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vi PREFACE
use of computers in remote sensing and image interpretation in the 1960s and
early 1970s. The book’s readers have diversified as the field of remote sensing has
become a truly international activity, with countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America contributing at all levels from training new remote sensing analysts, to
using geospatial technology in managing their natural resources, to launching and
operating new earth observation satellites. At the same time, the proliferation
of high‐resolution image‐based visualization platforms—from Google Earth to
Microsoft’s Bing Maps—is in a sense turning everyone with access to the Internet
into an “armchair remote‐sensing aficionado.” Acquiring the expertise to produce
informed, reliable interpretations of all this newly available imagery, however,
takes time and effort. To paraphrase the words attributed to Euclid, there is no
royal road to image analysis—developing these skills still requires a solid ground-
ing in the principles of electromagnetic radiation, sensor design, digital image pro-
cessing, and applications.
This edition of the book strongly emphasizes digital image acquisition and
analysis, while retaining basic information about earlier analog sensors and meth-
ods (from which a vast amount of archival data exist, increasingly valuable as a
source for studies of long‐term change). We have expanded our coverage of lidar
systems and of 3D remote sensing more generally, including digital photogram-
metric methods such as structure‐from‐motion (SFM). In keeping with the chan-
ges sweeping the field today, images acquired from uninhabited aerial system
(UAS) platforms are now included among the figures and color plates, along with
images from many of the new optical and radar satellites that have been launched
since the previous edition was published. On the image analysis side, the continu-
ing improvement in computational power has led to an increased emphasis on
techniques that take advantage of high‐volume data sets, such as those dealing
with neural network classification, object‐based image analysis, change detection,
and image time‐series analysis.
While adding in new material (including many new images and color plates)
and updating our coverage of topics from previous editions, we have also made
some improvements to the organization of the book. Most notably, what was
formerly Chapter 4—on visual image interpretation—has been split. The first sec-
tions, dealing with methods for visual image interpretation, have been brought
into Chapter 1, in recognition of the importance of visual interpretation through-
out the book (and the field). The remainder of the former Chapter 4 has been
moved to the end of the book and expanded into a new, broader review of applica-
tions of remote sensing not limited to visual methods alone. In addition, our cover-
age of radar and lidar systems has been moved ahead of the chapters on digital
image analysis methods and applications of remote sensing.
Despite these changes, we have also endeavored to retain the traditional
strengths of this book, which date back to the very first edition. As noted above,
the book is deliberately “discipline neutral” and can serve as an introduction to the
principles, methods, and applications of remote sensing across many different
subject areas. There is enough material in this book for it to be used in many
PREFACE vii
different ways. Some courses may omit certain chapters and use the book in
a one‐semester or one‐quarter course; the book may also be used in a two‐course
sequence. Others may use this discussion in a series of modular courses, or in a
shortcourse/workshop format. Beyond the classroom, the remote sensing practi-
tioner will find this book an enduring reference guide—technology changes con-
stantly, but the fundamental principles of remote sensing remain the same. We
have designed the book with these different potential uses in mind.
As always, this edition stands upon the shoulders of those that preceded it.
Many individuals contributed to the first six editions of this book, and we thank
them again, collectively, for their generosity in sharing their time and expertise.
In addition, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the expert reviewers
who have helped guide changes in this edition and previous editions. We thank the
reviewers for their comments and suggestions.
Illustration materials for this edition were provided by: Dr. Sam Batzli, USGS
WisconsinView program, University of Wisconsin—Madison Space Science and
Engineering Center; Ruediger Wagner, Vice President of Imaging, Geospatial
Solutions Division and Jennifer Bumford, Marketing and Communications, Leica
Geosystems; Philipp Grimm, Marketing and Sales Manager, ILI GmbH; Jan
Schoderer, Sales Director UltraCam Business Unit and Alexander Wiechert, Busi-
ness Director, Microsoft Photogrammetry; Roz Brown, Media Relations Manager,
Ball Aerospace; Rick Holasek, NovaSol; Stephen Lich and Jason Howse, ITRES,
Inc.; Qinghua Guo and Jacob Flanagan, UC‐Merced; Dr. Thomas Morrison, Wake
Forest University; Dr. Andrea Laliberte, Earthmetrics, Inc.; Dr. Christoph
Borel‐Donohue, Research Associate Professor of Engineering Physics, U.S. Air
Force Institute of Technology; Elsevier Limited, the German Aerospace Center
(DLR), Airbus Defence & Space, the Canadian Space Agency, Leica Geosystems,
and the U.S. Library of Congress. Dr. Douglas Bolger, Dartmouth College, and
Dr. Julian Fennessy, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, generously contributed to
the discussion of wildlife monitoring in Chapter 8, including the giraffe telemetry
data used in Figure 8.24. Our particular thanks go to those who kindly shared
imagery and information about the Oso landslide in Washington State, including
images that ultimately appeared in a figure, a color plate, and the front and back
covers of this book; these sources include Rochelle Higgins and Susan Jackson at
Quantum Spatial, Scott Campbell at the Washington State Department of Trans-
portation, and Dr. Ralph Haugerud of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Numerous suggestions relative to the photogrammetric material contained in
this edition were provided by Thomas Asbeck, CP, PE, PLS; Dr. Terry Keating, CP,
PE, PLS; and Michael Renslow, CP, RPP.
We also thank the many faculty, academic staff, and graduate and under-
graduate students at Dartmouth College and the University of Wisconsin—
Madison who made valuable contributions to this edition, both directly and
indirectly.
Special recognition is due our families for their patient understanding and
encouragement while this edition was in preparation.
viii PREFACE
Finally, we want to encourage you, the reader, to use the knowledge of remote
sensing that you might gain from this book to literally make the world a better
place. Remote sensing technology has proven to provide numerous scientific, com-
mercial, and social benefits. Among these is not only the efficiency it brings to the
day‐to‐day decision‐making process in an ever‐increasing range of applications,
but also the potential this field holds for improving the stewardship of earth’s
resources and the global environment. This book is intended to provide a technical
foundation for you to aid in making this tremendous potential a reality.
Thomas M. Lillesand
Ralph W. Kiefer
Jonathan W. Chipman
This book is dedicated to the peaceful application of remote sensing in order to maximize
the scientific, social, and commercial benefits of this technology for all humankind.
❙
CONTENTS
1 1.8 Characteristics of Remote Sensing

Concepts and Foundations of Remote Systems 45
Sensing 1 1.9 Successful Application of Remote
Sensing 49
1.1 Introduction 1 1.10 Geographic Information Systems
1.2 Energy Sources and Radiation (GIS) 52
Principles 4 1.11 Spatial Data Frameworks for GIS and
1.3 Energy Interactions in the Remote Sensing 57
Atmosphere 9 1.12 Visual Image Interpretation 59
1.4 Energy Interactions with Earth Surface
Features 12
1.5 Data Acquisition and Digital Image 2
Concepts 30 Elements of Photographic
1.6 Reference Data 39 Systems 85
1.7 The Global Positioning System and
Other Global Navigation Satellite 2.1 Introduction 85
Systems 43 2.2 Early History of Aerial Photography 86
ix
x CONTENTS
2.3 Photographic Basics 89 4.3 Along-Track Scanning 225

2.4 Film Photography 99 4.4 Example Across-Track Multispectral
2.5 Digital Photography 115 Scanner and Imagery 226
2.6 Aerial Cameras 118 4.5 Example Along-Track Multispectral
Scanner and Imagery 230
2.7 Spatial Resolution of Camera
Systems 136 4.6 Geometric Characteristics of
Across-Track Scanner Imagery 232
2.8 Aerial Videography 143
4.7 Geometric Characteristics of
2.9 Conclusion 145
Along-Track Scanner Imagery 241
4.8 Thermal Imaging 243
3 4.9 Thermal Radiation Principles 245
Basic Principles of
Photogrammetry 146 4.10 Interpreting Thermal Imagery 254
4.11 Radiometric Calibration of
3.1 Introduction 146 Thermal Images and Temperature
3.2 Basic Geometric Characteristics Mapping 265
of Aerial Photographs 150 4.12 FLIR Systems 269
3.3 Photographic Scale 159 4.13 Hyperspectral Sensing 271
3.4 Ground Coverage of Aerial 4.14 Conclusion 282
Photographs 164
3.5 Area Measurement 167
3.6 Relief Displacement of Vertical 5
Features 170 Earth Resource Satellites Operating
3.7 Image Parallax 177 in the Optical Spectrum 283
3.8 Ground Control for Aerial
Photography 188 5.1 Introduction 283
3.9 Determining the Elements of Exterior 5.2 General Characteristics of Satellite
Orientation of Aerial Photographs 189 Remote Sensing Systems Operating
3.10 Production of Mapping Products in the Optical Spectrum 285
from Aerial Photographs 194 5.3 Moderate Resolution Systems 295
3.11 Flight Planning 210 5.4 Landsat-1 to -7 296
3.12 Conclusion 217 5.5 Landsat-8 309
5.6 Future Landsat Missions and the
Global Earth Observation System of
4 Systems 322
Multispectral, Thermal, and
Hyperspectral Sensing 218 5.7 SPOT-1 to -5 324
5.8 SPOT-6 and -7 336
4.1 Introduction 218 5.9 Evolution of Other Moderate Resolution
4.2 Across-Track Scanning 219 Systems 339
CONTENTS xi
5.10 Moderate Resolution Systems 6.15 Radarsat 452

Launched prior to 1999 340 6.16 TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X, and PAZ 455
5.11 Moderate Resolution Systems Launched 6.17 The COSMO-SkyMed
since 1999 342 Constellation 457
5.12 High Resolution Systems 349 6.18 Other High-Resolution Spaceborne
5.13 Hyperspectral Satellite Systems 356 Radar Systems 458
5.14 Meteorological Satellites Frequently 6.19 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 459
Applied to Earth Surface Feature 6.20 Spaceborne Radar System
Observation 359 Summary 462
5.15 NOAA POES Satellites 360 6.21 Radar Altimetry 464
5.16 JPSS Satellites 363 6.22 Passive Microwave Sensing 466
5.17 GOES Satellites 366 6.23 Basic Principles of Lidar 471
5.18 Ocean Monitoring Satellites 367 6.24 Lidar Data Analysis and
5.19 Earth Observing System 371 Applications 475
5.20 Space Station Remote Sensing 379 6.25 Spaceborne Lidar 482
5.21 Space Debris 382
7
6 Digital Image Analysis 485
Microwave and Lidar Sensing 385
7.1 Introduction 485
6.1 Introduction 385
7.2 Preprocessing of Images 488
6.2 Radar Development 386
7.3 Image Enhancement 500
6.3 Imaging Radar System Operation 389
7.4 Contrast Manipulation 501
6.4 Synthetic Aperture Radar 399
7.5 Spatial Feature Manipulation 507
6.5 Geometric Characteristics of Radar
Imagery 402 7.6 Multi-Image Manipulation 517
6.6 Transmission Characteristics of Radar 7.7 Image Classification 537
Signals 409 7.8 Supervised Classification 538
6.7 Other Radar Image Characteristics 413 7.9 The Classification Stage 540
6.8 Radar Image Interpretation 417 7.10 The Training Stage 546
6.9 Interferometric Radar 435 7.11 Unsupervised Classification 556
6.10 Radar Remote Sensing from Space 441 7.12 Hybrid Classification 560
6.11 Seasat-1 and the Shuttle Imaging 7.13 Classification of Mixed Pixels 562
Radar Missions 443 7.14 The Output Stage and Postclassification
6.12 Almaz-1 448 Smoothing 568
6.13 ERS, Envisat, and Sentinel-1 448 7.15 Object-Based Classification 570
6.14 JERS-1, ALOS, and ALOS-2 450 7.16 Neural Network Classification 573
xii CONTENTS
7.17 Classification Accuracy 8.13 Environmental Assessment and

Assessment 575 Protection 665
7.18 Change Detection 582 8.14 Natural Disaster Assessment 668
7.19 Image Time Series Analysis 587 8.15 Principles of Landform Identification and
7.20 Data Fusion and GIS Integration 591 Evaluation 678
7.21 Hyperspectral Image Analysis 598 8.16 Conclusion 697
7.22 Biophysical Modeling 602
7.23 Conclusion 608 Works Cited 699
Index 709
8
Applications of Remote Sensing 609
8.1 Introduction 609 SI Units Frequently Used in

Remote Sensing 720
8.2 Land Use/Land Cover Mapping 611
8.3 Geologic and Soil Mapping 618
8.4 Agricultural Applications 628 Appendices—Available online at
8.5 Forestry Applications 632 www.wiley.com/college/lillesand
8.6 Rangeland Applications 638
Appendix A: Radiometric Concepts,
8.7 Water Resource Applications 639
Terminology, and Units
8.8 Snow and Ice Applications 649
Appendix B: Sample Coordinate
8.9 Urban and Regional Planning Transformation and Resampling
Applications 652 Procedures
8.10 Wetland Mapping 654 Appendix C: Radar Signal Concepts,
8.11 Wildlife Ecology Applications 658 Terminology, and Units
8.12 Archaeological Applications 662
❙
1 CONCEPTS AND FOUNDATIONS
OF REMOTE SENSING
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Remote sensing is the science and 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 the object, area, or phenomenon under investigation. As you read
these words, you are employing remote sensing. Your eyes are acting as sensors
that respond to the light reflected from this page. The “data” your eyes acquire are
impulses corresponding to the amount of light reflected from the dark and light
areas on the page. These data are analyzed, or interpreted, in your mental compu-
ter to enable you to explain the dark areas on the page as a collection of letters
forming words. Beyond this, you recognize that the words form sentences, and
you interpret the information that the sentences convey.
In many respects, remote sensing can be thought of as a reading process.
Using various sensors, we remotely collect data that may be analyzed to obtain
information about the objects, areas, or phenomena being investigated. The remo-
tely collected data can be of many forms, including variations in force distribu-
tions, acoustic wave distributions, or electromagnetic energy distributions. For
example, a gravity meter acquires data on variations in the distribution of the
1
2 CHAPTER 1 CONCEPTS AND FOUNDATIONS OF REMOTE SENSING
force of gravity. Sonar, like a bat’s navigation system, obtains data on variations
in acoustic wave distributions. Our eyes acquire data on variations in electro-
magnetic energy distributions.
Overview of the Electromagnetic Remote Sensing Process
This book is about electromagnetic energy sensors that are operated from airborne
and spaceborne platforms to assist in inventorying, mapping, and monitoring
earth resources. These sensors acquire data on the way various earth surface
features emit and reflect electromagnetic energy, and these data are analyzed to
provide information about the resources under investigation.
Figure 1.1 schematically illustrates the generalized processes and elements
involved in electromagnetic remote sensing of earth resources. The two basic pro-
cesses involved are data acquisition and data analysis. The elements of the data
acquisition process are energy sources (a), propagation of energy through the
atmosphere (b), energy interactions with earth surface features (c), retransmission
of energy through the atmosphere (d), airborne and/or spaceborne sensors (e),
resulting in the generation of sensor data in pictorial and/or digital form ( f ). In
short, we use sensors to record variations in the way earth surface features reflect
and emit electromagnetic energy. The data analysis process (g) involves examining
the data using various viewing and interpretation devices to analyze pictorial data
and/or a computer to analyze digital sensor data. Reference data about the resour-
ces being studied (such as soil maps, crop statistics, or field-check data) are used
DATA ACQUISITION DATA ANALYSIS
Reference
data
Visual
Pictorial
Digital
(d) Retransmission Digital (i)

(a) Sources of energy through the Users
atmosphere
(b) Propagation through
the atmosphere
(e) (f) (g) (h)
Sensing systems Sensing products Interpretation Information
and analysis products
(c) Earth surface features
Figure 1.1 Electromagnetic remote sensing of earth resources.

1.1 INTRODUCTION 3
when and where available to assist in the data analysis. With the aid of the refer-
ence data, the analyst extracts information about the type, extent, location, and
condition of the various resources over which the sensor data were collected. This
information is then compiled (h), generally in the form of maps, tables, or digital
spatial data that can be merged with other “layers” of information in a geographic
information system (GIS). Finally, the information is presented to users (i), who
apply it to their decision-making process.
Organization of the Book
In the remainder of this chapter, we discuss the basic principles underlying the
remote sensing process. We begin with the fundamentals of electromagnetic
energy and then consider how the energy interacts with the atmosphere and with
earth surface features. Next, we summarize the process of acquiring remotely
sensed data and introduce the concepts underlying digital imagery formats. We
also discuss the role that reference data play in the data analysis procedure and
describe how the spatial location of reference data observed in the field is often
determined using Global Positioning System (GPS) methods. These basics will
permit us to conceptualize the strengths and limitations of “real” remote sensing
systems and to examine the ways in which they depart from an “ideal” remote
sensing system. We then discuss briefly the rudiments of GIS technology and the
spatial frameworks (coordinate systems and datums) used to represent the posi-
tions of geographic features in space. Because visual examination of imagery will
play an important role in every subsequent chapter of this book, this first chapter
concludes with an overview of the concepts and processes involved in visual inter-
pretation of remotely sensed images. By the end of this chapter, the reader should
have a grasp of the foundations of remote sensing and an appreciation for the
close relationship among remote sensing, GPS methods, and GIS operations.
Chapters 2 and 3 deal primarily with photographic remote sensing. Chapter 2
describes the basic tools used in acquiring aerial photographs, including both
analog and digital camera systems. Digital videography is also treated in Chapter 2.
Chapter 3 describes the photogrammetric procedures by which precise spatial
measurements, maps, digital elevation models (DEMs), orthophotos, and other
derived products are made from airphotos.
Discussion of nonphotographic systems begins in Chapter 4, which describes
the acquisition of airborne multispectral, thermal, and hyperspectral data. In
Chapter 5 we discuss the characteristics of spaceborne remote sensing systems
and examine the principal satellite systems used to collect imagery from reflected
and emitted radiance on a global basis. These satellite systems range from the
Landsat and SPOT series of moderate-resolution instruments, to the latest gen-
eration of high-resolution commercially operated systems, to various meteor-
ological and global monitoring systems.
Chapter 6 is concerned with the collection and analysis of radar and lidar
data. Both airborne and spaceborne systems are discussed. Included in this latter
category are such systems as the ALOS, Envisat, ERS, JERS, Radarsat, and
ICESat satellite systems.
In essence, from Chapter 2 through Chapter 6, this book progresses from the
simplest sensing systems to the more complex. There is also a progression from
short to long wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum (see Section 1.2).
That is, discussion centers on photography in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-
infrared regions, multispectral sensing (including thermal sensing using emitted
long-wavelength infrared radiation), and radar sensing in the microwave region.
The final two chapters of the book deal with the manipulation, interpretation,
and analysis of images. Chapter 7 treats the subject of digital image processing and
describes the most commonly employed procedures through which computer-
assisted image interpretation is accomplished. Chapter 8 presents a broad range of
applications of remote sensing, including both visual interpretation and computer-
aided analysis of image data.
Throughout this book, the International System of Units (SI) is used. Tables
are included to assist the reader in converting between SI and units of other mea-
surement systems.
Finally, a Works Cited section provides a list of references cited in the text. It
is not intended to be a compendium of general sources of additional information.
Three appendices provided on the publisher’s website (http://www.wiley.com/
college/lillesand) offer further information about particular topics at a level of
detail beyond what could be included in the text itself. Appendix A summarizes
the various concepts, terms, and units commonly used in radiation measurement
in remote sensing. Appendix B includes sample coordinate transformation and
resampling procedures used in digital image processing. Appendix C discusses
some of the concepts, terminology, and units used to describe radar signals.
1.2 ENERGY SOURCES AND RADIATION PRINCIPLES
Visible light is only one of many forms of electromagnetic energy. Radio waves,
ultraviolet rays, radiant heat, and X-rays are other familiar forms. All this energy
is inherently similar and propagates in accordance with basic wave theory. As
shown in Figure 1.2, this theory describes electromagnetic energy as traveling in a
harmonic, sinusoidal fashion at the “velocity of light” c. The distance from one
wave peak to the next is the wavelength l, and the number of peaks passing a fixed
point in space per unit time is the wave frequency v.
From basic physics, waves obey the general equation
c ¼ vl ð1:1Þ

Because c is essentially a constant 3 3 108 m=sec , frequency v and wave-
length l for any given wave are related inversely, and either term can be used to
1.2 ENERGY SOURCES AND RADIATION PRINCIPLES 5
Figure 1.2 Electromagnetic wave. Components include a sinusoidal electric wave ðEÞ and a similar magnetic
wave ðMÞ at right angles, both being perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
characterize a wave. In remote sensing, it is most common to categorize electro-

magnetic waves by their wavelength location within the electromagnetic spectrum
(Figure 1.3). The most prevalent unit used to measure wavelength along the spec-
trum is the micrometer ðmÞ. A micrometer equals 1 3 106 m.
Although names (such as “ultraviolet” and “microwave”) are generally
assigned to regions of the electromagnetic spectrum for convenience, there is no
clear-cut dividing line between one nominal spectral region and the next. Divi-
sions of the spectrum have grown from the various methods for sensing each type
of radiation more so than from inherent differences in the energy characteristics
of various wavelengths. Also, it should be noted that the portions of the
Figure 1.3 Electromagnetic spectrum.

electromagnetic spectrum used in remote sensing lie along a continuum char-

acterized by magnitude changes of many powers of 10. Hence, the use of logarith-
mic plots to depict the electromagnetic spectrum is quite common. The “visible”
portion of such a plot is an extremely small one, because the spectral sensitivity
of the human eye extends only from about 0:4 m to approximately 0:7 m. The
color “blue” is ascribed to the approximate range of 0.4 to 0:5 m, “green” to 0.5
to 0:6 m, and “red” to 0.6 to 0:7 m. Ultraviolet (UV) energy adjoins the blue end
of the visible portion of the spectrum. Beyond the red end of the visible region are
three different categories of infrared (IR) waves: near IR (from 0.7 to 1:3 m), mid
IR (from 1.3 to 3 m; also referred to as shortwave IR or SWIR), and thermal IR
(beyond 3 to 14 m, sometimes referred to as longwave IR). At much longer wave-
lengths (1 mm to 1 m) is the microwave portion of the spectrum.
Most common sensing systems operate in one or several of the visible, IR, or
microwave portions of the spectrum. Within the IR portion of the spectrum, it
should be noted that only thermal-IR energy is directly related to the sensation of
heat; near- and mid-IR energy are not.
Although many characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are most easily
described by wave theory, another theory offers useful insights into how electro-
magnetic energy interacts with matter. This theory—the particle theory—suggests
that electromagnetic radiation is composed of many discrete units called photons
or quanta. The energy of a quantum is given as
Q ¼ hv ð1:2Þ
where
Q ¼ energy of a quantum; joules ðJÞ
h ¼ Planck’s constant, 6:626 3 1034 J sec
v ¼ frequency
We can relate the wave and quantum models of electromagnetic radiation
behavior by solving Eq. 1.1 for v and substituting into Eq. 1.2 to obtain
hc
Q¼ ð1:3Þ
l
Thus, we see that the energy of a quantum is inversely proportional to its
wavelength. The longer the wavelength involved, the lower its energy content. This
has important implications in remote sensing from the standpoint that naturally
emitted long wavelength radiation, such as microwave emission from terrain fea-
tures, is more difficult to sense than radiation of shorter wavelengths, such as
emitted thermal IR energy. The low energy content of long wavelength radiation
means that, in general, systems operating at long wavelengths must “view” large
areas of the earth at any given time in order to obtain a detectable energy signal.
The sun is the most obvious source of electromagnetic radiation for remote
sensing. However, all matter at temperatures above absolute zero (0 K, or 273 C)
continuously emits electromagnetic radiation. Thus, terrestrial objects are also
1.2 ENERGY SOURCES AND RADIATION PRINCIPLES 7
sources of radiation, although it is of considerably different magnitude and spectral

composition than that of the sun. How much energy any object radiates is, among
other things, a function of the surface temperature of the object. This property is
expressed by the Stefan–Boltzmann law, which states that
M ¼ sT 4 ð1:4Þ
where
M ¼ total radiant exitance from the surface of a material; watts ðWÞ m2
s ¼ Stefan–Boltzmann constant, 5:6697 3 108 W m2 K4
T ¼ absolute temperature ðKÞ of the emitting material
The particular units and the value of the constant are not critical for the stu-
dent to remember, yet it is important to note that the total energy emitted from an
object varies as T 4 and therefore increases very rapidly with increases in tempera-
ture. Also, it should be noted that this law is expressed for an energy source that
behaves as a blackbody. A blackbody is a hypothetical, ideal radiator that totally
absorbs and reemits all energy incident upon it. Actual objects only approach this
ideal. We further explore the implications of this fact in Chapter 4; suffice it to say
for now that the energy emitted from an object is primarily a function of its tem-
perature, as given by Eq. 1.4.
Just as the total energy emitted by an object varies with temperature, the
spectral distribution of the emitted energy also varies. Figure 1.4 shows energy
distribution curves for blackbodies
at temperatures
ranging from 200 to 6000 K.
The units on the ordinate scale W m2 m1 express the radiant power coming
from a blackbody per 1-m spectral interval. Hence, the area under these curves
equals the total radiant exitance, M, and the curves illustrate graphically what the
Stefan–Boltzmann law expresses mathematically: The higher the temperature of
the radiator, the greater the total amount of radiation it emits. The curves also
show that there is a shift toward shorter wavelengths in the peak of a blackbody
radiation distribution as temperature increases. The dominant wavelength, or
wavelength at which a blackbody radiation curve reaches a maximum, is related
to its temperature by Wien’s displacement law,
A
lm ¼ ð1:5Þ
T
where
lm ¼ wavelength of maximum spectral radiant exitance, m
A ¼ 2898 mm K
T ¼ temperature, K
Thus, for a blackbody, the wavelength at which the maximum spectral radiant
exitance occurs varies inversely with the blackbody’s absolute temperature.
We observe this phenomenon when a metal body such as a piece of iron is
heated. As the object becomes progressively hotter, it begins to glow and its color
Visible radiant energy band

109
108
6000 K Blackbody radiation curve
at the sun’s temperature
Spectral radiant exitance, Mλ (Wm–2 μm–1)
107
4000 K
106 Blackbody radiation curve
3000 K at incandescent lamp temperature
105 2000 K
104
1000 K
103
102 500 K
Blackbody radiation curve
at the earth’s temperature
101 300 K
200 K
1
0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 5 10 20 50 100
Wavelength (μm)
Figure 1.4 Spectral distribution of energy radiated from blackbodies of various temperatures.
(Note that spectral radiant exitance Ml is the energy emitted per unit wavelength interval.
Total radiant exitance M is given by the area under the spectral radiant exitance curves.)
changes successively to shorter wavelengths—from dull red to orange to yellow

and eventually to white.
The sun emits radiation in the same manner as a blackbody radiator whose
temperature is about 6000 K (Figure 1.4). Many incandescent lamps emit radia-
tion typified by a 3000 K blackbody radiation curve. Consequently, incandescent
lamps have a relatively low output of blue energy, and they do not have the same
spectral constituency as sunlight.
The earth’s ambient temperature (i.e., the temperature of surface materials
such as soil, water, and vegetation) is about 300 K (27°C). From Wien’s displace-
ment law, this means the maximum spectral radiant exitance from earth features
occurs at a wavelength of about 9:7 m. Because this radiation correlates with
terrestrial heat, it is termed “thermal infrared” energy. This energy can neither be
seen nor photographed, but it can be sensed with such thermal devices as radio-
meters and scanners (described in Chapter 4). By comparison, the sun has a
much higher energy peak that occurs at about 0:5 m, as indicated in Figure 1.4.
1.3 ENERGY INTERACTIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE 9
Our eyes—and photographic sensors—are sensitive to energy of this magnitude

and wavelength. Thus, when the sun is present, we can observe earth features by
virtue of reflected solar energy. Once again, the longer wavelength energy emitted
by ambient earth features can be observed only with a nonphotographic sensing
system. The general dividing line between reflected and emitted IR wavelengths is
approximately 3 m. Below this wavelength, reflected energy predominates; above
it, emitted energy prevails.
Certain sensors, such as radar systems, supply their own source of energy to
illuminate features of interest. These systems are termed “active” systems, in con-
trast to “passive” systems that sense naturally available energy. A very common
example of an active system is a camera utilizing a flash. The same camera used
in sunlight becomes a passive sensor.
1.3 ENERGY INTERACTIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE
Irrespective of its source, all radiation detected by remote sensors passes through
some distance, or path length, of atmosphere. The path length involved can vary
widely. For example, space photography results from sunlight that passes through
the full thickness of the earth’s atmosphere twice on its journey from source to
sensor. On the other hand, an airborne thermal sensor detects energy emitted
directly from objects on the earth, so a single, relatively short atmospheric path
length is involved. The net effect of the atmosphere varies with these differences
in path length and also varies with the magnitude of the energy signal being
sensed, the atmospheric conditions present, and the wavelengths involved.
Because of the varied nature of atmospheric effects, we treat this subject on a
sensor-by-sensor basis in other chapters. Here, we merely wish to introduce the
notion that the atmosphere can have a profound effect on, among other things,
the intensity and spectral composition of radiation available to any sensing sys-
tem. These effects are caused principally through the mechanisms of atmospheric
scattering and absorption.
Scattering
Atmospheric scattering is the unpredictable diffusion of radiation by particles in

the atmosphere. Rayleigh scatter is common when radiation interacts with atmo-
spheric molecules and other tiny particles that are much smaller in diameter than
the wavelength of the interacting radiation. The effect of Rayleigh scatter is inver-
sely proportional to the fourth power of wavelength. Hence, there is a much
stronger tendency for short wavelengths to be scattered by this mechanism than
long wavelengths.
A “blue” sky is a manifestation of Rayleigh scatter. In the absence of scatter,
the sky would appear black. But, as sunlight interacts with the earth’s atmosphere,
it scatters the shorter (blue) wavelengths more dominantly than the other visible
wavelengths. Consequently, we see a blue sky. At sunrise and sunset, however, the
sun’s rays travel through a longer atmospheric path length than during midday.
With the longer path, the scatter (and absorption) of short wavelengths is so com-
plete that we see only the less scattered, longer wavelengths of orange and red.
Rayleigh scatter is one of the primary causes of “haze” in imagery. Visually,
haze diminishes the “crispness,” or “contrast,” of an image. In color photography,
it results in a bluish-gray cast to an image, particularly when taken from high alti-
tude. As we see in Chapter 2, haze can often be eliminated or at least minimized
by introducing, in front of the camera lens, a filter that does not transmit short
wavelengths.
Another type of scatter is Mie scatter, which exists when atmospheric particle
diameters essentially equal the wavelengths of the energy being sensed. Water
vapor and dust are major causes of Mie scatter. This type of scatter tends to influ-
ence longer wavelengths compared to Rayleigh scatter. Although Rayleigh scatter
tends to dominate under most atmospheric conditions, Mie scatter is significant
in slightly overcast ones.
A more bothersome phenomenon is nonselective scatter, which comes about
when the diameters of the particles causing scatter are much larger than the
wavelengths of the energy being sensed. Water droplets, for example, cause such
scatter. They commonly have a diameter in the range 5 to 100 m and scatter
all visible and near- to mid-IR wavelengths about equally. Consequently, this scat-
tering is “nonselective” with respect to wavelength. In the visible wavelengths,
equal quantities of blue, green, and red light are scattered; hence fog and clouds
appear white.
Absorption
In contrast to scatter, atmospheric absorption results in the effective loss of

energy to atmospheric constituents. This normally involves absorption of energy
at a given wavelength. The most efficient absorbers of solar radiation in this
regard are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone. Because these gases tend to
absorb electromagnetic energy in specific wavelength bands, they strongly influ-
ence the design of any remote sensing system. The wavelength ranges in which
the atmosphere is particularly transmissive of energy are referred to as atmo-
spheric windows.
Figure 1.5 shows the interrelationship between energy sources and atmo-
spheric absorption characteristics. Figure 1.5a shows the spectral distribution of
the energy emitted by the sun and by earth features. These two curves represent
the most common sources of energy used in remote sensing. In Figure 1.5b, spec-
tral regions in which the atmosphere blocks energy are shaded. Remote sensing
data acquisition is limited to the nonblocked spectral regions, the atmospheric
windows. Note in Figure 1.5c that the spectral sensitivity range of the eye (the
1.3 ENERGY INTERACTIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE 11
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 1.5 Spectral characteristics of (a) energy sources, (b) atmospheric transmittance, and
(c) common remote sensing systems. (Note that wavelength scale is logarithmic.)
“visible” range) coincides with both an atmospheric window and the peak level of
energy from the sun. Emitted “heat” energy from the earth, shown by the small
curve in (a), is sensed through the windows at 3 to 5 m and 8 to 14 m using
such devices as thermal sensors. Multispectral sensors observe simultaneously
through multiple, narrow wavelength ranges that can be located at various points
in the visible through the thermal spectral region. Radar and passive microwave
systems operate through a window in the region 1 mm to 1 m.
The important point to note from Figure 1.5 is the interaction and the inter-
dependence between the primary sources of electromagnetic energy, the atmospheric
windows through which source energy may be transmitted to and from earth surface
features, and the spectral sensitivity of the sensors available to detect and record the
energy. One cannot select the sensor to be used in any given remote sensing task
arbitrarily; one must instead consider (1) the spectral sensitivity of the sensors
available, (2) the presence or absence of atmospheric windows in the spectral
range(s) in which one wishes to sense, and (3) the source, magnitude, and
spectral composition of the energy available in these ranges. Ultimately, however,

the choice of spectral range of the sensor must be based on the manner in which
the energy interacts with the features under investigation. It is to this last, very
important, element that we now turn our attention.
1.4 ENERGY INTERACTIONS WITH EARTH SURFACE FEATURES
When electromagnetic energy is incident on any given earth surface feature, three
fundamental energy interactions with the feature are possible. These are illu-
strated in Figure 1.6 for an element of the volume of a water body. Various frac-
tions of the energy incident on the element are reflected, absorbed, and/or
transmitted. Applying the principle of conservation of energy, we can state the
interrelationship among these three energy interactions as
E I ð lÞ ¼ E R ð lÞ þ E A ð lÞ þ E T ð lÞ ð1:6Þ
where
EI ¼ incident energy
ER ¼ reflected energy
EA ¼ absorbed energy
ET ¼ transmitted energy
with all energy components being a function of wavelength l.
Equation 1.6 is an energy balance equation expressing the interrelationship
among the mechanisms of reflection, absorption, and transmission. Two points
concerning this relationship should be noted. First, the proportions of energy
reflected, absorbed, and transmitted will vary for different earth features, depend-
ing on their material type and condition. These differences permit us to distin-
guish different features on an image. Second, the wavelength dependency means
that, even within a given feature type, the proportion of reflected, absorbed, and
EI(λ) = Incident energy EI(λ) = ER(λ) + EA(λ) + ET(λ)

ER(λ) = Reflected energy
EA(λ) = Absorbed energy ET(λ) = Transmitted energy
Figure 1.6 Basic interactions between electromagnetic energy and an earth surface
feature.
1.4 ENERGY INTERACTIONS WITH EARTH SURFACE FEATURES 13
transmitted energy will vary at different wavelengths. Thus, two features may be
indistinguishable in one spectral range and be very different in another wave-
length band. Within the visible portion of the spectrum, these spectral variations
result in the visual effect called color. For example, we call objects “blue” when
they reflect more highly in the blue portion of the spectrum, “green” when they
reflect more highly in the green spectral region, and so on. Thus, the eye utilizes
spectral variations in the magnitude of reflected energy to discriminate between
various objects. Color terminology and color mixing principles are discussed fur-
ther in Section 1.12.
Because many remote sensing systems operate in the wavelength regions in
which reflected energy predominates, the reflectance properties of earth features
are very important. Hence, it is often useful to think of the energy balance rela-
tionship expressed by Eq. 1.6 in the form
ER ðlÞ ¼ EI ðlÞ ½EA ðlÞ þ ET ðlÞ ð1:7Þ
That is, the reflected energy is equal to the energy incident on a given feature
reduced by the energy that is either absorbed or transmitted by that feature.
The reflectance characteristics of earth surface features may be quantified by
measuring the portion of incident energy that is reflected. This is measured as a
function of wavelength and is called spectral reflectance, rl . It is mathematically
defined as
ER ðlÞ
rl ¼
EI ðlÞ
energy of wavelength l reflected from the object

¼ 3 100 ð1:8Þ
energy of wavelength l incident upon the object
where rl is expressed as a percentage.
A graph of the spectral reflectance of an object as a function of wavelength is
termed a spectral reflectance curve. The configuration of spectral reflectance
curves gives us insight into the spectral characteristics of an object and has a
strong influence on the choice of wavelength region(s) in which remote sensing
data are acquired for a particular application. This is illustrated in Figure 1.7,
which shows highly generalized spectral reflectance curves for deciduous versus
coniferous trees. Note that the curve for each of these object types is plotted as
a “ribbon” (or “envelope”) of values, not as a single line. This is because spectral
reflectances vary somewhat within a given material class. That is, the spectral
reflectance of one deciduous tree species and another will never be identical, nor
will the spectral reflectance of trees of the same species be exactly equal. We ela-
borate upon the variability of spectral reflectance curves later in this section.
In Figure 1.7, assume that you are given the task of selecting an airborne sensor
system to assist in preparing a map of a forested area differentiating deciduous ver-
sus coniferous trees. One choice of sensor might be the human eye. However, there
is a potential problem with this choice. The spectral reflectance curves for each tree
Figure 1.7 Generalized spectral reflectance envelopes for deciduous (broad-

leaved) and coniferous (needle-bearing) trees. (Each tree type has a range of spectral
reflectance values at any wavelength.) (Adapted from Kalensky and Wilson, 1975.)
type overlap in most of the visible portion of the spectrum and are very close where
they do not overlap. Hence, the eye might see both tree types as being essentially
the same shade of “green” and might confuse the identity of the deciduous and con-
iferous trees. Certainly one could improve things somewhat by using spatial clues
to each tree type’s identity, such as size, shape, site, and so forth. However, this is
often difficult to do from the air, particularly when tree types are intermixed. How
might we discriminate the two types on the basis of their spectral characteristics
alone? We could do this by using a sensor that records near-IR energy. A specia-
lized digital camera whose detectors are sensitive to near-IR wavelengths is just
such a system, as is an analog camera loaded with black and white IR film. On
near-IR images, deciduous trees (having higher IR reflectance than conifers) gen-
erally appear much lighter in tone than do conifers. This is illustrated in Figure 1.8,
which shows stands of coniferous trees surrounded by deciduous trees. In Figure
1.8a (visible spectrum), it is virtually impossible to distinguish between tree types,
even though the conifers have a distinctive conical shape whereas the deciduous
trees have rounded crowns. In Figure 1.8b (near IR), the coniferous trees have a
(a)
(b)
Figure 1.8 Low altitude oblique aerial photographs illustrating deciduous versus coniferous trees.
(a) Panchromatic photograph recording reflected sunlight over the wavelength band 0.4 to 0:7 m.
(b) Black-and-white infrared photograph recording reflected sunlight over 0.7 to 0:9 m wavelength band.
(Author-prepared figure.)
distinctly darker tone. On such an image, the task of delineating deciduous versus
coniferous trees becomes almost trivial. In fact, if we were to use a computer to
analyze digital data collected from this type of sensor, we might “automate” our
entire mapping task. Many remote sensing data analysis schemes attempt to do just
that. For these schemes to be successful, the materials to be differentiated must be
spectrally separable.
Experience has shown that many earth surface features of interest can be iden-
tified, mapped, and studied on the basis of their spectral characteristics. Experience
has also shown that some features of interest cannot be spectrally separated. Thus,
to utilize remote sensing data effectively, one must know and understand the spec-
tral characteristics of the particular features under investigation in any given appli-
cation. Likewise, one must know what factors influence these characteristics.
Spectral Reflectance of Earth Surface Feature Types
Figure 1.9 shows typical spectral reflectance curves for many different types of
features: healthy green grass, dry (non-photosynthetically active) grass, bare soil
(brown to dark-brown sandy loam), pure gypsum dune sand, asphalt, construc-
tion concrete (Portland cement concrete), fine-grained snow, clouds, and clear
lake water. The lines in this figure represent average reflectance curves compiled
by measuring a large sample of features, or in some cases representative reflec-
tance measurements from a single typical example of the feature class. Note how
distinctive the curves are for each feature. In general, the configuration of these
curves is an indicator of the type and condition of the features to which they
apply. Although the reflectance of individual features can vary considerably above
and below the lines shown here, these curves demonstrate some fundamental
points concerning spectral reflectance.
For example, spectral reflectance curves for healthy green vegetation almost
always manifest the “peak-and-valley” configuration illustrated by green grass in
Figure 1.9. The valleys in the visible portion of the spectrum are dictated by the
pigments in plant leaves. Chlorophyll, for example, strongly absorbs energy in the
wavelength bands centered at about 0.45 and 0:67 m (often called the “chlor-
ophyll absorption bands”). Hence, our eyes perceive healthy vegetation as green
in color because of the very high absorption of blue and red energy by plant
leaves and the relatively high reflection of green energy. If a plant is subject to
some form of stress that interrupts its normal growth and productivity, it may
decrease or cease chlorophyll production. The result is less chlorophyll absorp-
tion in the blue and red bands. Often, the red reflectance increases to the point
that we see the plant turn yellow (combination of green and red). This can be
seen in the spectral curve for dried grass in Figure 1.9.
As we go from the visible to the near-IR portion of the spectrum, the reflec-
tance of healthy vegetation increases dramatically. This spectral feature, known
as the red edge, typically occurs between 0.68 and 0:75 m, with the exact
position depending on the species and condition. Beyond this edge, from about
Figure 1.9 Spectral reflectance curves for various features types. (Original data courtesy USGS
Spectroscopy Lab, Johns Hopkins University Spectral Library, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL]; cloud
spectrum from Bowker et al., after Avery and Berlin, 1992. JPL spectra © 1999, California Institute of
Technology.)
0.75 to 1:3 m (representing most of the near-IR range), a plant leaf typically
reflects 40 to 50% of the energy incident upon it. Most of the remaining energy is
transmitted, because absorption in this spectral region is minimal (less than 5%).
Plant reflectance from 0.75 to 1:3 m results primarily from the internal structure of
plant leaves. Because the position of the red edge and the magnitude of the near-IR
reflectance beyond the red edge are highly variable among plant species, reflectance
measurements in these ranges often permit us to discriminate between species,
even if they look the same in visible wavelengths. Likewise, many plant stresses
alter the reflectance in the red edge and the near-IR region, and sensors operating
in these ranges are often used for vegetation stress detection. Also, multiple layers of
leaves in a plant canopy provide the opportunity for multiple transmissions and
reflections. Hence, the near-IR reflectance increases with the number of layers of
leaves in a canopy, with the maximum reflectance achieved at about eight leaf
layers (Bauer et al., 1986).
Beyond 1:3 m, energy incident upon vegetation is essentially absorbed or
reflected, with little to no transmittance of energy. Dips in reflectance occur at
1.4, 1.9, and 2:7 m because water in the leaf absorbs strongly at these wave-
lengths. Accordingly, wavelengths in these spectral regions are referred to as
water absorption bands. Reflectance peaks occur at about 1.6 and 2:2 m,
between the absorption bands. Throughout the range beyond 1:3 m, leaf
reflectance is approximately inversely related to the total water present in a
leaf. This total is a function of both the moisture content and the thickness of
a leaf.
The soil curve in Figure 1.9 shows considerably less peak-and-valley variation
in reflectance. That is, the factors that influence soil reflectance act over less spe-
cific spectral bands. Some of the factors affecting soil reflectance are moisture
content, organic matter content, soil texture (proportion of sand, silt, and clay),
surface roughness, and presence of iron oxide. These factors are complex, vari-
able, and interrelated. For example, the presence of moisture in soil will decrease
its reflectance. As with vegetation, this effect is greatest in the water absorption
bands at about 1.4, 1.9, and 2:7 m (clay soils also have hydroxyl absorption
bands at about 1.4 and 2:2 m). Soil moisture content is strongly related to the
soil texture: Coarse, sandy soils are usually well drained, resulting in low moisture
content and relatively high reflectance; poorly drained fine-textured soils will
generally have lower reflectance. Thus, the reflectance properties of a soil are con-
sistent only within particular ranges of conditions. Two other factors that reduce
soil reflectance are surface roughness and content of organic matter. The pre-
sence of iron oxide in a soil will also significantly decrease reflectance, at least in
the visible wavelengths. In any case, it is essential that the analyst be familiar
with the conditions at hand. Finally, because soils are essentially opaque to visi-
ble and infrared radiation, it should be noted that soil reflectance comes from the
uppermost layer of the soil and may not be indicative of the properties of the bulk
of the soil.
Sand can have wide variation in its spectral reflectance pattern. The curve
shown in Figure 1.9 is from a dune in New Mexico and consists of roughly 99%
gypsum with trace amounts of quartz (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1999). Its
absorption and reflectance features are essentially identical to those of its parent
material, gypsum. Sand derived from other sources, with differing mineral com-
positions, would have a spectral reflectance curve indicative of its parent mate-
rial. Other factors affecting the spectral response from sand include the presence
or absence of water and of organic matter. Sandy soil is subject to the same con-
siderations listed in the discussion of soil reflectance.
As shown in Figure 1.9, the spectral reflectance curves for asphalt and Port-
land cement concrete are much flatter than those of the materials discussed thus
far. Overall, Portland cement concrete tends to be relatively brighter than
asphalt, both in the visible spectrum and at longer wavelengths. It is important to
note that the reflectance of these materials may be modified by the presence of
paint, soot, water, or other substances. Also, as materials age, their spectral
reflectance patterns may change. For example, the reflectance of many types of
asphaltic concrete may increase, particularly in the visible spectrum, as their sur-
face ages.
In general, snow reflects strongly in the visible and near infrared, and absorbs
more energy at mid-infrared wavelengths. However, the reflectance of snow is
affected by its grain size, liquid water content, and presence or absence of other
materials in or on the snow surface (Dozier and Painter, 2004). Larger grains of
snow absorb more energy, particularly at wavelengths longer than 0:8 m. At tem-
peratures near 0°C, liquid water within the snowpack can cause grains to stick
together in clusters, thus increasing the effective grain size and decreasing the
reflectance at near-infrared and longer wavelengths. When particles of con-
taminants such as dust or soot are deposited on snow, they can significantly reduce
the surface’s reflectance in the visible spectrum.
The aforementioned absorption of mid-infrared wavelengths by snow can per-
mit the differentiation between snow and clouds. While both feature types appear
bright in the visible and near infrared, clouds have significantly higher reflectance
than snow at wavelengths longer than 1:4 m. Meteorologists can also use both
spectral and bidirectional reflectance patterns (discussed later in this section) to
identify a variety of cloud properties, including ice/water composition and
particle size.
Considering the spectral reflectance of water, probably the most distinctive
characteristic is the energy absorption at near-IR wavelengths and beyond.
In short, water absorbs energy in these wavelengths whether we are talking
about water features per se (such as lakes and streams) or water contained in
vegetation or soil. Locating and delineating water bodies with remote sensing
data are done most easily in near-IR wavelengths because of this absorption
property. However, various conditions of water bodies manifest themselves pri-
marily in visible wavelengths. The energy–matter interactions at these wave-
lengths are very complex and depend on a number of interrelated factors. For
example, the reflectance from a water body can stem from an interaction with
the water’s surface (specular reflection), with material suspended in the water,
or with the bottom of the depression containing the water body. Even with
deep water where bottom effects are negligible, the reflectance properties of a
water body are a function of not only the water per se but also the material in
the water.
Clear water absorbs relatively little energy having wavelengths less than
about 0:6 m. High transmittance typifies these wavelengths with a maximum in
the blue-green portion of the spectrum. However, as the turbidity of water chan-
ges (because of the presence of organic or inorganic materials), transmittance—
and therefore reflectance—changes dramatically. For example, waters containing
large quantities of suspended sediments resulting from soil erosion normally
have much higher visible reflectance than other “clear” waters in the same geo-
graphic area. Likewise, the reflectance of water changes with the chlorophyll
concentration involved. Increases in chlorophyll concentration tend to decrease
water reflectance in blue wavelengths and increase it in green wavelengths.
These changes have been used to monitor the presence and estimate the con-
centration of algae via remote sensing data. Reflectance data have also been used
to determine the presence or absence of tannin dyes from bog vegetation in
lowland areas and to detect a number of pollutants, such as oil and certain
industrial wastes.
Figure 1.10 illustrates some of these effects, using spectra from three lakes
with different bio-optical properties. The first spectrum is from a clear, oligo-
trophic lake with a chlorophyll level of 1:2 g=l and only 2.4 mg/l of dissolved
organic carbon (DOC). Its spectral reflectance is relatively high in the blue-green
portion of the spectrum and decreases in the red and near infrared. In contrast,
Figure 1.10 Spectral reflectance curves for lakes with clear water, high levels of
chlorophyll, and high levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC).
the spectrum from a lake experiencing an algae bloom, with much higher chlor-
ophyll concentration ð12:3 g=lÞ, shows a reflectance peak in the green spectrum
and absorption in the blue and red regions. These reflectance and absorption fea-
tures are associated with several pigments present in algae. Finally, the third
spectrum in Figure 1.10 was acquired on an ombrotrophic bog lake, with very
high levels of DOC (20.7 mg/l). These naturally occurring tannins and other com-
plex organic molecules give the lake a very dark appearance, with its reflectance
curve nearly flat across the visible spectrum.
Many important water characteristics, such as dissolved oxygen concentra-
tion, pH, and salt concentration, cannot be observed directly through changes
in water reflectance. However, such parameters sometimes correlate with
observed reflectance. In short, there are many complex interrelationships
between the spectral reflectance of water and particular characteristics. One
must use appropriate reference data to correctly interpret reflectance measure-
ments made over water.
Our discussion of the spectral characteristics of vegetation, soil, and water
has been very general. The student interested in pursuing details on this subject,
as well as factors influencing these characteristics, is encouraged to consult the
various references contained in the Works Cited section located at the end of
this book.
Spectral Response Patterns
Having looked at the spectral reflectance characteristics of vegetation, soil, sand,

concrete, asphalt, snow, clouds, and water, we should recognize that these broad
feature types are often spectrally separable. However, the degree of separation
between types varies among and within spectral regions. For example, water and
vegetation might reflect nearly equally in visible wavelengths, yet these features
are almost always separable in near-IR wavelengths.
Because spectral responses measured by remote sensors over various features
often permit an assessment of the type and/or condition of the features, these
responses have often been referred to as spectral signatures. Spectral reflectance
and spectral emittance curves (for wavelengths greater than 3:0 m) are often
referred to in this manner. The physical radiation measurements acquired over
specific terrain features at various wavelengths are also referred to as the spectral
signatures for those features.
Although it is true that many earth surface features manifest very distinctive
spectral reflectance and/or emittance characteristics, these characteristics result
in spectral “response patterns” rather than in spectral “signatures.” The reason for
this is that the term signature tends to imply a pattern that is absolute and unique.
This is not the case with the spectral patterns observed in the natural world. As
we have seen, spectral response patterns measured by remote sensors may be
Another random document with
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a panther, a lion, and a tiger were successively sent up the chain,
and all equally disappeared at the upper end of the chain. At last
they took down the chain, and put it into the bag, no one ever
discovering in what way the different animals were made to vanish
into the air in the mysterious manner above described.”[713]
We have in our possession a picture painted from such a Persian
conjurer, with a man, or rather the various limbs of what was a
minute before a man, scattered before him. We have seen such
conjurers, and witnessed such performances more than once and in
various places.
Bearing ever in mind that we repudiate the idea of a miracle and
returning once more to phenomena more serious, we would now ask
what logical objection can be urged against the claim that the
reänimation of the dead was accomplished by many thaumaturgists?
The fakir described in the Franco-Americain, might have gone far
enough to say that this will-power of man is so tremendously
potential that it can reänimate a body apparently dead, by drawing
back the flitting soul that has not yet quite ruptured the thread that
through life had bound the two together. Dozens of such fakirs have
allowed themselves to be buried alive before thousands of
witnesses, and weeks afterward have been resuscitated. And if
fakirs have the secret of this artificial process, identical with, or
analogous to, hibernation, why not allow that their ancestors, the
Gymnosophists, and Apollonius of Tyana, who had studied with the
latter in India, and Jesus, and other prophets and seers, who all
knew more about the mysteries of life and death than any of our
modern men of science, might have resuscitated dead men and
women? And being quite familiar with that power—that mysterious
something “that science cannot yet understand,” as Professor Le
Conte confesses—knowing, moreover, “whence it came and whither
it was going,” Elisha, Jesus, Paul, and Apollonius, enthusiastic
ascetics and learned initiates, might have recalled to life with ease
any man who “was not dead but sleeping,” and that without any
miracle.
If the molecules of the cadaver are imbued with the physical and
chemical forces of the living organism,[714] what is to prevent them
from being set again in motion, provided we know the nature of the
vital force, and who to command it? The materialist can certainly
offer no objection, for with him it is no question of reïnfusing a soul.
For him the soul has no existence, and the human body may be
regarded simply as a vital engine—a locomotive which will start upon
the application of heat and force, and stop when they are withdrawn.
To the theologian the case offers greater difficulties, for, in his view,
death cuts asunder the tie which binds soul and body, and the one
can no more be returned into the other without miracle than the born
infant can be compelled to resume its fœtal life after parturition and
the severing of the umbilicus. But the Hermetic philosopher stands
between these two irreconcilable antagonists, master of the
situation. He knows the nature of the soul—a form composed of
nervous fluid and atmospheric ether—and knows how the vital force
can be made active or passive at will, so long as there is no final
destruction of some necessary organ. The claims of Gaffarilus—
which, by the bye, appeared so preposterous in 1650[715]—were
later corroborated by science. He maintained that every object
existing in nature, provided it was not artificial, when once burned
still retained its form in the ashes, in which it remained till raised
again. Du Chesne, an eminent chemist, assured himself of the fact.
Kircher, Digby, and Vallemont have demonstrated that the forms of
plants could be resuscitated from their ashes. At a meeting of
naturalists in 1834, at Stuttgart, a receipt for producing such
experiments was found in a work of Oetinger.[716] Ashes of burned
plants contained in vials, when heated, exhibited again their various
forms. “A small obscure cloud gradually rose in the vial, took a
defined form, and presented to the eye the flower or plant the ashes
consisted of.” “The earthly husk,” wrote Oetinger, “remains in the
retort, while the volatile essence ascends, like a spirit, perfect in
form, but void of substance.”[717]
And, if the astral form of even a plant when its body is dead still
lingers in the ashes, will skeptics persist in saying that the soul of
man, the inner ego, is after the death of the grosser form at once
dissolved, and is no more? “At death,” says the philosopher, “the one
body exudes from the other, by osmose and through the brain; it is
held near its old garment by a double attraction, physical and
spiritual, until the latter decomposes; and if the proper conditions are
given the soul can reïnhabit it and resume the suspended life. It does
it in sleep; it does it more thoroughly in trance; most surprisingly at
the command and with the assistance of the Hermetic adept.
Iamblichus declared that a person endowed with such resuscitating
powers is ‘full of God.’ All the subordinate spirits of the upper
spheres are at his command, for he is no longer a mortal, but himself
a god. In his Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul remarks that ‘the spirits
of the prophets are subject to the prophets.’”
Some persons have the natural and some the acquired power of
withdrawing the inner from the outer body, at will, and causing it to
perform long journeys, and be seen by those whom it visits.
Numerous are the instances recorded by unimpeachable witnesses
of the “doubles” of persons having been seen and conversed with,
hundreds of miles from the places where the persons themselves
were known to be. Hermotimus, if we may credit Pliny and
Plutarch,[718] could at will fall into a trance and then his second soul
proceeded to any distant place he chose.
The Abbé Fretheim, the famous author of Steganographie, who
lived in the seventeenth century, could converse with his friends by
the mere power of his will. “I can make my thoughts known to the
initiated,” he wrote, “at a distance of many hundred miles, without
word, writing, or cipher, by any messenger. The latter cannot betray
me, for he knows nothing. If needs be, I can dispense with the
messenger. If any correspondent should be buried in the deepest
dungeon, I could still convey to him my thoughts as clearly and as
frequently as I chose, and this quite simply, without superstition,
without the aid of spirits.” Cordanus could also send his spirit, or any
messages he chose. When he did so, he felt “as if a door was
opened, and I myself immediately passed through it, leaving the
body behind me.”[719] The case of a high German official, a
counsellor Wesermann, was mentioned in a scientific paper.[720] He
claimed to be able to cause any friend or acquaintance, at any
distance, to dream of every subject he chose, or see any person he
liked. His claims were proved good, and testified to on several
occasions by skeptics and learned professional persons. He could
also cause his double to appear wherever he liked; and be seen by
several persons at one time. By whispering in their ears a sentence
prepared and agreed upon beforehand by unbelievers, and for the
purpose, his power to project the double was demonstrated beyond
any cavil.
According to Napier, Osborne, Major Lawes, Quenouillet,
Nikiforovitch, and many other modern witnesses, fakirs are now
proved to be able, by a long course of diet, preparation, and repose,
to bring their bodies into a condition which enables them to be buried
six feet under ground for an indefinite period. Sir Claude Wade was
present at the court of Rundjit Singh, when the fakir, mentioned by
the Honorable Captain Osborne, was buried alive for six weeks, in a
box placed in a cell three feet below the floor of the room.[721] To
prevent the chance of deception, a guard comprising two companies
of soldiers had been detailed, and four sentries “were furnished and
relieved every two hours, night and day, to guard the building from
intrusion.... On opening it,” says Sir Claude, “we saw a figure
enclosed in a bag of white linen fastened by a string over the head ...
the servant then began pouring warm water over the figure ... the
legs and arms of the body were shrivelled and stiff, the face, full, the
head reclining on the shoulder like that of a corpse. I then called to
the medical gentleman who was attending me, to come down and
inspect the body, which he did, but could discover no pulsation in the
heart, the temples, or the arm. There was, however, a heat about the
region of the brain, which no other part of the body exhibited.”
Regretting that the limits of our space forbid the quotation of the
details of this interesting story, we will only add, that the process of
resuscitation included bathing with hot water, friction, the removal of
wax and cotton pledgets from the nostrils and ears, the rubbing of
the eyelids with ghee or clarified butter, and, what will appear most
curious to many, the application of a hot wheaten cake, about an
inch thick “to the top of the head.” After the cake had been applied
for the third time, the body was violently convulsed, the nostrils
became inflated, the respiration ensued, and the limbs assumed a
natural fulness; but the pulsation was still faintly perceptible.“ The
tongue was then anointed with ghee; the eyeballs became dilated
and recovered their natural color, and the fakir recognized those
present and spoke.” It should be noticed that not only had the
nostrils and ears been plugged, but the tongue had been thrust back
so as to close the gullet, thus effectually stopping the orifices against
the admission of atmospheric air. While in India, a fakir told us that
this was done not only to prevent the action of the air upon the
organic tissues, but also to guard against the deposit of the germs of
decay, which in case of suspended animation would cause
decomposition exactly as they do in any other meat exposed to air.
There are also localities in which a fakir would refuse to be buried;
such as the many spots in Southern India infested with the white
ants, which annoying termites are considered among the most
dangerous enemies of man and his property. They are so voracious
as to devour everything they find except perhaps metals. As to
wood, there is no kind through which they would not burrow; and
even bricks and mortar offer but little impediment to their formidable
armies. They will patiently work through mortar, destroying it particle
by particle; and a fakir, however holy himself, and strong his
temporary coffin, would not risk finding his body devoured when it
was time for his resuscitation.
Then, here is a case, only one of many, substantiated by the
testimony of two English noblemen—one of them an army officer—
and a Hindu Prince, who was as great a skeptic as themselves. It
places science in this embarrassing dilemma: it must either give the
lie to many unimpeachable witnesses, or admit that if one fakir can
resuscitate after six weeks, any other fakir can also; and if a fakir,
why not a Lazarus, a Shunamite boy, or the daughter of Jairus?[722]
And now, perhaps, it may not be out of place to inquire what
assurance can any physician have, beyond external evidence, that
the body is really dead? The best authorities agree in saying that
there are none. Dr. Todd Thomson, of London,[723] says most
positively that “the immobility of the body, even its cadaverous
aspect, the coldness of surface, the absence of respiration and
pulsation, and the sunken state of the eye, are no unequivocal
evidences that life is wholly extinct.” Nothing but total decomposition
is an irrefutable proof that life has fled for ever and that the
tabernacle is tenantless. Demokritus asserted that there existed no
certain signs of real death.[724] Pliny maintained the same.[725]
Asclepiades, a learned physician and one of the most distinguished
men of his day, held that the assurance was still more difficult in the
cases of women than in those of men.
Todd Thomson, above quoted, gives several remarkable cases of
such a suspended animation. Among others he mentions a certain
Francis Neville, a Norman gentleman, who twice apparently died,
and was twice in the act of being buried. But, at the moment when
the coffin was being lowered in the grave, he spontaneously revived.
In the seventeenth century, Lady Russell, to all appearance died,
and was about to be buried, but as the bell was tolling for her
funeral, she sat up in her coffin and exclaimed, “It is time to go to
church!” Diemerbroese, mentions a peasant who gave no signs of
life for three days, but when placed in his coffin, near the grave,
revived and lived many years afterward. In 1836, a respectable
citizen of Brussels fell into a profound lethargy on a Sunday morning.
On Monday, as his attendants were preparing to screw the lid of the
coffin, the supposed corpse sat up, rubbed his eyes, and called for
his coffee and a newspaper.[726]
Such cases of apparent death are not very infrequently reported in
the newspaper press. As we write (April, 1877), we find in a London
letter to the New York Times, the following paragraph: “Miss Annie
Goodale, the actress, died three weeks ago. Up to yesterday she
was not buried. The corpse is warm and limp, and the features as
soft and mobile as when in life. Several physicians have examined
her, and have ordered that the body shall be watched night and day.
The poor lady is evidently in a trance, but whether she is destined to
come to life it is impossible to say.”
Science regards man as an aggregation of atoms temporarily
united by a mysterious force called the life-principle. To the
materialist, the only difference between a living and a dead body is,
that in the one case, that force is active, in the other latent. When it
is extinct or entirely latent the molecules obey a superior attraction,
which draws them asunder and scatters them through space.
This dispersion must be death, if it is possible to conceive such a
thing as death, where the very molecules of the dead body manifest
an intense vital energy. If death is but the stoppage of a digesting,
locomotive, and thought-grinding machine, how can death be actual
and not relative, before that machine is thoroughly broken up and its
particles dispersed? So long as any of them cling together, the
centripetal vital force may overmatch the dispersive centrifugal
action. Says Eliphas Levi: “Change attests movement, and
movement only reveals life. The corpse would not decompose if it
were dead; all the molecules which compose it are living and
struggle to separate. And would you think that the spirit frees itself
first of all to exist no more? That thought and love can die when the
grossest forms of matter do not die? If the change should be called
death, we die and are born again every day, for every day our forms
undergo change.”[727]
The kabalists say that a man is not dead when his body is
entombed. Death is never sudden; for, according to Hermes, nothing
goes in nature by violent transitions. Everything is gradual, and as it
required a long and gradual development to produce the living
human being, so time is required to completely withdraw vitality from
the carcass.“ Death can no more be an absolute end, than birth a
real beginning. Birth proves the preëxistence of the being, as death
proves immortality,” says the same French kabalist.
While implicitly believing in the restoration of the daughter of
Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and in other Bible-miracles, well-
educated Christians, who otherwise would feel indignant at being
called superstitious, meet all such cases as that of Apollonius and
the girl said by his biographer to have been recalled to life by him,
with scornful skepticism. Diogenes Laërtius, who mentions a woman
restored to life by Empedocles, is treated with no more respect; and
the name of Pagan thaumaturgist, in the eyes of Christians, is but a
synonym for impostor. Our scientists are at least one degree more
rational; they embrace all Bible prophets and apostles, and the
heathen miracle-doers in two categories of hallucinated fools and
deceitful tricksters.
But Christians and materialists might, with a very little effort on
their part, show themselves fair and logical at the same time. To
produce such a miracle, they have but to consent to understand
what they read, and submit it to the unprejudiced criticism of their
best judgment. Let us see how far it is possible. Setting aside the
incredible fiction of Lazarus, we will select two cases: the ruler’s
daughter, recalled to life by Jesus, and the Corinthian bride,
resuscitated by Apollonius. In the former case, totally disregarding
the significant expression of Jesus—“She is not dead but sleepeth,”
the clergy force their god to become a breaker of his own laws and
grant unjustly to one what he denies to all others, and with no better
object in view than to produce a useless miracle. In the second case,
notwithstanding the words of the biographer of Apollonius, so plain
and precise that there is not the slightest cause to misunderstand
them, they charge Philostratus with deliberate imposture. Who could
be fairer than he, who less open to the charge of mystification, when,
in describing the resuscitation of the young girl by the Tyanian sage,
in the presence of a large concourse of people, the biographer says,
“she had seemed to die.”
In other words, he very clearly indicates a case of suspended
animation; and then adds immediately, “as the rain fell very fast on
the young girl,” while she was being carried to the pile, “with her face
turned upwards, this, also, might have excited her senses.”[728] Does
this not show most plainly that Philostratus saw no miracle in that
resuscitation? Does it not rather imply, if anything, the great learning
and skill of Apollonius, “who like Asclepiades had the merit of
distinguishing at a glance between real and apparent death?”[729]
A resuscitation, after the soul and spirit have entirely separated
from the body, and the last electric thread is severed, is as
impossible as for a once disembodied spirit to reïncarnate itself once
more on this earth, except as described in previous chapters. “A leaf,
once fallen off, does not reättach itself to the branch,” says Eliphas
Levi. “The caterpillar becomes a butterfly, but the butterfly does not
again return to the grub. Nature closes the door behind all that
passes, and pushes life forward. Forms pass, thought remains, and
does not recall that which it has once exhausted.”[730]
Why should it be imagined that Asclepiades and Apollonius
enjoyed exceptional powers for the discernment of actual death?
Has any modern school of medicine this knowledge to impart to its
students? Let their authorities answer for them. These prodigies of
Jesus and Apollonius are so well attested that they appear authentic.
Whether in either or both cases life was simply suspended or not,
the important fact remains that by some power, peculiar to
themselves, both the wonder-workers recalled the seemingly dead to
life in an instant.[731]
Is it because the modern physician has not yet found the secret
which the theurgists evidently possessed that its possibility is
denied?
Neglected as psychology now is, and with the strangely chaotic
state in which physiology is confessed to be by its most fair students,
certainly it is not very likely that our men of science will soon
rediscover the lost knowledge of the ancients. In the days of old,
when prophets were not treated as charlatans, nor thaumaturgists as
impostors, there were colleges instituted for teaching prophecy and
occult sciences in general. Samuel is recorded as the chief of such
an institution at Ramah; Elisha, also, at Jericho. The schools of
hazim, prophets or seers, were celebrated throughout the country.
Hillel had a regular academy, and Socrates is well known to have
sent away several of his disciples to study manticism. The study of
magic, or wisdom, included every branch of science, the
metaphysical as well as the physical, psychology and physiology in
their common and occult phases, and the study of alchemy was
universal, for it was both a physical and a spiritual science.
Therefore why doubt or wonder that the ancients, who studied nature
under its double aspect, achieved discoveries which to our modern
physicists, who study but its dead letter, are a closed book?
Thus, the question at issue is not whether a dead body can be
resuscitated—for, to assert that would be to assume the possibility of
a miracle, which is absurd—but, to assure ourselves whether the
medical authorities pretend to determine the precise moment of
death. The kabalists say that death occurs at the instant when both
the astral body, or life-principle, and the spirit part forever with the
corporeal body. The scientific physician who denies both astral body
and spirit, and admits the existence of nothing more than the life-
principle, judges death to occur when life is apparently extinct. When
the beating of the heart and the action of the lungs cease, and rigor
mortis is manifested, and especially when decomposition begins,
they pronounce the patient dead. But the annals of medicine teem
with examples of “suspended animation” as the result of asphyxia by
drowning, the inhalation of gases and other causes; life being
restored in the case of drowning persons even after they had been
apparently dead for twelve hours.
In cases of somnambulic trance, none of the ordinary signs of
death are lacking; breathing and the pulse are extinct; animal-heat
has disappeared; the muscles are rigid, the eye glazed, and the
body is colorless. In the celebrated case of Colonel Townshend, he
threw himself into this state in the presence of three medical men;
who, after a time, were persuaded that he was really dead, and were
about leaving the room, when he slowly revived. He describes his
peculiar gift by saying that he “could die or expire when he pleased,
and yet, by an effort, or somehow, he could come to life again.”
There occurred in Moscow, a few years since, a remarkable
instance of apparent death. The wife of a wealthy merchant lay in the
cataleptic state seventeen days, during which the authorities made
several attempts to bury her; but, as decomposition had not set in,
the family averted the ceremony, and at the end of that time she was
restored to life.
The above instances show that the most learned men in the
medical profession are unable to be certain when a person is dead.
What they call “suspended animation,” is that state from which the
patient spontaneously recovers, through an effort of his own spirit,
which may be provoked by any one of many causes. In these cases,
the astral body has not parted from the physical body; its external
functions are simply suspended; the subject is in a state of torpor,
and the restoration is nothing but a recovery from it.
But, in the case of what physiologists would call “real death,” but
which is not actually so, the astral body has withdrawn; perhaps local
decomposition has set in. How shall the man be brought to life
again? The answer is, the interior body must be forced back into the
exterior one, and vitality reawakened in the latter. The clock has run
down, it must be wound. If death is absolute; if the organs have not
only ceased to act, but have lost the susceptibility of renewed action,
then the whole universe would have to be thrown into chaos to
resuscitate the corpse—a miracle would be demanded. But, as we
said before, the man is not dead when he is cold, stiff, pulseless,
breathless, and even showing signs of decomposition; he is not dead
when buried, nor afterward, until a certain point is reached. That
point is, when the vital organs have become so decomposed, that if
reänimated, they could not perform their customary functions; when
the mainspring and cogs of the machine, so to speak, are so eaten
away by rust, that they would snap upon the turning of the key. Until
that point is reached, the astral body may be caused, without
miracle, to reënter its former tabernacle, either by an effort of its own
will, or under the resistless impulse of the will of one who knows the
potencies of nature and how to direct them. The spark is not
extinguished, but only latent—latent as the fire in the flint, or the heat
in the cold iron.
In cases of the most profound cataleptic clairvoyance, such as
obtained by Du Potet, and described very graphically by the late
Prof. William Gregory, in his Letters on Animal Magnetism, the spirit
is so far disengaged from the body that it would be impossible for it
to re-enter it without an effort of the mesmerizer’s will. The subject is
practically dead, and, if left to itself, the spirit would escape forever.
Although independent of the torpid physical casing, the half-freed
spirit is still tied to it by a magnetic cord, which is described by
clairvoyants as appearing dark and smoky by contrast with the
ineffable brightness of the astral atmosphere through which they
look. Plutarch, relating the story of Thespesius, who fell from a great
height, and lay three days apparently dead, gives us the experience
of the latter during his state of partial decease. “Thespesius,” says
he, “then observed that he was different from the dead by whom he
was surrounded.... They were transparent and environed by a
radiance, but he seemed to trail after him a dark radiation or line of
shadow.” His whole description, minute and circumstantial in its
details, appears to be corroborated by the clairvoyants of every
period, and, so far as this class of testimony can be taken, is
important. The kabalists, as we find them interpreted by Eliphas Levi,
in his Science des Esprits, say that, “When a man falls into the last
sleep, he is plunged at first into a sort of dream, before gaining
consciousness in the other side of life. He sees, then, either in a
beautiful vision, or in a terrible nightmare, the paradise or hell, in
which he believed during his mortal existence. This is why it often
happens, that the affrighted soul breaks violently back into the
terrestrial life it has just left, and why some who were really dead, i.
e., who, if left alone and quiet, would have peaceably passed away
forever in a state of unconscious lethargy, when entombed too soon,
reäwake to life in the grave.”
In this connection, the reader may perhaps recall the well-known
case of the old man who had left some generous gifts in his will to
his orphaned nieces; which document, just before his death, he had
confided to his rich son, with injunctions to carry out his wishes. But,
he had not been dead more than a few hours before the son, finding
himself alone with the corpse, tore the will and burned it. The sight of
this impious deed apparently recalled the hovering spirit, and the old
man, rising from his couch of death, uttered a fierce malediction
upon the horror-stricken wretch, and then fell back again, and
yielded up his spirit—this time forever. Dion Boucicault makes use of
an incident of this kind in his powerful drama Louis XI.; and Charles
Kean created a profound impression in the character of the French
monarch, when the dead man revives for an instant and clutches the
crown as the heir-apparent approaches it.
Levi says that resuscitation is not impossible while the vital
organism remains undestroyed, and the astral spirit is yet within
reach. “Nature,” he says, “accomplishes nothing by sudden jerks,
and eternal death is always preceded by a state which partakes
somewhat of the nature of lethargy. It is a torpor which a great shock
or the magnetism of a powerful will can overcome.” He accounts in
this manner for the resuscitation of the dead man thrown upon the
bones of Elisha. He explains it by saying that the soul was hovering
at that moment near the body; the burial party, according to tradition,
were attacked by robbers; and their fright communicating itself
sympathetically to it, the soul was seized with horror at the idea of its
remains being desecrated, and “reëntered violently into its body to
raise and save it.” Those who believe in the survival of the soul can
see in this incident nothing of a supernatural character—it is only a
perfect manifestation of natural law. To narrate to the materialist such
a case, however well attested, would be but an idle talk; the
theologian, always looking beyond nature for a special providence,
regards it as a prodigy. Eliphas Levi says: “They attributed the
resuscitation to the contact with the bones of Elisha; and worship of
relics dates logically from his epoch.”
Balfour Stewart is right—scientists “know nothing, or next to
nothing, of the ultimate structure and properties of matter, whether
organic or inorganic.”
We are now on such firm ground, that we will take another step in
advance. The same knowledge and control of the occult forces,
including the vital force which enabled the fakir temporarily to leave
and then reënter his body, and Jesus, Apollonius, and Elisha to
recall their several subjects to life, made it possible for the ancient
hierophants to animate statues, and cause them to act and speak
like living creatures. It is the same knowledge and power which
made it possible for Paracelsus to create his homunculi; for Aaron to
change his rod into a serpent and a budding branch; Moses to cover
Egypt with frogs and other pests; and the Egyptian theurgist of our
day to vivify his pigmy Mandragora, which has physical life but no
soul. It was no more wonderful that upon presenting the necessary
conditions Moses should call into life large reptiles and insects, than
that, under like favoring conditions, the physical scientist should call
into life the small ones which he names bacteria.
And now, in connection with ancient miracle-doers and prophets,
let us bring forward the claims of the modern mediums. Nearly every
form of phenomena recorded in the sacred and profane histories of
the world we find them claiming to reproduce in our days. Selecting,
among the variety of seeming wonders, levitation of ponderable
inanimate objects as well as of human bodies, we will give our
attention to the conditions under which the phenomenon is
manifested. History records the names of Pagan theurgists, Christian
saints, Hindu fakirs, and spiritual mediums who have been thus
levitated, and who remained suspended in the air, sometimes for a
considerable time. The phenomenon has not been confined to one
country or epoch, but almost invariably the subjects have been
religious ecstatics, adepts in magic, or, as now, spiritual mediums.
We assume the fact to be so well established as to require no
labored effort on our part at this time to furnish proof that
unconscious manifestations of spirit-power, as well as conscious
feats of high magic, have happened in all countries, in all ages, and
with hierophants as well as through irresponsible mediums. When
the present perfected European civilization was yet in an inchoate
state, occult philosophy, already hoary with age, speculated upon the
attributes of man by analogy with those of his Creator. Individuals
later, whose names will remain forever immortal, inscribed on the
portal of the spiritual history of man, have afforded in their persons
examples of how far could be developed the godlike powers of the
microcosmos. Describing the Doctrines and Principal Teachers of the
Alexandrian School, Professor A. Wilder says: “Plotinus taught that
there was in the soul a returning impulse, love, which attracted it
inward toward its origin and centre, the eternal good. While the
person who does not understand how the soul contains the beautiful
within itself will seek by laborious effort to realize beauty without, the
wise man recognizes it within himself, develops the idea by
withdrawal into himself, concentrating his attention, and so floating
upward toward the divine fountain, the stream of which flows within
him. The infinite is not known through the reason ... but by a faculty
superior to reason, by entering upon a state in which the individual,
so to speak, ceases to be his finite self, in which state divine
essence is communicated to him. This is ecstasy.”
Of Apollonius, who asserted that he could see “the present and
the future in a clear mirror,” on account of his abstemious mode of
life, the professor very beautifully observes: “This is what may be
termed spiritual photography. The soul is the camera in which facts
and events, future, past, and present, are alike fixed; and the mind
becomes conscious of them. Beyond our every-day world of limits,
all is as one day or state, the past and future comprised in the
present.”[732]
Were these God-like men “mediums,” as the orthodox spiritualists
will have it? By no means, if by the term we understand those “sick-
sensitives” who are born with a peculiar organization, and who in
proportion as their powers are developed become more and more
subject to the irresistible influence of miscellaneous spirits, purely
human, elementary, or elemental. Unquestionably so, if we consider
every individual a medium in whose magnetic atmosphere the
denizens of higher invisible spheres can move, and act, and live. In
such a sense every person is a medium. Mediumship may be either
1st, self-developed; 2d, by extraneous influences; or 3d, may remain
latent throughout life. The reader must bear in mind the definition of
the term, for, unless this is clearly understood, confusion will be
inevitable. Mediumship of this kind may be either active or passive,
repellent or receptive, positive or negative. Mediumship is measured
by the quality of the aura with which the individual is surrounded.
This may be dense, cloudy, noisome, mephitic, nauseating to the
pure spirit, and attract only those foul beings who delight in it, as the
eel does in turbid waters, or, it may be pure, crystalline, limpid,
opalescent as the morning dew. All depends upon the moral
character of the medium.
About such men as Apollonius, Iamblichus, Plotinus, and
Porphyry, there gathered this heavenly nimbus. It was evolved by the
power of their own souls in close unison with their spirits; by the
superhuman morality and sanctity of their lives, and aided by
frequent interior ecstatic contemplation. Such holy men pure spiritual
influences could approach. Radiating around an atmosphere of
divine beneficence, they caused evil spirits to flee before them. Not
only is it not possible for such to exist in their aura, but they cannot
even remain in that of obsessed persons, if the thaumaturgist
exercises his will, or even approaches them. This is mediatorship,
not mediumship. Such persons are temples in which dwells the spirit
of the living God; but if the temple is defiled by the admission of an
evil passion, thought or desire, the mediator falls into the sphere of
sorcery. The door is opened; the pure spirits retire and the evil ones
rush in. This is still mediatorship, evil as it is; the sorcerer, like the
pure magician, forms his own aura and subjects to his will congenial
inferior spirits.
But mediumship, as now understood and manifested, is a different
thing. Circumstances, independent of his own volition, may, either at
birth or subsequently, modify a person’s aura, so that strange
manifestations, physical or mental, diabolical or angelic, may take
place. Such mediumship, as well as the above-mentioned
mediatorship, has existed on earth since the first appearance here of
living man. The former is the yielding of weak, mortal flesh to the
control and suggestions of spirits and intelligences other than one’s
own immortal demon. It is literally obsession and possession; and
mediums who pride themselves on being the faithful slaves of their
“guides,” and who repudiate with indignation the idea of “controlling”
the manifestations, “could not very well deny the fact without
inconsistency. This mediumship is typified in the story of Eve
succumbing to the reasonings of the serpent; of Pandora peeping in
the forbidden casket and letting loose on the world, sorrow and evil,
and by Mary Magdalene, who from having been obsessed by ‘seven
devils’ was finally redeemed by the triumphant struggle of her
immortal spirit, touched by the presence of a holy mediator, against
the dweller.” This mediumship, whether beneficent or maleficent, is
always passive. Happy are the pure in heart, who repel
unconsciously, by that very cleanness of their inner nature, the dark
spirits of evil. For verily they have no other weapons of defense but
that inborn goodness and purity. Mediumism, as practiced in our
days, is a more undesirable gift than the robe of Nessus.
“The tree is known by its fruits.” Side by side with passive
mediums in the progress of the world’s history, appear active
mediators. We designate them by this name for lack of a better one.
The ancient witches and wizards, and those who had a “familiar
spirit,” generally made of their gifts a trade; and the Obeah woman of
En-Dor, so well defined by Henry More, though she may have killed
her calf for Saul, accepted hire from other visitors. In India, the
jugglers, who by the way are less so than many a modern medium,
and the Essaoua or sorcerers and serpent-charmers of Asia and
Africa, all exercise their gifts for money. Not so with the mediators, or
hierophants. Buddha was a mendicant and refused his father’s
throne. The “Son of Man had not where to lay his head;” the chosen
apostles provided “neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in their purses.”
Apollonius gave one half of his fortune to his relatives, the other half
to the poor; Iamblichus and Plotinus were renowned for charity and
self-denial; the fakirs, or holy mendicants, of India are fairly
described by Jacolliot; the Pythagorean Essenes and Therapeutæ
believed their hands defiled by the contact of money. When the
apostles were offered money to impart their spiritual powers, Peter,
notwithstanding that the Bible shows him a coward and thrice a
renegade, still indignantly spurned the offer, saying: “Thy money
perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may
be purchased with money.” These men were mediators, guided
merely by their own personal spirit, or divine soul, and availing
themselves of the help of spirits but so far as these remain in the
right path.
Far from us be the thought of casting an unjust slur on physical
mediums. Harassed by various intelligences, reduced by the
overpowering influence—which their weak and nervous natures are
unable to shake off—to a morbid state, which at last becomes
chronic, they are impeded by these “influences” from undertaking
other occupation. They become mentally and physically unfit for any
other. Who can judge them harshly when, driven to the last
extremity, they are constrained to accept mediumship as a
business? And heaven knows, as recent events have too well
proved, whether the calling is one to be envied by any one! It is not
mediums, real, true, and genuine mediums that we would ever
blame, but their patrons, the spiritualists.
Plotinus, when asked to attend public worship of the gods, is said
to have proudly answered: “It is for them (the spirits) to come to me.”
Iamblichus asserted and proved in his own case, that our soul can
attain communion with the highest intelligences, with “natures loftier
than itself,” and carefully drove away from his theurgical
ceremonies[733] every inferior spirit, or bad dæmon, which he taught
his disciples to recognize. Proclus, who “elaborated the entire
theosophy and theurgy of his predecessors into a complete
system,”[734] according to Professor Wilder, “believed with
Iamblichus in the attaining of a divine power, which, overcoming the
mundane life, rendered the individual an organ of the Deity.” He even
taught that there was a “mystic password that would carry a person
from one order of spiritual beings to another, higher and higher, till he
arrived at the absolute divine.” Apollonius spurned the sorcerers and
“common soothsayers,” and declared that it was his “peculiar
abstemious mode of life” which “produced such an acuteness of the
senses and created other faculties, so that the greatest and most
remarkable things can take place.” Jesus declared man the lord of
the Sabbath, and at his command the terrestrial and elementary
spirits fled from their temporary abodes; a power which was shared
by Apollonius and many of the Brotherhood of the Essenes of Judea
and Mount Carmel.
It is undeniable that there must have been some good reasons
why the ancients persecuted unregulated mediums. Otherwise why,
at the time of Moses and David and Samuel, should they have
encouraged prophecy and divination, astrology and soothsaying, and
maintained schools and colleges in which these natural gifts were
strengthened and developed, while witches and those who divined
by the spirit of Ob were put to death? Even at the time of Christ, the
poor oppressed mediums were driven to the tombs and waste places
without the city walls. Why this apparent gross injustice? Why should
banishment, persecution, and death be the portion of the physical
mediums of those days, and whole communities of thaumaturgists—
like the Essenes—be not merely tolerated but revered? It is because
the ancients, unlike ourselves, could “try” the spirits and discern the
difference between the good and the evil ones, the human and the
elemental. They also knew that unregulated spirit intercourse
brought ruin upon the individual and disaster to the community.
This view of mediumship may be novel and perhaps repugnant to
many modern spiritualists; but still it is the view taught in the ancient
philosophy, and supported by the experience of mankind from time
immemorial.
It is erroneous to speak of a medium having powers developed. A
passive medium has no power. He has a certain moral and physical
condition which induces emanations, or an aura, in which his
controlling intelligences can live, and by which they manifest
themselves. He is only the vehicle through which they display their
power. This aura varies day by day, and, as would appear from Mr.
Crookes’ experiments, even hour by hour. It is an external effect
resulting from interior causes. The medium’s moral state determines
the kind of spirits that come; and the spirits that come reciprocally
influence the medium, intellectually, physically, and morally. The
perfection of his mediumship is in ratio to his passivity, and the
danger he incurs is in equal degree. When he is fully “developed”
perfectly passive—his own astral spirit may be benumbed, and even
crowded out of his body, which is then occupied by an elemental, or,
what is worse, by a human fiend of the eighth sphere, who proceeds
to use it as his own. But too often the cause of the most celebrated
crime is to be sought in such possessions.
Physical mediumship depending upon passivity, its antidote
suggests itself naturally; let the medium cease being passive. Spirits
never control persons of positive character who are determined to
resist all extraneous influences. The weak and feeble-minded whom
they can make their victims they drive into vice. If these miracle-
making elementals and disembodied devils called elementary were
indeed the guardian angels that they have passed for, these last
thirty years, why have they not given their faithful mediums at least
good health and domestic happiness? Why do they desert them at
the most critical moments of trial when under accusations of fraud? It
is notorious that the best physical mediums are either sickly or,
sometimes, what is still worse, inclined to some abnormal vice or
other. Why do not these healing “guides,” who make their mediums
play the therapeutists and thaumaturgists to others, give them the
boon of robust physical vigor? The ancient thaumaturgist and
apostle, generally, if not invariably, enjoyed good health; their
magnetism never conveyed to the sick patient any physical or moral
taint; and they never were accused of vampirism, which a spiritual
paper very justly charges upon some medium-healers.[735]
If we apply the above law of mediumship and mediatorship to the
subject of levitation, with which we opened our present discussion,
what shall we find? Here we have a medium and one of the
mediator-class levitated—the former at a seance, the latter at prayer,
or in ecstatic contemplation. The medium being passive must be
lifted up; the ecstatic being active must levitate himself. The former is
elevated by his familiar spirits—whoever or whatever they may be—
the latter, by the power of his own aspiring soul. Can both be
indiscriminately termed mediums?
But nevertheless we may be answered that the same phenomena
are produced in the presence of a modern medium as of an ancient
saint. Undoubtedly; and so it was in the days of Moses; for we
believe that the triumph claimed for him in Exodus over Pharaoh’s
magicians is simply a national boast on the part of the “chosen
people.” That the power which produced his phenomena produced
that of the magicians also, who were moreover the first tutors of
Moses and instructed him in their “wisdom,” is most probable. But
even in those days they seemed to have well appreciated the
difference between phenomena apparently identical. The tutelar
national deity of the Hebrews (who is not the Highest Father)[736]

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Remote Sensing and Image

Interpretation, 7th Edition 7th Edition,

Remote sensing digital image analysis Sixth Edition

Remote Sensing Digital Image Analysis 6th ed. 2022

Aerial Photography and Image Interpretation 3rd

Atlas of Structural Geological and Geomorphological

Professional Baking, 7th Edition 7th Edition – Ebook

Techniques and methods in urban remote sensing Weng

Thermal and Optical Remote Sensing John O Odindi

Advanced remote sensing terrestrial information

1 1.8 Characteristics of Remote Sensing

2.3 Photographic Basics 89 4.3 Along-Track Scanning 225

5.10 Moderate Resolution Systems 6.15 Radarsat 452

7.17 Classiﬁcation Accuracy 8.13 Environmental Assessment and

8.1 Introduction 609 SI Units Frequently Used in

Overview of the Electromagnetic Remote Sensing Process

DATA ACQUISITION DATA ANALYSIS

(d) Retransmission Digital (i)

Figure 1.1 Electromagnetic remote sensing of earth resources.

Organization of the Book

1.2 ENERGY SOURCES AND RADIATION PRINCIPLES

characterize a wave. In remote sensing, it is most common to categorize electro-

Figure 1.3 Electromagnetic spectrum.

electromagnetic spectrum used in remote sensing lie along a continuum char-

sources of radiation, although it is of considerably different magnitude and spectral

Visible radiant energy band

changes successively to shorter wavelengths—from dull red to orange to yellow

Our eyes—and photographic sensors—are sensitive to energy of this magnitude

1.3 ENERGY INTERACTIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE

Atmospheric scattering is the unpredictable diffusion of radiation by particles in

In contrast to scatter, atmospheric absorption results in the effective loss of

spectral composition of the energy available in these ranges. Ultimately, however,

1.4 ENERGY INTERACTIONS WITH EARTH SURFACE FEATURES

EI(λ) = Incident energy EI(λ) = ER(λ) + EA(λ) + ET(λ)

EA(λ) = Absorbed energy ET(λ) = Transmitted energy

energy of wavelength l reflected from the object

Figure 1.7 Generalized spectral reﬂectance envelopes for deciduous (broad-

Spectral Reﬂectance of Earth Surface Feature Types

Spectral Response Patterns

Having looked at the spectral reﬂectance characteristics of vegetation, soil, sand,

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