LECTURE 1
AN INTRODUCTION TO REMOTE
SENSING
REMOTE
Remote – not in physical contact or far
away or slightly far away.
Sensing- get information or data or any
input which can be temperature,
pressure or a photography about
SENSING something or an object.
▪ RS is associated usually
to satellites.
▪ Satellites are platforms
on which RS sensors
have been put to get
information about the
earth’s surface.
▪ In a broader sense things like;
✓Medical Imaging e.g. X-ray,
Ultrasound
✓Cameras
✓Our eyes
▪ Are all forms of RS because
we get information or data
without being in physical
contact with the object of
interest.
Scientific Definition of RS
• The acquisition of information about a
target without being in physical contact
with it. Includes not only what is visual,
but also what can’t be see with the eyes,
including sound and heat.
• Information about an object is acquired
through detecting and measuring:
– Electromagnetic field reflected or
emitted by the object
– Acoustic waves reflected or
perturbed by the object
– Perturbations of the surrounding
gravity or magnetic potential field
due to the presence of the object.
We emphasis on remote sensing through EM energy
• Remotely sensed data are data of the earth collected from sensors on satellites or aircraft.
Satellite imagery, Aerial photography and radar are all forms of remotely sensed data.
History of Remote Sensing
▪1839 -Photographic image formed
▪1850’s - Photography from balloons
▪1909 - First photography from an airplane
▪1920’s - Initial development of photogrammetry & applications of aerial
photography
▪ 1940’s -Initial development of infrared & radar sensing
▪ 1956 -Research on crop disease detection with infrared photography
1960-“Remote Sensing” term first used
• 1965 -Airborne multispectral scanner data becomes available for civilian research
• 1972 -Launch of Landsat 1- among the successful land observation satellites launched by NASA
• 1982 -Landsat-4 w/ Thematic Mapper launched
• 1986 -SPOT satellite launched
• 1999- First U.S. high-resolution commercial satellite successfully launched
• 1999- Launches of Landsat-7 and Earth Observing System (Terra satellite)
▪ 27/09/2021- Launch of Landsat 9
Remote sensing applications
Goal: Monitoring
RS offers cheap and continuous monitoring of the Earth and its changes
▪ RS technology is a tool that can be used in almost any field.
Remote sensing applications
▪ RS has a wide range of applications
1.. Agriculture
Remote sensing is increasingly becoming an important source of information in wide range of
agricultural applications.
Agricultural drought assessment,
Flood damage
Disease outbreak
Yield estimation and forecast
Suitability mapping
2. Forestry
Forest growth rate
Biomass estimation
Carbon stock modeling
Forest fire
Disease
Deforestation
etc
3. Hydrological application 4. Environmental application
Mapping and monitoring of water bodies Pollution hotspot mapping and monitoring
Water quality and pollution of water Environmental Impact Assessment
bodies
Soil moisture estimation
Flood mapping and monitoring
Drainage basin mapping and watershed
modeling
Irrigation canal leakage detection
5. Weather, climate and atmospheric
6. Urban and land use applications
Weather forecast
Land use/Land cover changes
Climate change modeling
Urban planning and monitoring
Sea Surface Temperature
Clouds Optical Properties
Aerosol
Fog
Black Carbon
Dust Storm
Ozone and other trace gases
Benefits of Remote Sensing
✓ Remote sensing has many advantages over ground-based survey in that large
tracts of land can be surveyed at any one time, and areas of land (or sea) that
are otherwise inaccessible can be monitored.
✓ The advent of satellite technology and multi/hyperspectral sensors has further
enhanced this capability, with the ability to capture images of very large areas of
land in one pass, and by collecting data about an environment that would
normally not be visible to the human eye.
✓ Collect comparable data over large area and repeated measurements over same
area- dynamics over space and time can be analyzed
✓ Cost effective
✓ Rapid data collection
✓ Historical record
Overview of Remote Sensing
The Process
(A) Energy Source or Illumination
(B) Radiation and the Atmosphere
(C) Interaction with the Target
(D) Recording of Energy by the Sensor
(E) Transmission, Reception, and
Processing
(F) Interpretation and Analysis
(G) Application
1. Energy Source or Illumination (A) - the first requirement for remote sensing is to have an
energy source which illuminates or provides electromagnetic energy to the target of interest.
2. Radiation and the Atmosphere (B) - as the energy travels from its source to the target, it will
come in contact with and interact with the atmosphere it passes through. This interaction may take
place a second time as the energy travels from the target to the sensor.
3. Interaction with the Target (C) - once the energy makes its way to the target through the
atmosphere, it interacts with the target depending on the properties of both the target and the
radiation.
4. Recording of Energy by the Sensor (D) - after the energy has been scattered by, or emitted
from the target, we require a sensor (remote - not in contact with the target) to collect and record
the electromagnetic radiation.
5. Transmission, Reception, and Processing (E) - the energy recorded by the sensor has to be
transmitted, often in electronic form, to a receiving and processing station where the data are
processed into an image (hardcopy and/or digital).
There are 3 main options for transmitting data acquired by satellites to the surface
✓ Data directly transmitted to the earth( if a ground receiving station GRS) is in the line of sight
of the satellite
✓ Data recorded on board the satellite for transmission to a (GRS) at a later time
✓ Data can be relayed to the GRS through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)
6. Interpretation and Analysis (F) - the processed image is interpreted, visually and/or
digitally or electronically, to extract information about the target which was illuminated.
7. Application (G) - the final element of the remote sensing process is achieved when we
apply the information we have been able to extract from the imagery about the target in order
to better understand it, reveal some new information, or assist in solving a particular problem.
Various platforms of RS to record EMR
There are 3 broad categories of RS platforms;
• Ground based
• Airborne- within the earth’s atmosphere
• Satellite-outside the earth’s atmosphere
Platforms
On-ground
In the air
In space
