Introduction to Remote Sensing

Mohammad Asad Hussain

Assistant Professor
Institute of Water and Flood Management
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Tel. 9665650-80/7952
Email: asadh@iwfm.buet.ac.bd
Web: http://teacher.buet.ac.bd/asad/
Contents

Concept of Remote Sensing

Elements Involved in Remote Sensing

Energy Sources and Electromagnetic Radiation

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Classification Electromagnetic Spectrum

Types of Remote Sensing with Respect to Wavelength

Interactions of EM Radiation with the Atmosphere

Interactions of EM Radiation with the Earth’s Surface

Spectral Reflectance Curve

 Concept of Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing is defined as the science (and to some

extent art) of acquiring information about the objects of
interest without actually being in contact with it.

This is done by sensing

and recording reflected
or emitted energy and
processing,analyzing
andapplyingthat
information.

Data collection by remote sensing

 Elements Involved in Remote Sensing

Energy
1. EnergySources and Electromagnetic Radiation
Source or
Illumination (A)
All mater with
2. Radiation and athe
temperature above absolute zero (k)
radiates energy
Atmosphere (B)in the form of electromagnetic waves of
various wavelengths.
3. Interaction with the
Object (C)
Electromagnetic radiation is a carrier of electro-
magnetic energy
4. Recording by transmitting the oscillation of the
of Energy
by the Sensor (D)field through space or matter.
electro-magnetic
5. Transmission,
Reception and energy can be modeled in two ways:
Electromagnetic
byProcessing (E) and particle motion.
wave motion

6. Interpretation and
Analysis (F)

7. Application (G)
 Wave(Quantum
Particle Motion Motion Theory)

Electro-magneticradiation
Electromagnetic radiationcan
canbebeconsidered
treated as aasphoton
a or a
light quantum.
transverse wave The
withamount of energy
an electric heldaby
field and a photonfield.
magnetic of a
specific
The wavelength
two fields is given
are located by angles to each other.
at right

E=h×ν=h×c/λ c=λ×ν
where E = energy of a photon [J]
h = Plank's constant [6.6262×10-34 J s]
c = velocity of EM energy
ν = frequency [Hz]
(light) = 3 × 108 m/s
λ = wavelength [m]
The longer the wavelength involved, the lower its energy
content ν = frequency [s-1 or Hz]
Gamma rays (wavelength is around 10-9 m) are the most
energetic and radio waves (> 1 m) the least energetic.
• Light is considered as as wave
It is more difficult to measure the energy emitted in longer
• Wavelength and frequency has a inverse relationship
wavelength than in shorter wavelength.
 Electromagnetic Spectrum

The total range of wavelengths is Gamma-ray

commonly referred to as the
electromagnetic spectrum. X-ray

Ultraviolet (UV)

Visible light
The electromagnetic spectrum ranges
from the shorter wavelengths (including Infrared (IR)
gamma and x-rays) to the longer
wavelengths (including microwaves and Microwave
broadcast radio waves).
Radio wave
Classification Electromagnetic Spectrum
EM Spectrum Classification
(based on wavelength)
 Electro-magnetic spectrum used in remote sensing

Near UV(ultra-violet): 0.3-0.4 µm

Visible light: Blue: 0.4-0.5 µm
Green: 0.50.6 µm
Red: 0.6-0.7 µm
Near IR: 0.7-1.3 µm
Shortwave IR: 1.3-3 µm
Infrared (IR): Thermal IR: 8-14 µm
1 mm - 1 m

Microwave:

The spectral range of near IR and short wave infrared is

sometimes called the reflective infrared (0.7-3 µm) because the
range is more influenced by solar reflection rather than the emission
from the ground surface.

In the thermal infrared region, emission from the ground surface

dominates the radiant energy with little influence from solar
reflection.
 Types of Remote Sensing with Respect to Wavelength

1. Visible and Reflective

Infrared Remote
Sensing

2. Thermal Infrared
Remote Sensing

3. Microwave Remote
Sensing.
Interactions of EM Radiation with the Atmosphere
The most important source
Interactions of energy
of EMR withis the
the Sun. Before the
Atmosphere
Sun’s radiation reaches the Earth's surface it has to travel
through some distance of the Earth's atmosphere.
The reduction in solar intensity is called ‘Extinction’. The
ratecomposition
The of extinction is expressed
of the atmosphereas
is Extinction Coefficient.
thus of importance in
remote sensing because electromagnetic radiation must pass
through it in order to reach the Earth’s surface.

The energy transmitted to the Earth’s surface is then

Composition of the atmosphere
reflected, absorbed or transmitted by the surface
material. Percentage
Component The atmosphere also contains
particles with a range of sizes
N2 78.08 and sources which are of great
O2 20.94 importance in remote sensing.
Ar 0.93
CO2 0.0314
O3 0.00000004
 Interaction of EMR with the Atmosphere

Three processes serve to attenuate the signal we are trying

toEMR interacts with particles and gases in the atmosphere
detect:

Primarily the distance EMR travels depends on

PATH LENGTH 1. Scattering
which again depends on (i) Latitude,
2. Absorption
(ii) Time of day and (iii) Season
3. Refraction
 Interaction of EMR with the Atmosphere

Scattering occurs when particles or large gas molecules

present inscattering:
Rayleigh the atmosphere interact with and cause the
electromagnetic
Rayleigh radiation
scattering occurs to be redirected
when from
particles are its small
very
original
compared path. How
to the much scattering
wavelength of the takes placeThese
radiation. depends
on several
could factors including
be particles the (i)
such as small wavelength
specks of dustof
orthe
radiation,
nitrogen and(ii) the abundance
oxygen of particles
molecules. Rayleighor scattering
gases, and
(iii) the shorter
causes distancewavelengths
the radiationoftravels
energythrough the
to be scattered
atmosphere.
much more than Therelonger
are three (3) types of
wavelengths. scattering
Rayleigh
which take isplace.
scattering the dominant scattering mechanism in the
upper atmosphere.

1. Rayleigh scattering
2. Mie scattering
3. Non-seective scattering
 Interaction
Interaction of
of EMR
EMR with
with the
the Atmosphere
Atmosphere
Rayleigh scattering:
Mie scattering:
The fact that the sky appears "blue" during the day is
Mie scattering
because occurs
of this when the As
phenomenon. particles arepasses
sunlight just about the
same
throughsizetheasatmosphere,
the wavelength of the radiation.
the shorter Dust,
wavelengths (i.e.
pollen,
blue) ofsmoke and water
the visible vapour
spectrum are are common
scattered morecauses
than of the
Mie
otherscattering which tends
(longer) visible to affectAt
wavelengths. longer wavelengths
sunrise and
than
sunsetthose affected
the light has by Rayleigh
to travel scattering.
farther throughMiethe
scattering
atmosphereoccurs mostly
than at middayin the
andlower portions of
the scattering of the
the
atmosphere where larger
shorter wavelengths particles
is more are more
complete; abundant,
this leaves a
and dominates
greater when
proportion of cloud conditions
the longer are overcast.
wavelengths to
penetrate the atmosphere.
 Interaction of EMR with the Atmosphere
Nonselective Scattering:
The final scattering mechanism of importance is called
nonselective scattering. This occurs when the particles
are much larger than the wavelength of the radiation.
Water droplets and large dust particles can cause this
type of scattering. Nonselective 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).
 Interaction
Interaction of
of EMR
EMR with
with the
the Atmosphere
Atmosphere
Absorption is the other main mechanism when
electromagnetic radiation interacts with the atmosphere.
Absorption:
You may have heard carbon dioxide referred to as a
Ingreenhouse
contrast to gas.
scattering,
This isthis phenomenon
because causes
it tends to absorb
molecules in the atmosphere to absorb energy
radiation strongly in the far infrared portion of at the
various
wavelengths.
spectrum - that area associated with thermal heating -
which serves to trap this heat inside the atmosphere.
Water vapour in the atmosphere absorbs much of the
Three mainlongwave
incoming atmospheric
infrared and shortwave microwave
constituents which absorb
radiation (between 22µm and 1m). The presence of
radiation are: in the lower atmosphere varies greatly
water vapour
from location to location and
at1.different
Ozone times of the year. For example, the air mass
above a desert would have very little water vapour to
2.absorb
Carbon dioxide
energy, and the tropics would have high
while
concentrations of water vapour (i.e. high humidity).
3. Water vapor
Interaction of EMR with the Atmosphere
Ozone absorbs the harmful (to most living things) ultraviolet
radiation from the sun. Without this protective layer in the
atmosphere our skin would burn when exposed to sunlight.

Carbon dioxide absorbs radiation strongly in the far infrared

portion of the spectrum - that area associated with thermal
heating - which serves to trap this heat inside the atmosphere.

Water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs much of the incoming

longwave infrared and shortwave microwave radiation (between
22µm and 1m).

Atmospheric transmission expressed as percentage

About half of the spectrum between 0-22 µm is not useful
for remote sensing of the Earth’s surface, simply because
none of the corresponding energy can penetrate the
atmosphere.

The wavelength at which electromagnetic radiation are

partially or wholly transmitted through the atmosphere are
known as atmospheric windows.

The wavelength regions of the atmospheric windows can be

used for remote sensing.
 Interaction of EMR with the Atmosphere

Atmospheric Windows
Summarizing:
Atmospheric windows Wavelength (µm)
Three processes serve to attenuate the signal we are trying to detect:
Upper UV – photographic IR 0.3 – 1(approx.)
1. Scattering:
Reflected IR 1.3, 1.6, 2.2
Rayleigh Scatter: diameter of particles << wavelength of EMR
MieThermal IR
Scatter: diameter of particles = wavelength3-5, 8-14
of EMR
Microwave
Non-selective >5000
Scatter: diameter of particles >> wavelength of EMR

2. Absorption: retention of EMR by molecules in the atmosphere

(H2O, CO2, O3)

3. Refraction: ‘bending’ of EMR as it passes through the atmosphere

Interactions of EM Radiation with the Earth’s Surface
Radiation that is not absorbed or scattered in the atmosphere can
reach and interact with the Earth's surface.

When electromagnetic energy is incident on any given earth

surface feature, three fundamental energy interaction are possible.
These are:

1. Absorption (A)

2. Transmission (T)

3. Reflection (R)

The proportions of each will depend on the

- wavelength of the energy,

- angle at which the radiation intersects with the surface and

- roughness of the material and condition of the feature.

Two types of reflection, which represent the two extreme ends
of the way in which energy is reflected from a target are:

1. Specular reflection and

2. Diffuse reflection.

Specular or mirror like reflection,

typically occurs when surface is
smooth and all (or almost all) of the
energy is directed away from the
surface in a single direction.

Diffuse or Lambertian reflection

occurs when the surface is
rough and the energy is reflected
almost uniformly in all directions.
Spectral Reflectance Curve
The reflectance characteristics of earth surface
feature may be quantified by measuring the
portion of incident energy that is reflected.

This energy is measured as a function of

wavelength and is called spectral reflectance.
It is defined as:

Rs
Reflectance =
I
Reflectance ranges from 0 to 1. Equipment to measure
reflectance is called spectrometer

A graph of spectral reflectance as a function of wavelength is

termed as spectral reflectance curve
Spectral Reflectance of Land Covers

Spectral reflectance is assumed to be different with respect

to the type of land cover.

Vegetation: A chemical
compound in leaves called
chlorophyll strongly absorbs
radiation in the red and blue
wavelengths but reflects green
wavelengths.

The internal structure of healthy leaves act as excellent

diffuse reflectors of near-infrared wavelengths.
Spectral Reflectance Curve for Vegetation and Water
Water: Longer wavelength
Byvisible and near
measuring the infrared
energy that is
radiation is absorbed
reflected (or emitted) by more by on
targets Blue Green Red Infrared
water
the thansurface
Earth's shorterover
visible
a variety of
wavelengths.
different wavelengths, it is possible
to build up a spectral response for
that object.

By comparing the response patterns

ofWater typically
different looks
features we blue
may or
beblue-green
able due to
tostronger reflectance
distinguish them. at these shorter wavelengths, and
darker if viewed at red or near infrared wavelengths.

Water and vegetation may reflect somewhat similarly in the

visible wavelengths but are almost always separable in the
infrared zone.