GEO-INFORMATICS

(CE-287)

Misbah Kiran
MCE-Risalpur
NUST
 CONTENT
2

 Pixel
 Resolution
 Spatial Resolution
 Spectral Resolution
 Temporal Resolution
 Radiometric Resolution
 SPECTRAL RESOLUTION
3

 Spectral resolution describes the wavelength intervals

in the electromagnetic spectrum that a sensor can
record or sense
 Each wavelength interval is referred as band, which
records a specific portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum
 High spectral resolution is achieved by narrow band
widths which, collectively, are likely to provide a more
accurate spectral signature for discrete objects than
broad band width
 DIGITAL IMAGE

 A group of divided small cells with integer values of average intensity

is called digital image

 It is regular array of pixels, or picture elements and is described in

terms of its geometry and its radiometry

 Digital images consist of discrete picture elements called PIXELS

 As the pixel size is reduced more scene detail is preserved (spatial

resolution)
128 128 255
DN
255 128 PIXEL

255
Matrix of Numbers
DIGITAL IMAGE
 WHY DIGITAL IMAGE?

 No digitization is required by user

 No info missing or change from provider to user’s computer

 Data storage is easier

 No color loss during the storage

 Contains more info (> 3 bands)

 Flexible hard copy output (combinations)

 Pixel
 Definition: A picture element which has both spatial and spectral
properties
 The spatial property defines the dimensions of the corresponding
ground area.

 The spectral property defines the intensity of the spectral response

for a pixel in a particular band

– Mostly, Pixels are square 55 Y

– Aspect of a pixel is ratio of its length and width

X
RESOLUTION

 Resolution indicates the smallest observable (Measurable)

difference

 Image resolution describes the details in an image

 Resolution is defined as the ability of an entire remote-sensing

system, to render a sharply-defined image :

 Spatial, Spectral, Radiometric, Temporal

(These are the properties of RS instruments)

 SPATIAL RESOLUTION

 It refers to the size of the area on the ground represented by

each pixel (area covered by a pixel)

 Is an indication of how well a sensor can records spatial details

 Spatial resolution is the measure of smallest object that can be

detected by a satellite sensor

 In raster images, the smaller the area of land that each cell
represents, the higher the resolution of the data, and higher the
spatial accuracy, and larger the files needed to store the data
SPATIAL RESOLUTION

• Depends upon

 Construction of the detector element in sensor-determines

“pixel” size

 View angle of sensor

 Flying height of aircraft or orbital height of satellite

 SPATIAL RESOLUTION
13

 Spatial resolution is also expressed as Ground

projected Instantaneous Field of View( IFOV)

 IFOV is an angle subtended by the

geometrical projection of a single detector

element to the Earth surface

 (Size of the Area)= C x A

 To detect an object, it has to be equal or

larger than the resolution ,spectrally

different from its surrounding objects

SPATIAL RESOLUTION

 Coarse / low Resolution- only large features are visible

 > 30 meters to > 1000 meters

 Medium Resolution

 >4 meters to 30 meters

 High /fine Resolution- small objects can be detected, more

ground details

 0.4 to 4 meters
HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE IMAGES

WorldView-2 GeoEye-1 QuickBird pan-sharpened

SPATIAL RESOLUTION
 High resolution refers to the small pixel size- fine ground details
 Low resolution- large pixel size, less details
 SPATIAL RESOLUTION

Satellite Resolution

Quick Bird (Pan) 0.61 m

IRS-1C (Pan) 5,8 m

SPOT – 5 (Pan) 2.5 m

SPOT – 5 (XS) 10 m
LANDSAT TM 30 m
LANDSAT MSS 80 m

NOAA 1 km
Map Scale

 The ratio of distance on an image or map, to actual ground distance

 A map with a scale of 1:100,000, an object of 1cm length on the map

would actually be an object 100,000cm (1km) long on the ground.

 Maps or images with small "map-to-ground ratios" are referred to as

small scale (e.g. 1:100,000),

 and those with larger ratios (e.g. 1:5,000) are called large scale.
 SPATIAL RESOLUTION
Scale 1:500,000 Scale 1:200,000 Scale 1:100,000

1 cm = 5 kilometer 1 cm = 2 kilometer 1 cm = 1 kilometer

Scale 1:50,000 Scale 1:25,000 Scale 1:10,000

1 cm = 500 meters 1 cm = 250 meters 1 cm = 100 meters

Scale Vs Pixel Size
Scale Approx Pixel Size (M) Sensor

1: 50,000 5 AC, IKONOS,Orbview-3

1: 250,000 25 SPOT, Landsat TM

1: 500,000 50 Landsat MSS

1: 10,000,000 1000 NOAA AVHRR

 SPECTRAL RESOLUTION
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 It refers to the specific wavelength intervals in the electromagnetic

spectrum that a sensor can record or is sensitive to

 Each wavelength interval is referred as band, which records a specific

portion of the electromagnetic spectrum

 High spectral resolution is achieved by narrow band widths which,

collectively, are likely to provide a more accurate spectral signature for
discrete objects than broad band width

 The finer the spectral resolution, the narrower the wavelength range
for a particular channel or band

 In general, it is the no of bands of the remote sensing sensor system

 SPECTRAL RESOLUTION
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 Is the ability of a sensor to define fine wavelength intervals

Panchromatic
One Band

Multispectral
Three Bands
 TYPES OF IMAGE FOR SPECTRAL RES
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 Types of remotely sensed images:

 Panchromatic

 Multispectral

 Hyperspectral

 Panchromatic imagery is single-band or monochrome imagery

 Multispectral imagery is imagery with data recorded in two or more

bands

 same scene Imaged simultaneously in several spectral bands of

EMR Spectrum

 Hyperspectral imagery data recorded in 100s bands (very narrow)

 TEMPORAL RESOLUTION
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 How often a given place on the earth is revisited( imaged) by a

remote sensing system

 Temporal resolution of RS satellites is fixed depending upon the

orbital parameters

 Each satellite has its own unique revisit schedule for obtaining
imagery of a particular area

 If a satellite imaged the same area every 16 days, then its

temporal resolution would be 16 days
 TEMPORAL RESOLUTION
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 With moving sensor, the revisit time can be less as compared to

fixed sensors ( one to five days)

 actual temporal resolution of a sensor depends on

 satellite/sensor capabilities

 the swath overlap

 Latitude

 It is an important factor to consider in change detection studies,

for short as well as long –lived phenomena

 Aerial imaging , temporal resolution is flexible , rather weather

dependent
RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION

 It describes the ability of imaging system to discriminate very

slight differences in energy

 Describe the actual information content in an image, sensor’s

sensitivity to the magnitude of the electromagnetic energy

 The ability of an imaging system to record many levels of

brightness, coarse radiometric resolution records very few

brightness levels or a few bits, whereas , fine resolution records

the same scene using many brightness levels

RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION

 Defines the sensitivity of detector to differences in signal strength

as it records the radiant flux reflected or emitted from the target

 The finer the radiometric resolution of the sensor, the more

sensitive it is to detecting small differences in reflected or
emitted energy

 The greater the number of levels the greater the detail in the
information, apparent difference is lower, as eye is more
sensitive to hue than intensity
RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION

 Measuring /digitizing the amplitude is called quantization

L= 2K

Where L= Discrete gray levels allowed for each pixel

 Assumed that discrete gray levels are equally spaced and integers in the
interval [ 0, L-1]
The number of bits required to store a digital image is
b= MxNxK, where M.N are the no of rows and columns of image,
 If M=N, then b= N2K
RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION

 Brightness value range

 If 1 bit data, 2 tones: Black (0) and White (1)
 If 2 bit data, 4 tones: Black (0) and White (3)
 If 4 bit data, 16 tones: Black (0) and White (15)
 If 5 bit data, 32 tones: Black (0) and White (31)
 If 6 bit data, 64tones: Black (0) and White (63)
 If 7 bit data, 128 tones: Black (0) and White (127)
 If 8 bit data, 256 tones: Black (0) and White (255)
 If 11 bit data, 2048 tones: Black (0) and White (2047)
 RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION
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1-bit quantization (2 levels) 2-bit quantization (4 levels) 3-bit quantization (8 levels)

Radiometric Resolution
 Radiometric resolution used by commonly satellites
are
 NOAA 10 BITS
 LANDSAT MSS 6 BITS
 LANDSAT TM 8 BITS
 SPOT HRV 8 BITS
 IKONOS 11BITS
Resolution of Remotely Sensed Data
 Temporal Resolution
– Frequency of return of platform
– Determined by orbits and instrument characteristics
 Spectral Resolution
–Detail by which spectrum is represented
•Spectral range of each band
•Number of bands
 Spatial Resolution
–Spatial “area "represented by each data cell (displayed as a pixel)
–Determined by altitude of platform and optics
 Radiometric Resolution
 Ability to record number of brightness level
 Depends upon sensors sensitivity
Spatial, Spectral, and Radiometric
Resolutions

 There are trade-offs between spatial, spectral, and radiometric

resolutions
 For high spatial resolution, the sensor has to have a small IFOV
 This reduces the amount of energy that can be detected as the
area of the ground resolution cell within the IFOV becomes small
 Leads to reduced radiometric resolution-the ability to detect fine
energy differences
 To increase the amount of energy detected (and thus, the
radiometric resolution) without reducing spatial resolution,
Would have to broaden the wavelength range ( Reduce Spectral
Resolution)
 Conversely, coarser spatial resolution would allow improved
radiometric and/or spectral resolution.
 Thus, these three types of resolution must be balanced against the
desired capabilities and objectives of the sensor
MULTI IMAGING

 MULTISPECTRAL IMAGING
 Viewing a given area in several narrow bands to obtain better
identification / classification of objects

 MULTISTATION IMAGING
 Observation of the same area from different positions of the
platform to yield stereoscopic data to obtain height info

 MULTIDATE IMAGING
 Observation made over the same area on different dates to
monitor objects which are dynamically changing with time(crops
growth), also referred as temporal characteristics
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