INTRODUCTION TO REMOTE SENSING(RS) AND ITS

APPLICATION

PRESENTED AT AN INDUCTION ORGANIZED FOR ZASTAL STAFF

20/10/2015.

DAKAGAN J .B

ZONAL ADVANCED SPACE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

LABORATORY(ZASTAL)
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR REMOTE SENSING
NEW CAMPUS BUK.

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 Introduction
“RS 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”(CCRS).
This includes the earths atmosphere, surface and sub-
surface features. Targets could be any feature, object or
phenomena of interest.
It covers:
 Natural Remote sensing (NRS): Human Sense organs.
 Camera Remote sensing (CRS): V and NIR
 Satellite Remote sensing (SRS): V, NIR and
microwave region of the EMS.
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Some Remote Sensors

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Model of a RS System (A - G)

Energy Source or
Illumination (A)
Radiation and the
Atmosphere (Atm) -(B)
Interaction with the
Target (C)
Recording of Energy
by the Sensor (D)
Transmission,
Reception, and
Processing (E)
Interpretation and
Analysis (F)
Application (G) 4
 Sensors

Passive sensors Active sensors

Imaging Radiometer RADAR
Radiometer LIDAR
Spectrometer Scatterometer
Spectroradiometer
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 RS Platforms

A platform is the carrier (e.g. aircraft or spacecraft) of the

remote sensing device or sensor.
Platform depends on application:
What information do we want?
Ground
How much detail? Platform

Airborne Platform

Space-borne Platform

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 Basic Principles of RS

Electromagnetic Radiation(EMR): Energy source to

illuminate the target is in this form. Radiation is the
emission of energy as electromagnetic waves.
EMR consists of an electrical field perpendicurlarly to
direction in which radiation is travelling and magnetic field
oriented at right angle, both traveling at the speed of light.
RS uses two characteristics of EMR i.e. wavelength and
frequency which are inversely related.
Wavelength=distance between two successive wave crests.
Frequency = Number of cycles of wave passing through a
point.

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How is Energy Transferred?

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The Electromagnetic Spectrum(EMS)

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 EMS contd..,

EMS Showing bands employed in RS 10

The Most Useful Regions of EMS in RS

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 visible part of the

spectrum ranges from 0.4 to
0.7um: RS instruments such as
multi-spectral scanners split this
part into several bands, up to
10 or more.

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Infra-Red(IR)

IR region covers wavelengths from

0.7 μm - 100 μm and is divided into
reflected IR and thermal or emitted
IR
The reflected IR covers wavelengths
from 0.7 μm - 3.0 μm and used in
ways similar to those in the visible
region
The thermal IR region is emitted from
the Earth's surface in the form of
heat. The thermal IR covers
wavelengths from 3.0 μm - 100 μm.

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Microwave Region

Recent interest to RS is the

microwave region from about 1 mm -
1 m covering the longest wavelengths
used for remote sensing.

The shorter wavelengths are similar

to the thermal infrared region while
the longer wavelengths are similar to
those used for radio broadcasts.

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Ultraviolet (UV)
For most purposes, the UV
portion of the spectrum has
the shortest wavelengths
which are practical for RS.
This radiation is just beyond
the violet portion of the
visible wavelengths, hence
its name.
Some Earth surface
materials, primarily rocks and
minerals, fluoresce or emit
visible light when illuminated
by UV radiation.

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 Atmospheric Interaction

Energy used for RS travels through the atm and are

affected by particles and gases via absorption and
scattering
As the EMR travels through space it is greatly
attenuated/distorted on reaching the earth’s atm.
At upper atm, very short waves (x-rays, gamma rays and
most of the ultra-violet rays) are absorbed by the O3 layer
while clouds, H2O droplets, dust particles, smoke and
other atm gases absorb, scatter and disperse some of the
EMR at the lower atm.

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 Scattering

Particles or large gas molecules in the atm interact with

and cause the EMR to be redirected from its original path.
Rayleigh scattering occurs when particles are very small
compared to the wavelength of the radiation and causes
shorter wavelengths of energy to be scattered much more
than longer wavelengths.
It is the dominant scattering mechanism in the upper atm.
e.g. blue sky in day time and yellow in the morning/evening.
Mie scattering occurs when the particles are just about the
same size as the wavelength of the radiation and occurs in
the lower atm where large particles are more

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Nonselective scattering
occurs when particles are
much larger than the
wavelength of the radiation.
H2O droplets and large dust
particles can cause it. All
wavelengths are scattered
equally
It causes fog and clouds to
appear white to our eyes as
(blue+green+red light =
white light) occur in equal
proportion.

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 Absorption

This phenomenon causes molecules in the atmosphere to

absorb energy at various wavelengths
O3, CO2, and H2O vapour are the three main atmospheric
constituents which absorb radiation.
Ozone serves to absorb the harmful (to most living things)
UV radiation from the sun. Without this protective layer in the
atmosphere our skin would burn when exposed to sunlight.
CO2, a GHG tends to absorb radiation strongly in the far
infrared portion of the spectrum - that area associated with
thermal heating - which serves to trap this heat inside the
atm.
Water vapour in the atmosphere absorbs much of the
incoming longwave infrared and shortwave microwave
radiation (between 22μm and 1m).
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Earth’s Surface/Objects Interaction

Radiation not absorbed or scattered

reach and interact with the earth’s
surface. 3 forms of interaction.
Absorption (A)
Transmission (T)
Reflection (R)
The proportions of A,T or R above
will depend on energy wavelength,
material and condition of the
feature.

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 Reflection

RS is interested in measuring
the radiation reflected from
targets.

Specular Reflection Two types of reflection

representing the two extreme
ends of the way in which
energy is reflected from a
target are specular and
diffuse.

Diffuse Reflection
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 Reflectance at the Surface

As radiation impinges on the earth surface, it is reflected,

refracted, absorbed and re-radiated (emitted) back to
space by different surface features (objects) in different
wavelengths depending on
The angle of incidence of energy
Surface roughness as a function of wavelength
The materials on either side of the interface
The bio-chemical/physical (Volume/internal reflectance)
properties of objects

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 Reflectance within a Surface

During transmission through the surface, the energy is

selectively absorbed by the chemical constituents of the
surface, and is reflected or scattered by surface elements
within that surface.
The reflection from surface elements within the surface will
tend to scatter energy in all direction( diffuse or Lambertian).
Reflection that occurs within a surface is called body
reflection (Volume or Internal)

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 Atm Windows

Gases absorb EMR in very specific regions of the spectrum,

they influence where (in the spectrum) we can "look“ for RS
purposes. Those areas of the spectrum which are not
severely influenced by atm absorption and thus, are useful to
remote sensors, are called atm windows
The visible portion of the spectrum, to which our eyes are
most sensitive, corresponds to both an atm window and the
peak energy level of the sun.
The heat energy emitted by the Earth corresponds to a
window around 10 μm in the thermal IR portion of the
spectrum, while the large window at wavelengths beyond 1
mm is associated with the microwave region.

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 Spectral Response and Spectral Sig.

Objects respond diff. to

sunlight due to their
physical and bio-chemical
properties

Spectral sig is the

expression of an object in
image that enables the
object to be recognized
and differentiated from
other objects.
Spectral Signatures of:
Green Grass, Dry Grass, Clay, Iron Oxide
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 Resolution of RS systems(4)

Spatial Resolution
The earth surface
area covered by a
pixel of an image is
known as spatial
resolution.
Large area covered
by a pixel means low
spatial resolution and
vice versa

Source: Jensen (2000) 26

Spectral Resolution
Is the ability to
resolve spectral
features and bands
into their separate
components.
More number of
bands in a
specified bandwidth
means higher
spectral resolution .

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 Temporal Resolution Radiometric Resolution

Frequency at which images Sensitivity of the sensor to

are recorded/ captured in a the magnitude of the
specific place on the earth. received EME determines
The more frequently it is the radiometric resolution.
captured, the better or finer The finer the radiometric
the temporal resolution is.
resolution of a sensor, the
A sensor that captures an more sensitive it is in
image of an agricultural detecting small differences
land twice a day has better in reflected or emitted
temporal resolution than a energy.
sensor that only captures
that same image once a
week.
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 Principles of Object Identification

The product of remote sensing is data which is either an

areal photograph or a satellite image, interpreted using
these parameters.
Tone or color
Texture
Pattern
Shape
Shadow
Size
Relative and Absolute location

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Tone and Color

Amount of energy reflected/emitted from the

scene in a given wavelength/band
Each wavelength/band of EMR recorded by
the sensor can be displayed in shades of grey
from black to white
These shades are called “tones” – dark, light,
intermediate
Human eye can see 40-50 tones
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 Texture

Related to frequency of tone changes which give the

impression of roughness or smoothness of image
features
Arrangement of tone or colour in an image

Smooth (uniform, homogeneous), intermediate, and

rough (coarse, heterogeneous)

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 Texture and Pattern

Varies with image

resolution

Often noted by
roughness or
smoothness

Influenced by
shadows

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 Pattern

Spatial arrangement of objects in image

– General descriptions include random and

systematic; natural and human-made.

– More specific descriptions include circular, oval,

curvilinear, linear, radiating, rectangular, etc.

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Pattern

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Shape

General form
or outline of an
object

Helped by
shadows

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 Size and Shape

Rectangular features often

indicate human influence
such as agriculture

Size and shape information

greatly influenced by image
resolution

Knowing the scale of the

image helps to convert
feature dimensions on the
image to actual dimensions

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 Relative and Absolute Location

The location of a
feature narrows the list
of possible cover types

Relative location
particularly useful to
determine land use

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 Shadows

Often considered a
contaminant but can be
very useful to identify
features on an image

Helpful to accentuate relief

Shadow effects change

throughout the day and
throughout the year

Shadows can give an

indication to the size of a
particular feature

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 Thematic Mapper(TM) Bands

Channel Wavelength Application

Range (μm)

TM 1 0.45 - 0.52 (0.45-0.52um) : Water body penetration...useful for

(blue) coastal water mapping

TM 2 0.52 - 0.60 (0.52-0.60um): Vegetation green reflectance

(green) peak...vegetation discrimination and vigor assessment

TM 3 0.63 - 0.69 (red) (0.63-0.69um): sensitive to chlorophyll...plant species

differentiation

TM 4 0.76 - 0.90 (near (0.76-0.90um): delineation of water bodies, vegetation

IR) and soil water content

TM 5 1.55 - 1.75 (1.55-1.75um): Vegetation and soil moisture content

(short
wave IR)

TM 6 10.4 - 12.5 (10.4-12.5um): Thermal mapping, vegetation stress

(thermal IR) analysis....
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TM 7 2.08 - 2.35 (2.08-2.35um): Mineral and rock type discrimination...
 Some Apps. from ZASTAL Archives

Geological Mapping
Mapping faults, folds,
lineaments and rock types.

Syncline/Anticline structures
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Forestry Inventory:
Remote Sensing is used
for forest inventory, forest
fire mapping, species
identification.

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Envtl. Impacts:
Remote Sensing is used
to determine oil spill size,
location, direction and
magnitude of movement.

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Agriculture:
Crop mapping and
yield prediction; crop
damage due to storm,
drought or disease and
insect outbreaks

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Weather

It is possible now to get

immediate information on
climate and weather
conditions from remote
sensing satellites. Images
over time allow us to
predict weather behavior.

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Use of UAVs

UAVS are improving

modern agriculture
production and
research by providing
data at higher
temporal and spatial
resolutions and lower
cost than manned
aircrafts and satellites

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RS in Agricultural land Information System (ALIS)

To determine the
changes that have
occurred in the study
area
Derive information to
enhance food security,
envl sustainability &
policy implementation
for good governance.

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 The Advantages of RS

Area measurements instead of point measurements

Rapid synoptic coverage of very large areas
There is repetitive coverage of areas on the earth surface.
High resolution in space and/or time is achieved.
Data collected becomes available in digital format;
Information can be obtained from very remote areas of
the earth where otherwise no measurement would be taken
e. g oceans.
Information/data obtained are quite cheaper than from
other methods of surveys.

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 Further Reading

Campbell, J. B. (1996) Introduction to Remote Sensing (2nd

Ed), London: Taylor and Francis.
Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
Jensen, J. R. (2000) Remote Sensing of the Environment:
An Earth Resource Perspective, 2000, Prentice Hall, New
Jersey. (Excellent on RS but no image processing).
Lillesand, T. M., Kiefer, R. W. and Chapman, J. W. (2004,
5th ed.) Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation, John
Wiley, New York.

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