Oaks).

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 28

History of Remote Sensing

 1900 – Revelation of 'quanta' and 'black body

radiation‘ -- Max Plank, Wilhelm Wein et al.

 1903 - Breast-mounted camera for pigeons

(invented by Julius Neubronner)

 1908 - Airplane invented in 1903 and first photos

from airplane were taken by Wilbur Wright over
France

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 29

1930 - Testing of aerial IR film from balloons.

1934 - Photogrammetric Engineering first

published. American Society of Photogrammetry
founded, later renamed as Photogrammetric
Engineering and Remote Sensing. The Society was
again renamed, and is now the American Society of
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

1936 - Albert W. Stevens, an American balloonist and

aerial photographer takes the first photograph of the
actual curvature of the earth - from a free balloon at
an altitude of 72,000 feet.

1940 - World War II brought about more sophisticated

techniques in aerial photography.
NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 30
History of Remote Sensing

 1960’s – Gemini and Apollo space photograph

 1962 – Lockheed U2 (copyright NASA and

Lockheed Martin, Inc.)

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 31

1972 – LANDSAT 1
Launched

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 32

1972-73 Skylab with series of experiments with sensors.
1975 Landsat-2
1978 Seasat launched with SAR system (failed after 99 days)
1978 Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM).
1978 Landsat-3 was launched
1979 Nimbus-9 was launched.
1982 Landsat-4 was launched with TM sensor system
1984 Landsat-5
1993 Landsat-6 with ETM (launch failure)
1999 Landsat-7 with ETM+

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 33

SPOT (Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre, France )
Series
1986 SPOT-1 satellite was launched
1990 SPOT-2 launched
1993 SPOT-3
1998 SPOT-4
2002 SPOT-5

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 34

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 35
NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 36
Atmospheric Transmittance

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 37

Sun – Earth Surface - Sensor

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 38

EM Spectrum Characteristics

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 39

Role of Atmosphere
 Wavelengths less affected by atmosphere are
chosen to design the sensors to operate in:

 Visible 400 nm – 700 nm

 Near infrared – 700 nm – 2500 nm with a few gaps
 Thermal infrared – 8 microns – 15 microns
 Microwave – 1 cm – 30 cm (approx.)

 Other wavelengths are blocked by atmosphere

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 40

Satellite Sensor Resolutions

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 41

Gamma rays to study soil properties
in Forested area
Gamma-radiometric
data are very useful
for predicting the
character and
distribution of soil
properties,
particularly in
forested or vegetated
landscapes

Potassium overlain on a
25 m hillshaded DEM.
Red is high (2% K)
through yellow,
green, blue to black =
low (0.3%)

NR401 Dr. A. Bhattacharya 42