Remote Sensing

BASIC REMOTE SENSING

April 3, 2012 Basic Remote Sensing 1

Basic Remote Sensing 2
Remote Sensing

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 Remote Sensing

Syllabus
Section One
– Principles of remote sensing
– The nature of electromagnetic radiation
– Space borne and airborne sensors.
Section Two
– Image processing
– Image classification

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 Remote Sensing

Course Objectives
Up on successful completion of the course, students
will be able to:
– understand the concepts of remote sensing
– develop an understanding of remotely sensed imagery in
relation to its:
• Acquisition
• Processing and
• Interpretation
– handle the image processing software

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 Course Outline
CHAPTER ONE – CONCEPTS OF REMOTE SENSING
– Introduction to Remote Sensing
– Electromagnetic Spectrum
– Energy Interaction with Atmosphere
– Scattering and absorption
– Energy Interaction with Earth Surface Features
– Color system, RGB, HIS
– Image file format
CHAPTER TWO - PLATFORMS AND SENSORS
– Introduction
– Platforms
– Sensors
– Resolution
– An overview of Earth Resources satellites

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CHAPTER THREE – DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING
– Introduction
– Digital Image
– Digital Image data formats
– Basic Image Statistics
– Image Pre-Processing
– Image Enhancement
CHAPTER FOUR – IMAGE CLASSIFICATION
– Introduction
– Types of classification
• Supervised Classification
• Unsupervised Classification

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 CHAPTER ONE
Introduction to Remote Sensing
• Remote sensing is the science 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.
• It is also defined as the science and an art of obtaining information about an object,
area or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in
contact with object, area or phenomenon.
• It is the acquisition and measurement of data/information on some properties of a
phenomenon, object, or material by a recording device not in physical, intimate
contact with the features under surveillance;

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• Uses instruments or sensors
to view the spectral and
spatial relations of
observable objects and
materials at a distance,
typically from above them.

• It involves the investigation

of energy; its characteristics,
organization and interaction

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Multiband imagery from the French
Satellite SPOT Landsat TM: False colour imagery:
Bright red: normal colour for healty
thick vegetation.

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April 3, 2012 Basic Remote Sensing 11
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 The process of remote sensing
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C 28
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76
E

D
A
B
A. Radiation and the atmosphere C. Energy recorded and
converted by sensor
B. Interaction with target E. Interpretation and analysis
D. Reception and processing
Text by the Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing
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 Components of a remote sensing system

A – Energy source or illumination E – Transmissions, reception and processing

B – Radiation and the atmosphere F – Interpretation and analysis

C – Interaction with the target G – Application

D – Recording of energy by the sensor 14

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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.
• The most convenient (and cheap!) source of energy around is the sun.

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.

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 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.

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.

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).
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Interpretation and Analysis (F)
The processed image is interpreted, visually and/or digitally or
electronically, to extract information about the target which was
illuminated.

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.

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 Assignment-I

• Brief History of Remote Sensing

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 Electromagnetic Radiation
• The energy in remote sensing is in the form of
electromagnetic radiation (EMR)

• Most of energy received on earth comes from the sun has

an electromagnetic nature.

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 Electromagnetic Radiation

Radiation
Source

• Energy from the sun travels to earth through space as

electric and magnetic waves, or electromagnetic radiation.
• The range of electromagnetic radiation of various
wavelengths and frequencies, extending from cosmic
waves to radio waves, is known as the electromagnetic
spectrum.
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• Electromagnetic radiation consists of:
– an electrical field (E) which varies in magnitude in a
direction perpendicular to the direction in which the
radiation is traveling, and
– a magnetic field (M) oriented at right angles to the
electrical field.
• Both these fields travel at the speed of light (c).
• Two characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are
particularly important for understanding remote
sensing. Wavelength and Frequency.

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 v = frequency
(number of cycles per second
passing a fixed point)

Wavelength is the length of one wave cycle

It is measured in metres (m) or some factor of metres such as nanometres (nm, 10-9m),
micrometers (μm, 10-6m) or centimetres (cm, 10-2m).

Frequency refers to the number of cycles of a wave passing a fixed

point per unit of time.
It is normally measured in hertz (Hz), equivalent to one cycle per second,
and various multiples of hertz.
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• Quantity of radiant energy is expressed in energy units.
• Quality of radiant energy is characterised by frequency (u)
or wavelength (λ).
c = λ*u
c – velocity/speed of light (3x108m/s)
• Wavelength and frequency are inversely related to each
other:
– the shorter the wavelength, the higher the frequency;
– the longer the wavelength, the lower the frequency.

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 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)

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The visible portion of the spectrum is a very small part of the whole spectrum:
Blue - 0.4 - 0.5 µm
Green - 0.5 - 0.6 µm
Red - 0.6 - 0.7 µm
Violet: 0.4 - 0.446 µm
Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm The primary colours
Green: 0.500 - 0.578 µm or wavelengths of the
Yellow: 0.578 - 0.592 µm visible spectrum
Orange: 0.592 - 0.620 µm
Red: 0.620 - 0.7 µm
The wavelengths smaller than 0.4 mm entails:
1 µm = 10-6 m gamma ray
x rays
ultraviolet radiation.
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The part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths
larger than 0.7mm entails:
• infrared (0.7-10mm),
• microwaves (1mm-1m)
• radio waves

Infrared goes from 0.7mm to 10mm and can be divided in

three areas:
• near infrared (0.7-1.0 mm),
• medium infrared (1.3-3.0 mm)
• thermal infrared (> 3 mm).

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 Interaction of electromagnetic radiation with
atmosphere

The atmosphere has a strong effect on the quantity and quality of the electromagnetic
radiation captured by the satellite.
The atmospheric effect varies with:
– radiation path (airplane, satellite)
– wavelength
– atmospheric conditions (particles, gases, …)

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 Absorption

Reflection or Scattering

Transmission

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• Before radiation used for remote sensing reaches the Earth's surface, it has to travel
some distance through 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
• absorption
• What is the effect of atmosphere in the satellite images?
Atmosphere:
• reduces contrast
• may blur the images
• may reduce the quantity of radiation

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 Scattering

• Scattering occurs when particles or large gas molecules present in

the atmosphere interact with and cause the electromagnetic
radiation to be redirected from its original path.
Amount of scattering depends on:
– Wavelength of radiation
– Abundance of particles or gases
– Distance it has to travel
There are three types of scattering:
1. Rayleigh scattering particles << wavelength
2. Mie scattering particles = wavelength
3. Non-selective scattering particles >> wavelength

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 Rayleigh scattering
• Rayleigh scattering is caused by particles such
as small specks of dust or nitrogen and oxygen
molecules.

• Rayleigh scattering causes shorter

wavelengths of energy to be scattered much
more than longer wavelengths.

• Rayleigh scattering is the dominant scattering

mechanism in the upper atmosphere.

Why does the sky appears "blue" during

the day?
And what happens at sunrise and sunset?
BasicRemote
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 Mie scattering

• Mie scattering is mainly caused by dust, pollen, smoke and water

vapour.

• Mie scattering tends to affect longer wavelengths than those

affected by Rayleigh scattering.

• Mie scattering occurs mostly in the lower portions of the

atmosphere where larger particles are more abundant, and
dominates when cloud conditions are overcast.

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 Non-selective scattering

• Non-selective scattering is caused by

water droplets and large dust particles

• Non-selective scattering gets its name

from the fact that all wavelengths are
scattered about equally.

This type of scattering causes fog and clouds to appear white to our eyes
because blue, green, and red light are all scattered in approximately equal
quantities (blue + green + red light = white light).

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Absorption

• In contrast to scattering, this

phenomenon causes molecules
in the atmosphere to absorb
energy at various wavelengths.

• Atmospheric absorption is
mainly caused by ozone, carbon
dioxide, and water vapour.

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• Remote sensing is not possible in areas strongly affected by scattering
and/or absorption.

• Areas of the electromagnetic spectrum relatively free of absorption and

scattering are designated by atmospheric windows.

Atmospheric windows

Atmospheric windows are useful regions of the electromagnetic

spectrum where we do remote sensing

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By comparing the characteristics of the two most common energy/radiation
sources (the sun and the earth) with the atmospheric windows available to
us, we can define those wavelengths that we can use most effectively for
remote sensing.

The visible portion of the spectrum, to which our eyes are most sensitive,
corresponds to both an atmospheric window and the peak energy level of
the sun.

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Atmospheric effect: Absorption

• Occurs because gas molecules absorb the energy at various wavelength

• Ozone absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation.

• Carbon dioxide is referred to as a greenhouse gas.

– strongly tends to absorb radiation in the far infrared portion of the
spectrum - that area associated with thermal heating - which serves to
trap this heat inside the atmosphere.
– Absorbs much of the incoming long-wave infrared and shortwave
microwave radiation (between 22µm and 1µm).

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 Interaction of the electromagnetic radiation
with earth surface

E (l) = Er (l) + Ea(l) +Et (l)

Incident radiation: the total

amount of radiation that
strikes an object

In remote sensing we are largely concerned with REFLECTED RADIATION.

Er (l) = Ei (l) - (Ea(l) +Et (l))

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 Interaction with the target

• Only a portion of the energy from the source will reach the earth surface energy
transmitted through the atmosphere
• The rest was scattered or absorbed
• At the target level: 3 forms of interaction:
– Absorption
– Transmission
– Refection

• The proportions of each depend on the wavelength of the energy and the material
and condition of the feature.
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 Reflection from Target

• 2 types of reflection coming from the target:

– Specular reflection
– Diffuse reflection

• Specular reflection
– smooth surface (mirror like)
– all (or almost all) of the energy
is directed away from the surface
in a single direction.

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 ….cont’d

• Diffuse reflection
– rough surface
– the energy is reflected almost uniformly in all directions

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 Interaction with Vegetation

The Chlorophyll
– strongly absorbs radiation in the red and blue wavelengths
– reflects green wavelengths
Near Infrared
– The internal structure of healthy leaves act as excellent diffuse reflectors of
near-infrared wavelengths.
– If our eyes were sensitive to near-infrared, trees would appear extremely bright
to us at these wavelengths.
– Measuring and monitoring the near-IR reflectance is one way that scientists
can determine how healthy (or unhealthy) vegetation may be.

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 ...cont’d

• Only the green and the infrared

wavelength leave the leaf area are
reflected.
• The blue and the red are absorbed

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 Interaction with water

• More absorption of longer wavelength (visible

NIR)
• Water looks blue or blue-green due to
stronger reflectance at these shorter
wavelengths,
• If viewed at red or near infrared wavelengths
water looks darker.
Clear water Water with sediments
• Suspended sediment in the upper layers of
the water body, will allow better reflectivity
and a brighter appearance of the water.

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 Spectral response

• By measuring the energy that is

reflected (or emitted) by targets over a
variety of different wavelengths, we can
build up a spectral response for that
object.
• By comparing the response patterns of
different features we may be able to
distinguish between them while we
might not be able to distinguish them, if
we only compared them at one
wavelength.

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 Spectral response of diverse
elements

Visible Near IR Middle IR Middle IR

Soil
Reflectance (%)

Vegetation

Water

Wavelength

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 50 Grass
R
E
F 40
L Concrete
E
C 30
T Sandy loamy
A Soil
N 20 Fallow field
C
E
10 Asphalt
Artificial turf
(%) Clear water
0 BLUE GREEN
GREEN RED
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.3
Visible Near IR
Wavelength (micrometers)

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Spectral response of vegetation

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 Classification of Remote Sensing Systems

• It is mentioned that remote sensing is based on reflected and/or emitted energy.

• This energy may come from different sources.
• Based on the sources of energy remote sensing systems can be classified in to:

• Passive Systems

• Active Systems

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 passive sensors
• The sun provides a very convenient source of
energy for remote sensing.
• Remote sensing systems which measure energy
that is naturally available are called passive system.
• Passive sensors can only be used to detect energy
when the naturally occurring energy is available.
• For all reflected energy, this can only take place
during the time when the sun is illuminating the
Earth.
• There is no reflected energy available from the sun
at night.

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 Active Systems

• Active sensors, on the other hand, provide

their own energy source for illumination.
• The sensor emits radiation which is
directed toward the target to be
investigated.
• The radiation reflected from that target is
detected and measured by the sensor.

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 …cont’d

• Advantages of active sensors include the ability to obtain measurements anytime,

regardless of the time of day or season.
• Active sensors can be used for examining wavelengths that are not sufficiently
provided by the sun, such as microwaves, or to better control the way a target is
illuminated.
• However, active systems require the generation of a fairly large amount of energy
to adequately illuminate targets.
• Some examples of active sensors are a laser fluorosensor and a Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR).

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 Digital Images

• Sensor see and record very narrow ranges of wavelengths or colours.

• The information from a narrow wavelength range is gathered and stored in a
channel, also sometimes referred to as a band.
• We can combine and display channels of information digitally using the three
primary colours (Red, Green and Blue) (RGB)
• The data from each channel is represented as one of the primary colours and,
depending on the relative brightness (i.e. the digital value) of each pixel in each
channel, the primary colours combine in different proportions to represent different
colours.

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 Why using colour images?

• Which would you rather do: watch TV in colour or in black and white? Which
usually looks better: a picture of your pet in black and white or in colour?

• Most of us would choose colour, wouldn't we?

• That's because we can see differences among objects in colour much better than
we can see those same details in black and white.

• In remote sensing, as in photography (or TV), when we say black and white we're
really talking about shades of grey.

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 False colour- True colour

• We usually see the world in what we think of as true colour.

• But what is a false-colour image?
• If we substitute, red for green, blue for red, and so on, the resulting image will not
be a true representation of the way we humans see things.
• Therefore, the colours are false, or pseudo-colour.
• We may actually see a lot more detail specially vegetations.
• We can look at details in areas of the electromagnetic spectrum where the human
eye is not very efficient, like in the infrared region.
• By displaying the results in false colours, we can learn a lot more about our
environment.

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How do we obtain a color image?
(Color composite)
• STEP #1 we take three images, which are
the black and white images corresponding
to Bands 2, 8 and 10.
• STEP#2 The combination of these three
wavelengths of light will generate the
color image that our eyes can see.
• So, if we display now display Band 2 in
blue light, Band 8 in green light, and Band
10 in red light we get the relative contrast
between the three images.

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 True colour - False colour

True colour Image: False colour Image:

TM Band 3= red TM Band 4 = red
TM Band 2 = green TM Band 3 = green
TM Band 1 = blue TM Band 2 = blue

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 Assignment-II
i. IMAGE FILE FORMAT (E.g. BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF and TIFF)
– Define each of them one by one
– What are the advantages and disadvantages of each file format over the
other?
ii. IMAGE COLOR MODELS
– RGB model
– CMY model
– IHS model

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 CHAPTER TWO
PLATFORMS, SENSORS AND SATELLITES

PLATFORMS
• In order for a sensor to collect and record energy reflected or emitted from a target
or surface, it must reside on a stable platform removed from the target or surface
being observed.
• Platforms for remote sensors may be situated on the ground, on an aircraft or
balloon (or some other platform within the Earth's atmosphere), or on a spacecraft
or satellite outside of the Earth's atmosphere.
• Sensors may be placed on a ladder, tall building, cherry-picker, crane, etc.

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There are several types of platforms for remote sensors

Ground Aircrafts
Satellites

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 Ground based sensor

• Ground-based sensors are often used

to record detailed information about
the surface which is compared with
information collected from aircraft or
satellite sensors.

• To better understand the information

in the imagery

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 Aerial platforms

• Primarily stable wing aircraft

• Helicopter occasionally

• Often used to collect very detailed

images and facilitate the collection of
data over virtually any portion of the
Earth's surface at any time.

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 Space platforms

• Because of their orbits, satellites

Satellites
permit repetitive coverage of the
Earth's surface on a continuing basis.

Cost is often a significant factor in choosing

among the various platform options.

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 SENSORS

• Sensors is a device that measures and records electromagnetic energy.

• Sensors can be divided in to two groups
– Passive sensors
– Active sensors

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 Satellites

• Satellites are objects which revolve around another object- in this case, the Earth.
For example, the moon is a natural satellite, whereas manmade satellites include
those platforms launched for remote sensing, communication, and telemetry
(location and navigation) purposes.
• Because of their orbits, satellites permit repetitive coverage of the Earth's surface
on a continuing basis.

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 Satellite Characteristics: Orbits and Swaths

• Although ground-based and aircraft platforms may be used, satellites provide a

great deal of the remote sensing imagery commonly used today.
• Satellites have several unique characteristics which make them particularly useful
for remote sensing of the Earth's surface
• The path followed by a satellite is referred to as its orbit.
• Satellite orbits are matched to the capability and objective of the sensor/s they
carry.
• Orbit selection can vary in terms of altitude (their height above the Earth's surface)
and their orientation and rotation relative to the Earth.
• Satellites at very high altitudes, which view the same portion of the Earth's surface
at all times have geostationary orbits.

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Geostationary orbit
Near-polar orbit

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 …cont’d

• Geostationary satellites, revolve at speeds which match the rotation of the Earth so
they seem stationary, relative to the Earth's surface.
• This allows the satellites to observe and collect information continuously over
specific areas.
• Weather and communications satellites commonly have these types of orbits.
• Due to their high altitude, some geostationary weather satellites can monitor
weather and cloud patterns covering an entire hemisphere of the Earth.

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 Geostationary orbit

• This refers to orbits in which the satellite is placed above the equator (inclination
angle is 0º) at a distance of some 36,000 km.
• At this distance, the period of the satellite is equal to the period of the Earth.
• The result is that the satellite is at a fixed position relative to the Earth.
• Geostationary orbits are used for meteorological and telecommunication satellites.
• Today’s meteorological weather satellite systems use a combination of
geostationary satellites and polar orbits.
• The Geostationary satellites observe and collect information continuously over
specific areas , while the polar orbits offer a higher resolution.

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 Near polar orbits

• Designed to follow an orbit (basically

north south), in conjunction with the
Earth's rotation (west-east), allows
them to cover most of the Earth's
surface over a certain period of time.

• Many of these satellite orbits are also

sun-synchronous

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 Sun-Synchronous orbit

• An orbit chosen in such a way that the satellite always overhead at the see local
time is called Sun-synchronous.
• Sun synchronous orbits allow a satellite to record images at two fixed times during
one 24 hour period: one during the day and one at night.
• Cover each area of the world at a constant local time of day called local sun time.
• At any given latitude, the position of the sun in the sky as the satellite passes
overhead will be the same within the same season.
• Ensures consistent illumination conditions when acquiring images in a specific
season over successive years, or over a particular area over a series of days
• Most sun-synchronous orbits cross the equator at midmorning( around 10:30h).
• At that moment the Sun angle is low and the resultant shadows reveal terrain relief.

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 Polar orbit
e.g. SPOT, LANDSAT
IKONOS

1000 Km

35.800 Km

Geostationary orbit
E.g. METEOSAT
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Geo-stationary orbit.

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 Low Earth Orbit satellites.

The global telecommunication system "Iridium".

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 Kepler's laws.

The motion of satellites in elliptical orbits.

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Resolution:
• “Resolution” in remote sensing as the ability of a sensor to distinguish or
resolve objects that are physically near or spectrally similar to other
adjacent objects.
• High resolution will allow a user to distinguish small, adjacent targets,
while objects and their boundaries will be difficult to pinpoint in images
with low resolution.
• Resolution is further defined in two categories:
– Spectral: Spectral resolution is the size and number of wavelengths
intervals or divisions of the spectrum that a system is able to detect,
as shown to the right. A digital sensor that collects data in different
portions of the EM spectrum is called a multi-spectral sensor.
– Spatial: Spatial resolution is best described by the size of an image
pixel.
A pixel is a two-dimensional square-shaped picture element displayed
on a computer.
– Radiometric The sensitivity the sensor has for recording variations in
the electromagnetic spectrum. Higher values mean that more fine
appearance changes in the image can be detected.
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 Multispectral Scanning
• Scanning systems, employ a sensor with a
narrow field of view that sweeps over the
terrain to build up and produce a two-
dimensional image of the
• 2 main modes or methods of scanning to
acquire multispectral image data
• across-track scanning
• along-track scanning

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 Advantages of Multispectral
Scanning (MSS)
• Photographic systems are restricted to the
visible and near-infrared regions
• MSS systems can extend this range into the
thermal infrared.

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